The Cellulite Awakening!

Every now and then I come to a self realization point of thought....I discover how many years I lived, how many years of experience do I have, what did I achieve, what did I give, what did I own and what did I lose. That moment of thought is usually profoundly awakening!

I look at my photos some years ago and compare them to current ones, I can see a huge difference. I changed, on all aspects, or in other words; EVOLVED! Everything evolved as well and everyone around. 

I've found myself today searching on the web on quick ways to get rid of cellulite. I have noticed a tiny area in my thighs that seemed to me as cellulite. Read it's more spread between women than men due to the female hormones which might be a factor in creating cellulite. I always wanted to look good, in shape, stretched and sexy. How come I find cellulite in my thighs before I even get married! I always thought body cracks would only remember me after pregnancy and like every other optimistic thought I try to keep and lose after a while I thought I will stay in shape as I will be maintaining a healthy diet and frequent workout. I want to LOOK the best in my man's eyes....the world outside is full of MOZZAZ and I have to be the Mozzest of all in his eyes! But how come I can do this now when I discovered I'm having cellulite in my thighs with no clue if my actions getting rid of it will work for me or not. Moreover, I shall expect other unexpected surprises to come ahead...and which I don't know what might they be :|

A couple of days ago I visited old conversations with an old friend that I still meet. A SHOCK! Why did I seem to be that stingy?!That offensive!!!That CHILDISH! The topics I chose to share, the words I selected to express and everything. Miserable! Would I feel the same if I did the same 5 years from now? I hope not. I'll work on that!

I'll never forget how it feels to be the youngest. Either in the family or at work. Ya right you guess the feeling I wanted to express just right now. The ones who still think I'm a kid and I still want to prove to them that I grew old enough are my parents. Now I need to take care of other kids and baby borns in the family and I found myself the manager at work, leading younger people and sometimes lead by them, and found myself welcoming and forming friendships with whom are like 6 years younger and just started their career path. They come and ask me about my opinion and advice and after I just finish preaching, I feel like "Hell NO!" that I quickly recover from by another thought of "C'est la vie!"

What I didn't learn at school and learnt at Olympic Group!(1)

You never know! .....

    I remember back at college days when I used to attend courses that were arranged by "Bridges" foundation. At that time I can assume I was a more spiritual person and I am sure I used to remember God much more than nowadays. I was invited to attend one of their courses that were supposed to show us how to represent Islam and logically fight for it by understanding what it really is and what it really calls for. That course was held at the premises of Olympic Group Company, which sounded too ruthless to me to attend a course at, just from the name, even though I had never been there before! I thought I'll be visiting an old, dull, dirty factory, especially when I got to know its address; behind "nady el sekka el 7adid" and in "emtedad share3 Ramsis"….All this gave me an impression that may be, just may be "I shouldn’t really be going to that place and wait till it's held at any other respectable venue" (from my point of view back at that time).

Days passed me by while thinking whether to go or not, eventually, I decided to go, unfortunately cannot recall what exactly was my motive, but the moment I entered the building was a moment of radical paradigm shift.

Since I was an addict to management and HR literature and practices at that time, the second thing that grabbed my attention, after the completely different reality of the building against my prior imaginations, were the frames hung on the walls demonstrating the mission and vision of Olympic Group. I even thought, entering the bathroom there, that I'll find them hanging it on the toilet cabinets’ doors, just in front of your head while using it, as I studied that Sony used to do at that time.

I didn't find it hung there, in case you wonder!

At that precise moment and in front of one of the hung frames with the Mission of Olympic Group written, infront of Abdallah Sallam Hall where the course was taking place and  with my virgin business awareness that of a university student in her third year with zero contact with the business world as she never really wanted to waste her summer time working, I wished to work in that place. I remember I didn't even pray. I just wished.

A year passed by and I became in the fourth and last college year and I had to have a dream. I had at least to think about what I want to do after graduation. I and my best friends' group focus and ambition were to graduate with high scores and submit at the GUC to work as Teacher Assistants. We had worked so hard and studied diligently to get the scores needed. By good chance, my grades all along the 4 previous years were good enough , so that my final overall grade as planned could easily swift me to my goal; TA at the GUC. Graduating in 2006, meant only one year after the GUC opening and which meant a GREAT opportunity. Just exactly what I wanted; to teach HR and Management. Nevertheless, life bounced back with one unexpected event I couldn't foresee by all means. I have failed in one topic; Portfolio (Related to Stock management and investment, in case you didn’t come across it before), i.e I should be fare-welling my "TA at the GUC" ambition and the effort of the last year in specific along with it! From the other side, I had to handle my ego to accept some simple facts; that I FAILED, that I failed while OTHERS succeeded and that MY dream is now becoming the REALITY of OTHERS!  That was, at that time, a tough kick in the ass from life. Particularly, because I didn't have another dream or ambition to switch to, so I felt lost, may be! 

