Realization - Actualization.

‘Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like hard work.’ Thomas Edison

The quote helped me answer some questions I was having a dilemma on. Below is a brief note on some highlights as my blog is long overdue on an entry.

• Opening facebook account
  Is social media a fad? Or is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8
  Watch the above video and get familiar with the World of Socialnomics.This is the title of the note Luca sent me in his persuasion to make me join facebook, after much contemplation I succumbed and this is the email exchange I sent him:
  “I have resisted facebook because I prefer my life private - facebook presented itself to me as a virtual gossip column hence I have not joined ever since I heard about it 4 years ago. I still refused to join because all people I talked with always spoke about pics of people drunk or in awkward positions, etc…and that is not for me. I do however acknowledge that my block is insufficient to keep up with new acquaintances & current friendships…so to put matters to rest I will join facebook but keep it discreet - It has taken you almost 2 months to convince me to join and so you get the acknowledgement for breaking my unwillingness & stubbornness.

• Eid
  As some of you will know it was Eid and a long weekend for the Muslim world, this means family time as the streets are dead and everyone has gone to their home town – only us who do not have family here would be bored to death, luckly I spent it with a Turkish Family. A couple of months I had made a pact with Berker that I will spend Eid at his house for the cultural experience, having completely forgotten about it he texted me a day before asking if I am still coming – remembering I had made a bet, I said yes of course I am coming.
  Meeting the parents at the door was a bit of a surprise for them - having no house gift to salvage the situation it was a bit awkward to try and feel at home…but they were overly nice after the initial shock and extremely hospitable.
  The same night, I got preparation on how to behave and pray for the following day when we would be at the mosque for morning prayer – it was a fun exercise and I was paying a lot of attention not to fart as I bend & pray :)…having slept 4 hours we went for the morning prayer (a bit of a shock for the people at the mosque – the children could not stop staring at me), then went back to the house to prepare to visit relatives (it’s a time reconnect and share moments with family and friends ), at the same time the house ended up receiving guests aswell…it was kinda strange but interesting to be introduced to the guests of the family, I am sure they must have had to make a lengthy explanation of who I was and what I was doing there – it was in Turkish so luckily I escaped the interrogation :D. The most fascinating experience was when everyone had to leave we would stand around in a circle from the oldest to the youngest and would kiss and momentarily place the hand of the eldest member of the family on our forehead as a sign of respect…I did it for Berker’s grandmother and that was humbling.
  Once we visited some other family members, I was so exhausted from the lack of sleep and activities of the day that I kept on dozing-off during the conversations, I could not help it and it was embarrassing! Imagine the first time I come to your home I keep on dozing off (even if the conversations was in Turkish and I didn’t understand)...it’s just rude – I am sure my first impression was not very impressive, but I apologized.
  Besides my little moments, I really enjoyed my time at Berker’s house…thanks Berker, these are the kind of experiences that make my time in Turkey tolerable and memorable.

• Morocco
  I went to Morocco 2 weeks ago, the second country in North Africa and it was incredible. I landed at the airport, the declarations people stopped thr row of people from Istanbul because thez had caught a women who didn’t declare anything and she was being dramatic and making so much noise. Next to us was another row of a flight from France – since I was carrying a package on behalf of my roommate for her house in Morocco, I jumped into the row of people from France, while I proceeded to exit I noticed I was holding a plastic bag written ‘duty free – Istanbul’…I just ignored it and continued walking – if they had stopped me I would acted very dumb J. I got out of Casablanca airport and caught a train to rabat thanks to the guidance of a moroccan guy who came to visit family from france – I always feel humbled & overly thankful when i meet helpful people in times of confusion and misdirection and they don’t want any kinda of compensation for their help.
  Arrived in Rabat, met really cool people and chilled at a beach house, with a nice beach, blue/white cold Atlantic Ocean watching the sunset on the horizon…I had not had that in a very long time. The first two days I spent it with Amine’s family and it was a hospitable environment…thanks Amine – say hi to your parents for me, they finished the cookies before I even finished unpacking.
  Then I was chairing a motivational/leadership conference of AIESEC in Morocco for 4 days i.e. 3hrs sleep max, innovations, adjustments, frustration and good conversations…thanks you guys for having me – I am still waiting for my sugar cubes.
  I am definitely going back to Morocco, too much unexplored!!
  On the flight back, an Italian and Moroccan guy decided to go at each other in the middle of the flight i.e. have a loud verbal fight, which almost got physical but thanks to the flight attendants’ intervention it never went that far – that was interesting. Due to my exhaustion I took a nap but was woken up by three guys in front of me praying themselves with some strong cologne…OMG that shit was strong – I had to breathe through my scarf to survive for a good 5min…tell me what the hell would you need a cologne for when you still have 2 hours before your destination – you wanna cut the oxygen supply on the flight?
  As always the Turkish Airlines was late to & from Morocco but I have miles with them now… atleast I get a return on my investment.

• Garanti Bank
  I bank with this bank not by choice, incompetence is an understatement.
  Can you believe it took them 6weeks to find and bring back MY money they had misplaced in angogold (http://www.angloamerican.co.uk/) – it’s the third time they are so generous to Anglo and now they are charging me $37 for their misplacement…terming it ´interbank transactions´ WTF (What the Fuck)!
  I am livid …and makes it hard to scream at someone who doesn’t understand what you are saying e.g. ‘Do you speak English, no thank you! ‘ Argghh!!!!
  
• Randomly Reminiscing
  Being in the job market is actually tough…who ever told you that it’s not is playing with you…you go through all sorts of ups & downs and you get to challenge and be challenged to the core of your being which leads to a lot of introspection and self actualization. You go through a point of exhaustion yet you still have to recover – rise – and deliver.
  Ø This is it!
  Since I heard about the movie after MJ’s death, I thought it to be more of a DVD than a cinema movie, but after watching it lying down on my bed with my laptop on my knees I curse the fact that I didn’t go to the cinema instead cause the movie brought a different light to the guy that was harassed by the media in the last years of his life – he was truly the greatest entertainer of his time, RIP MJ.
  Ø Nobel Price for Obama
  Ohh yes he did…win the Nobel Price! The questions, criticism, jubilation, and enthusiasm came and passed but he has it.


• Ramadan….and Ramazan in Turkey!
  A while back was Ramadan - my first Muslim religious experience was on the 22.08.2009, and being in a Muslim country I had expected dramatic changes in working routine, people’s behavior, general way of life…well not much changed – not many people at my office were fasting but a good friend was and I always mistakenly asked her out to luncheon - everyday (I swear I forgot everytime) !
  As Sultanahmet is a historical place – half of Istanbul goes there i.e. about 7 million people (…total exaggeration but I wanna give you a glimpse of how pact it is) to break the fast for the day at about 7.30pm. All the 5 times I’ve gone there it’s a food festival but the social setting makes it a pleasant experience for me. One of the nights the company organized a ‘breaking the fast’ dinner at ciragan hotel (one of the most expensive hotels in this country) and I lost my sun glasses (dem mak me nice) which have gone through continents & countries with me – I’m gonna miss them :)

peace out for now...