the buzz

4

Parents and cold chocolate I'll tell you an easy way to make cold chocolate, here it goes: Add a spoon of cocoa, sugar according to your preference, pour some warm milk, then fill the rest with cold milk. This easy recipe describes how our parents; the warm milk, make us, their children; ironically the cocoa, homogenous with the cold surrounding environment.

Well, any mistake in this blend, mainly a communication problem, is totally destructive. This fine relationship doesn't depend on the content of the family nor what it looks like, like a lot believe, no matter how highly educated the parents are. It just needs HIGH SENSORS, minds and hearts of all the electrodes in the family are opened upon each other; electricity flows everywhere, where the boundaries of bodies don't limit the chemistry of souls. You can talk freely and some-one is always there for you. At this stage the vision is crystal clear, and the bilateral relationship isn't driven by firm orders but by understanding advice. Unfortunately due to the lack of this significant factor, most of the Egyptian parents are bad solvents for their kids.

Beside communication, there comes the respect of the human unit, each and every one of the family members' dreams, ideas, and preferences should be valued. The parents' existence has to "feed" their children's not to erase it by forcing them to accomplish their own long lost dreams. A lot of us know this example: Students entering our dear Kasr el Ainy just to fulfill

their parents' ego, as well as the society's baseless complexes, thanks a lot. I don't mean to be rude but I guess some parents must know that their limits have to end at our limits. This isn't ungratefulness, nobody ever rejects his parents' advice, but dreams can't be involved with orders. It's just a note, if they don't want to squeeze their kids to depression. I didn't include all the factors affecting this unique subject: I advocate what I mentioned are the main ones. To sum up, God had blessed us our parents to ease our lives and theirs, too, to teach us how to be strong, able to face life and respond in a healthy and mature way, HAPPY if possible, and SATISFIED if able to. Even if they couldn't do it, don't blame them, they may have their own problems." A leopard can't change his spots", but you can when you are a mom or a dad, one day, hopefully.

By Hanaa Galal

6

There are so many expectations and dreams when it comes to college. You know, having a bright future, feeling that you're finally free after leaving behind uniforms, homework and all those lovely things we used to have in school. But the most common and surprising expectation about college is that you'll be able to find your soul mate and live a sweet, romantic love story! And that's what I call: Watching too much TV!! So, when these people join their faculty, they start looking around searching for their expected prince or princess. And because people are so ma-ture during this phase of their life, they find what they need very quickly (don't you think when you're 17 or 18 years old, you're a wise person! A NEW DISCOVERY!!) Let's get real for a while. College is a brand new place and also a brand new situation, where you start to get in touch with real life, because there are so many variable personalities that you'll meet and deal with. They aren't all angels but not all of them are dev-ils, too. You'll be in situations and problems that you'll have to face for the first time, so through these experiences you start learning how to deal with people and how to know if that person is really good or if he/she is just acting to get what they want. So, logically when you're still learning the strat-egy of life, you just can't stop in the middle of the way and say that you're an expert in love! Totally wrong!

7

College is a really good place and time to have so many friends and to gain more experience about life and about people; and you need not to fall in love!! Imitation... that's what so many peo-ple do because they've heard about this falling-in-love theory when they join the faculty. They start looking for someone

and create that silly naïve movie, just to say "I'm in love", not because they're

really in love. Some maybe doing it to be-come Mr. or Miss. Popular or to feel they're

adults and say: I'm here! Or maybe just to get closer to someone they like, though they may

not be really in love with.

Finally, you can't press a bottom to fall in love. And when you really love someone you don't need to prove

anything simply because you'll feel it. You'll wake up one day and you'll have that feeling.. Something inside you has

changed, something you can't explain, something beyond words, something you've never felt before... a feeling so strange yet so

sweet. Don't rush things because what comes fast goes fast, too. If there's anything meant o happen and if you're meant to fall in love, it'll

happen. But everything comes in time.