Two weeks later, after receiving the bad news and several checking with the university that this grade of failure was right; I received a telephone call from my cousin offering a job at his office in replacement to his office manager who was resigning. Didn’t seem cool to me, the job itself was far from interesting, besides the idea of working with a relative was not comfortable to me, specially that my father works at the same office too. In case you wonder why this wasn't comfortable to me; I actually don't know, but it was never a good idea for me to work with a relative or with a friend when there's a possibility of conflict. However; Later on, this conviction changed!

I started working there with a verbal agreement that once I pass my make-up exam, graduate and find an HR, specifically a Training and Development job, I would leave. Yeah, I decided I'm option-less at that time and corporate field is my future career, for a couple of years and then I'll start my own business that serves the quality of people’s life.. 

On the very days I was desperate finding an HR job, and when I was trying to apply anywhere possible; I received a telephone call from a stranger at that time called Reham Youssry inviting me for an interview with the HR Director of Olympic Group. I was enlightened at that moment, wondering in the glance of the call how a door I completely forgot about was opened. Olympic Group was probably the only company I didn't think of applying at despite how much I was eager to work for back at that day I attended the course in its building. I also wondered from where did Reham receive my resume from to be able to contact me. I remember I asked her about that, she then kept me on hold for a relatively long time, then resumed the call saying "I don't know, I just received it on my mail". Since my interview was the next day from that telephone conversation, I didn't have any time to chat with my closest friend;  Marwa Awad about the incident that seemed surprising to me and worth chatting about.

The next day I went to the interview. Entering the building was an inspirational experience to me and it became even more inspiring when Yasser Zaazou, the HR Director at that time, came to welcome me by himself at the waiting area and escorted me to his office to start with our interview…by himself! For me, that was an enough reason to have a crush for Olympic Group. From that moment, Yasser became my role model in many behaviors and ways of thinking. Not only for this reason, but also for the delightful experience I had during his interview with me. How he introduced the interview, put me at ease, asked questions and probed my answers and closed the session, were all very impressing techniques to me. Yeah, maybe it was my first professional and official interview; however I haven't yet had any other remotely similar interview until this day.

Once we started the interview, Yasser asked me from where I know Akram Afifi, as if rest assured I definitely knew him. Actually, I didn't. He proceeded with the interview as if nothing happened and I kept thinking “who is Akram Afifi who sent him my resume.”

Later that night, I talked with Marwa Awad to share the surprising plan of God and she even surprised me further by telling me "Marwa, Akram Afifi is my uncle and I sent him your resume when you told me you are searching for an HR vacancy"

Today, after 7 working years, I thank God I didn't work as a TA at the GUC. Comparing experiences, challenges faced, and character built, I thank God. 

 

You never know!

…Until you know.

 

To be continued...

Editing done by: Sarah Menoufi

A quick self negotiation!

"Why get myself attached to something/someone when I know it/he is inevitably leaving me one day?"

"If this is how things go then, why do we live when we know we're going to die one day?"

"But that's different!"

"How?"

"I don't know now, I just feel there's something different between these two contexts"

"OK! Why do you deprive yourself from a good thing by your own hands today just because it will leave you by force sometime in the future? Do you know what will happen tomorrow? Do you know what road swifts might happen? Do you know if may be you're ll be the one not wanting it/him anymore so the process of detaching in the future won't be as hard as you imagine?"

"I don't know for sure all these things but what about planning? We should plan for what's right and fitting from the start and then when road swifts happen we stay flexible! What you're saying is chaos"

 "What's not chaotic in life?OK! What about enjoying the moment of whatever life brings you and think of nothing further!"

 "Yeah, sounds good, or sounds easier on me at the moment, don't fight for what you don't have and don't resist what you have. Stay serene...WAIT but I would be so passive towards my life at that time!"

"SHUT UP"

"I'm watching my mind, watching my mind, watching my mind, what else will you tell my now? I'm not what you think, I'm not what you think, Life is not what you think, people are not what you think....you're shrinking now my mind, I've got the power over you, stay there until I need you, just rest :)"

Put your HIGH HEELS on! (Intro-I)

I’ve always wondered why high heels were sexy. Why a very normal woman can turn into a sexy one once just putting on her high heels? Why high heels are for women only not for men as well (regardless the fact that many things are categorized for women only beside the high heels). Why a lady’s attitude, feelings or even confidence can be affected by the high heels she’s putting on?

