When I get a divorce, I will ride a bike in Cairo

In a city like Cairo, where cars park on the sidewalk, and people walk in the middle of the street, bikes do not have any space left to fill. If you ride a bike on the streets of Cairo, you are either suicidal or adventurous, but definitely not a sane person, ESPECIALLY if you are a female somewhere between 7 and 57 years old. I had this old childhood friend, who got married 5 years ago. Three months later I heard she got a divorce, died her long hair blonde, made two braids out of it, and started riding a bike everyday to and from work, in Cairo.
I bet they were the worst three months of her life!!!!

الحياة حلوة بس نفهمها

و عارفين كمان ايه اللى حصل؟ أعدو ساكتين، ساكتين على نفسهم. كل واحد بيروح الشغل، و يرجع من الشغل يروح البيت، و لو فيه فى التلفزيون ماتش أو فيلم عربى ظريف يعدوا يتفرجوا عليه. و الأخبار، بلاش الأخبار، كئيبة و كلها نفس الحاجة؛ ناس بتموت. لاكن الحمد لله احنا معندناش مشاكل. كل حاجة كويسة. ماعندناش ناس بتقتل بعضيها، ولا عندنا بلد تانية محتلانا، ولا أمريكا قررت ان احنا اللى ضربناها، والحمد لله معندناش بن لادن عايش على أرض بلادنا. والأسعار معقولة، والجنيه بيعلا، والناس شبعانة، والشباب أول مابيتخرج بيلاقى شغل، والرجالة بتعامل مراتتها أخر تمام، والدين مش داخل فى السياسة، ومعندناش ارهابيين فى البلد، والعمال حققوقهم محفوظة، والمجارى مش بتطفح، ومعندناش شحتين، والناس مبسوطة، والمحمول فى يد الجميع، والحياة حلوة بس نفهمها...

Women's Liberation Movement

Because woman's work is never done
and is underpaid or unpaid or boring or
repetitious and we're the first to get fired
and what we look like is more important
than what we do and if we get raped it's
our fault and if we get beaten we must have
provoked it and if we raise our voice we're
nagging bitches and if we enjoy sex we're
nymphos and if we don't we're frigid and if
we love women it's because we can't get a
"real" man and If we ask our doctor too many
questions we're neurotic and/or pushy and
if we expect childcare we're selfish and if we
stand up for our rights we're aggressive and
"unfeminine" and if we don't we're typical
weak females and if we want to get married
we're out to trap a man and if we don't we're
unnatural and because we still can't get an
adequate safe contraceptive but men can walk
on the moon and if we can't cope or don't
want a pregnancy we're made to feel
guilty about abortion and…..for lots and lots
of other reasons we are part of the
women's liberation movement.

Owed to Mama

Ideas running through my mind. I see her standing at my room's door. Her face wet from water and her caring eyes looking at me. She wants to know that I'm alright and reassure her, although I'm not. I miss her and I miss her caring eyes. I miss her asking about me, I miss her feeling me, I miss her being around even when she was not around, I miss her being happy when I'm happy, and being sad when I'm sad. I miss her sitting by my side when I'm ill, preparing food when I'm hungry, encouraging me when I feel down, listening to me when I want to talk, arguing with me when I want to discuss, answering my questions when I want to doubt, and listening to my fears when I feel like expressing them. I miss my selfishness of being the center of her life. Of being cared for. No one is there to give me back my selfishness. No one here to show me how important I am…. How important I am in their life. No one else will give me this attention, this care and love. Her life didn't mean anything to her. My life meant everything to her. I was everything she wanted to protect. I was everything she cared for. And suddenly….
Suddenly she left me. I saw it coming, but couldn’t believe it. It happened suddenly. She was there right next to me. I felt she wants to say goodbye. I didn't want to believe it. I thought she had to fight. She lost hope long time ago. But I wanted to believe this hope… this non-existent hope. She wanted to see me happy. She wanted to see my wedding. But she knew that she will not see it. Back then I didn't think it was so important. I thought she will be able to make it. Now I know that I was selfish. Now I know that I couldn't see. I cried to her. I said to her: "Please don't go, I want yew to be good again." She promised she will. It wasn't in her hands.

What went wrong?

In our daily affairs, when we go to work, meet people, go out, buy grocery, or even when we sit at home and study, there is always something that happens, and then we ask ourselves: "But what went wrong? It was all going well until...". Well, things don't always go as planned, and one has to be prepared for emergencies. I always recall a sentence written on a certain beer brand sold back home: "What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger!" Here comes the good spirit...look at the bright side: You're not ONLY going to learn something out of your shitty mistake, but additionally you're going to be stronger. It is not enough to have "good" intentions, because shit will happen anyway, so you better be prepared for it. Life is beautiful...