By Samar Moharram

8

When people saw him- that is if they noticed him- they'd wonder what he was. All they could see was a pile of grey and black rags surrounding what looked like the memory of a face .The face was hidden by an entanglement that was his hair and beard. The young computer programmer who passed by everyday at 8:15 in his cheap suits never noticed him. To him the homeless man was just part of the scenery. The florist however – a young blonde university dropout – saw him everyday as she passed by his corner. She envied him. Yes, that’s true, she envied the homeless man for finding such a spot at the meeting of two main streets. A spot she needed and would have used much better to her flower stall's advan-tage. The three children who lived two blocks away were used to running past him quickly, they were afraid he'd pounce upon them like a hungry beast would. The sign above him that read 'Homeless' gave proof that this man had once been educated to read and write. The clothes he wore were an odd assortment, probably scavenged by him in the cold winter. The winter was cruel where this man lived and during the night the cold could be maliciously painful, yet he never changed his spot. For months he sat there, for months the computer pro-grammer, the florist, the children and many more passed by and never stopped. Soon they stopped noticing him. The programmer bought a car and stopped walking to work. The florist went back to university and stopped passing by

Unnoticed

9

that street and the children grew up and ceased to be afraid of the harmless, homeless seemingly motionless man that sat two blocks away from their home. He just sat there. And then one morning he wasn't there. You'd think someone would've noticed, but nobody did. Nobody ever noticed him. For months he'd had pneumonia and on one cold hungry night he died. Silently, unnoticed and unheard by the neighborhood. The cold winter concealed the rotten fact of his death. And when the summer came, pungent tidings finally made him noticed only to provoke a young gar-bage collector to put him in the back of his truck and bury him next to the dump. After that, he took his clothes and sign and put them back in his spot where people had grown accustomed to seeing them. Until this day and as I write, people pass by his spot and occasionally drop a penny into the solitary rags .Until this day nobody has noticed his absence or by any means his existence. For all we know he may have never even lived. Like hundreds of his brothers and sisters in circumstance who live and die unmarked, unknown and unno-ticed.

By Youssef Helmy

10

Riddle me this; what’s more satisfactory than achieving what you put your mind into? For instance people as competitive crea-tures tend to aim higher than usual to reach their goal. Be it aiming for a bet-ter life with a cool car and a hot babe (for instance y3ny). But most of the times people aim too high that they lose their original goal and start an endless journey through the mazes of time, in an attempt to find themselves. Their lives start to seem normal somehow with no motive (ironically) to be better people. That’s when people try so hard thinking of what wrong did they do along the way, but actually they didn’t do much wrong. All that happened was losing the sense of originality they had, the thing that made them special, the thing that made them happy.

They start gazing away from gaining any possible happy experience, like they did as children, and focus on achieving things that only make them heroes in their beautiful fantasies. It doesn’t matter what you achieve in life, it’s what you gain from life. I mean it’s satisfactory for me to sprint the last 100 meters of my run, that I’d be so tired that I’d have to sit down to pee. It’s satisfactory for me to drive in the streets Friday mornings before the prayer. It’s satisfactory for me to have a mo-ment of comfortable silence with a friend you didn’t see in five years. It’s satisfactory for me to know that I care about someone more than myself. It’s satisfactory for me to know that I’m willing to die for something. It’s satisfactory for me to walk into my house at the end of a day to tell my kids that I love them. “Experience isn’t what happens to you, it’s what you do with what happens to you.” Aldous Huxley

By Ahmad Badawi

11

man surgeons. Also robots being programmed, lack human versatility and common sense and can't react to situations that aren’t preprogrammed.

Who knows what tomorrow holds in store for us. Who knows maybe in 2050 it will be routine and normal for a robot to operate on a human and then surgeons would really be out of business!

By the medical page team

Robot, M.D. ? Surgery is one of the oldest existing dis-

ciplines of medicine, and so it had to evolve. One of the most recent evolution-ary steps in surgery was the introduction of Robots and Robotic surgery.

The break through came when in the 1980s when the PUMA 560 robot was used to take a brain biopsy under CT guid-ance & the PROBOT was used in prostatic surgery in England. The emergence of robots in surgery has enabled surgeons to carry out difficult procedures with minimal invasiveness and with excellent precision.

Until now robots have been used in nearly all surgical disciplines.

But, is it true that patients fear human negligence and tend to trust machines?

Even if the future holds a generous role for robots I believe that the idea of complete and absolute un-manned sur-gery is very unlikely. Humans made ro-bots and even in unmanned surgery hu-mans must supervise. In addition to the technical aspects another more important issue remains which is the psychological aspect and which is only present with hu-

Robot, M.D. ?