Contrary to writers’ passion for stretching their points of views into the greatest number of words and longest statements, I would like to make a long list of questions short and ask:

 

“What’s the secret behind high heels?”

 

 

As my usual research sniffing instinct, that I can barely fight at many times, I couldn’t hold my hands from googling “High Heels” and get to know everything about them. You might think I have plenty of free time to get to the idea of googling “High Heels”, yet, what you don’t know is that this is only one of a million thoughts that I fight against googling them. I just have to surrender to one of the thoughts attracting magnets, pulling me towards any article, book, video or person mentioning their topic. I started searching about the “High Heels” as if I’m searching to find any facts about a guy I’m dying to date!

And then, PUFF, I was astonishingly surprised from the amount of information I found about my desired prey.

First of all, when I facebooked it, I found hundreds of “High Heels” pages, groups and communities. No wonder that most of them were really a channel of marketing for high heels products, which is the normal. On the other hand, the outrageous, was finding a page called “Networking in high heels”; which the premier women-only networking community striving to give women at all levels of business the connections, resources, and expertise that will increase success and boost profitability….any thoughts?

Ok. Another trial, with something less outrageous? “High on Heels” is a unique collective of outrageously talented female artists providing tailored event packages around the world. DJs, vocalists, musicians and performers; High on Heels is the all-female line-up taking the events world by storm. Established in 2002! Never heard of them, honestly, but they seem interesting.

Another page’s objective was providing frequent beauty and health advice for women, that had nothing to do with high heels.

Some pages were not in English or Arabic language, that I found it hard to understand what they’re purposing and found myself too lost to think of a way to get to understand this language, as there are definitely ways for so.

Despite the many many face book pages my search succeeded to hunt, I was pretty more interested to know about the history of the High Heels.

It wasn’t of great surprise that all the history I could read about the high heels indicates that heels in general and the extent of their height, refer to a certain position or social level of the person putting them on.

Most of the lower class in ancient Egypt walked barefoot, but figures on murals dating from 3500 B.C. depict an early version of shoes worn mostly by the higher classes. These were leather pieces held together with lacing that was often arranged to look like the ankh symbol, which represents life.

There are also some depictions of both upper-class males and females wearing heels, probably for ceremonial purposes.

Egyptian butchers also wore heels, to help them walk above the blood of dead beasts.

In ancient Greece and Rome, platform sandals called ‘Kothorni’, later known as buskins in the Renaissance, were shoes with high wood or cork soles that were popular particularly among actors who would wear shoes of different heights to indicate varying social status or importance of characters. In ancient Rome, the sex trade was legal, and female prostitutes were readily identified by their high heels.

Regardless of the prostitute thing just mentioned, but yeah actually, I’ve never seen a prostitute putting on ,for example, flat shoes or snickers! They’re usually represented by the media, in high heels, and good luck goes to those who catch one with red high heels. Except may be for some porn story based movies, as some of my friends revealed.

But anyway, a prostitute needs to be sexy, and high heels was one of her tools, so that gets us back to our question of why high heels are sexy?

 This question can have many different answers. Some would see it physical; in the shape of legs in high heels, or the moves of the body when walking in high heels, etc. Others might see the psychic side of it; the balanced steps taken when putting them on, or the statue reflected and perceived.  Fortunately, this is not what I’m talking about in this book.

For me, I see ‘high heels’ sexy as a way of living as much as a way of dressing, once we look behind the materialistic side and switch on our mind’s eyes to see the philosophical side.

 

'Always' under cover

In Egypt, 'Always' is a word that has two meanings; either "All the time" or the pads used by women during their menstrual cycle. And in an Egyptian Pharmacy, when you hear 'Always' then definitely what's being meant is the one concerned with women only issues.

It all dragged my attention the day I went into the pharmacy to get medicine and found a man that looks in his 30s asking for 'Always'. It wouldn't have been any attention catcher to me except when seeing how he's asking for it. I can assume that out of embarrassment he was turning his voice too low and had no eye contact to anyone in the place including the doctor he's directing his order to. Unfortunately enough for him, he had to repeat the same order again as the doctor couldn't hear him the first time. Fortunately enough for me I was close enough to him to hear him ordering 'Always' twice, when it seems like he would have preferred to get shot killed over ordering 'Always' publicly.

The very first thought crossing my mind was 'How nice of him!" He had to do that for a woman's sake certainly, and had to put him self in such an embarrassing situation (from his point of view) just to rescue a woman, while she might have no clue about the struggle he had to go through to do her something that might seem very simple. But the question is "Why does it have to be any embarrassing after all?"

Same like the idea of lingerie and under wear shops, Durex stands, etc. Even though I might give an excuse to these stuff to be embarrassing in our culture that still suffers to a large extent when the word 'sex' gets any close. Despite the fact that many of those embarrassed ones are sex experts, only, under cover. On the other hand, I can't find an excuse of what's embarrassing regarding the menstrual cycle and whatever is engaged with it. Why can't we say 'Sorry, I'm PMSing' if a man mentions I look tired and asks about what's wrong with me? Why can't we carry the 'Always' we're buying in the normal pharmacy bags instead of those black ones as if I'll either get arrested, harassed, mocked or thought bad of if someone sees 'Always' in my bag. Why can't any man order 'Always' for his wife, sister or daughter normally? Isn't 'Always' another form of Pampers that we get for our children or old ones? Isn't the menstrual cycle just like any other physical change a person might come through?

I'm not asking for breaking down our modesty, instead, I'm asking to stop living in duality. The duality that is present in being modest in what is normal  while forgetting about it when it comes to throwing the worst insults in the street publicly for example! I'm asking to stop leading a hypocritical life, a superficial life that's based on what we were raised on and what the social mirrors reflect on us to do and say without any brains given the freedom of thinking on its own and giving each thing its real weight and value. I'm asking for not living 'Always' under covers.

Visit Farida Fakher Writings facebook page

Chocolate Cake|A Book by Farida Fakher

Safe Love...Love More, Suffer Less

No one is saved from love's killing poisons. Probably we get stuck with our life, lose interest, fall out of love and into depression, lead a lousy misrable life for some time, until something happens to get us back on track again. May it be another love, a new motive in life, or a dramatic change over. Yet, we all have played the love game unsafely, at least once.

After a heart break and heart ache, people usually resign to the extremists' "Love is weakness" syndrome, others fall into the trap of "I can never love again" , others are pain lovers who keep on loving the same way and getting hurt the same way, some might get arrested by the "love fear" sickness and escape every single potential person, while very few think about "Safe Love".
Just like Safe Sex..you can have the tool, to have sex freely. You can have sex freely, yet you don't have 100% guarantee pregnancy (which is pain in Safe Love) won't take place!

From that point on, here are some seriuos points that will help you love greater and suffer less:
1. Let your mind lead. At the very first phase of any pre-relationship, we are usually hungry for love, jumping to conclusions and to the next steps. Love is not blind, Rush is! Learn how to hold your emotional energy horses to give your mind the space to think.
2. Give your mind the right filteration tool to be able to lead your heart. This needs you to know more about yourself. The first filteration tool is; What's your strengths that you need your partner to maintain and the weaknesses that you need your partner to accept, tolerate and compensate the relationship with? If -for example- you have low self esteem, then why do pressure yourself to be with someone who lowers it even more! Never double your trouble just because you want love and to settle. The second filteration tool is your vision. Knowing your vision, how do you want your life style to be, where are your objectives and ambitions taking you in life, should be an indicator to who can support you going there and not on his/her expense, it's because he/she is going there anyway as well.
3. Define Love. Love is not the passion, rush and butterflies we experience at the begining of any relationship, these are only chemistry and biology that fade away with time (which is the time we think we stopped loving the other person and which is not true). Love is never ending as long as it's ever nurtured. Love is the more understanding of each other that we go through and the more adapting and fitting we feel towards the other. Love is only real when it's accompanied by being married, living in the same house, and having complete sex.That's why it's called "Falling in love, because it takes time, has phases and then you're finally in love with the ultimate intimacy that exist in a relationship;complete sex. And that's why also, sex is not recommended very early in any relationship, it's just unnatural to the "falling in love" concept, it might even kill love very early. What's before all that is passion, attachement, liking, admiration, etc, which is important, but don't mix love with other definitions and make it easier on yourself.
4.Give your heart a breath only after you're 100% convinced. Don't settle for what's less than what you want. If that person can't give you ALL what you need and MOST of what you like then this relationship won't be a good lasting one, which means love's pain at the day you might decide to break up. Compared to the decision of breaking up when it's just a mental process that proved an undesired output."Life is just way too fun to be stuck in some relationship that isn't really all that satisfying" (Better single than sorry, a book by Jen Schefft)
5. During falling in love and being in love, don't forget the above 4 points.

Also, always remember that safe love needs safe communication, and needs two to tango to pass the natural turbulances any love and any relationship is exposed to

The Blue Cafe-Short Story

The Roller Coaster Rider: The Blue Cafe (The 4 chapters together)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Farida-Fakher-Writings/132029340204107
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chocolate-Cake-A-Book-by-Farida-Fakher/358035160890093