Surgery is one of the oldest existing disci-plines of medicine, and so it had to evolve. One of the most recent evolution-ary steps in surgery was the introduction of robots and robotic surgery. The break through came when in the 1980s when the PUMA 560 robot was used to take a brain biopsy under CT guid-ance & the PROBOT was used in prostatic surgery in England. The emergence of robots in surgery has enabled surgeons to carry out difficult procedures with minimal invasiveness and with excellent precision. Until now robots have been used in nearly all surgical disciplines. But, is it true that patients fear human negligence and tend to trust machines? Even if the future holds a generous role for robots I believe that the idea of com-plete and absolute un-manned surgery is very unlikely. Humans made robots and

even in unmanned surgery humans must supervise. In addition to the technical aspects another more important issue remains which is the psychological aspect and which is only present with human surgeons. Also robots being programmed, lack human versatility and common sense and can't react to situations that aren’t preprogrammed. Who knows what tomorrow holds in store for us. Who knows maybe in 2050 it will be rou-tine and normal for a robot to operate on a human and then surgeons would really be out of business!


12

I Love the chaos of exams’ time & how

sensational it, ironically, makes me. On my usual hectic days, I can barely find the time to hold a pen. Yet, on exams time, I love how my responsibility-hating subcon-scious lets out the best of my talents so that I find myself rushing to grab my note-book & start writing, my colors & start col-oring (not drawing!) , rush to my Google toolbar & start surfing the net seeking an answer to that mind-twisting thought that has just occurred to me, or even sign-in to my msn to confess something to that long lost friend! Love the relief I get when I have this, very common, dream of the exam being tomorrow. I wake up & find out that I have one WHOLE day left, then I love the disap-pointment I get when I wake up for real & find out that the exam’s in a couple of hours ! Love how I can keep the book open on the same pages for hours, then after a refreshing shower, this page wouldn’t take 5 minutes to be studied & with some calcu-lations I come to a conclusion that, with this rate, the entire subject would be stud-

ied & revised in about 5 hours (don’t ask how did I reach that number, a compli-cated mathematical equation!). So I very confidently close the book & go spend the rest of the night online or watching a movie! Then I love how I wake up the next day with that lip-biting regret that I wasted precious 24 hours! Another re-freshing shower, another heroic plan & the cycle is repeated..! While studying, I love seeing the face of a different someone, from a different era of my life, with every page I turn (assuming that I turn that many pages!) Love it when I laugh at myself in a loud voice, either that bitter laugh “why didn’t I start studying earlier?” or the hysterical laugh of “7’alas... mafish fyda!!” Love it when I always picture tomorrow as a better day (and a LONGER one as well) during the week before finals. (7ad ye2olaha en el yoom tool el sana 24 sa3a!!) Love how mellow I get while slowly drinking my coffee, in a pathetic trial to concentrate, at probably 3:45 am, with the radio on, playing good, familiar, songs. I totally admire that heavenly flow of memories that just distracts you in every imaginable way! Love watching the sun-rise after a stressful studying night, praying Al-fajr, & going to sleep with all the peace in the world embedded into my left ventricle!

13

On the exam’s day morning, Love my I-want-to-die attitude, as I’m walking through the empty streets, (I usu-ally go to college at 6am so as not to over-sleep & miss the exam, it happened before so don’t think I’m exaggerating!) wondering if I would be that worried on my wedding day! Love me sincerely wishing to get hit by a car while crossing “kasr el ainy” street on my way to an exam of a subject I didn’t study well. (which is most probably all of them!) Love that tension-evoked sense of humor. Everyone’s just laughing at EVERYTHING! Even those who smile twice a year, get ri-diculously funny! Love how my most cold-blooded friend would look extremely calm, while we all know that if he allowed himself, he might have burst into tears! Love me hopping up and down with glee when all my “tanshinat” were in the exam, and how I blabber about my “karamat” & my illusionary 6th sense with friends. On the other hand, I love how I end up falling into despair & hating every single person on earth after handing out my answering paper totally blank!! Love it when a friend, who explained a cer-tain topic to me, would look like a proud dad when I go tell him that I did well in my oral, thanks to his explanation!

Love how everyone receives the news of results coming out with the cheer of a-prisoner-facing-execution & I needn't speak about how much I love the non-stop ringing of my mobile to tell me that I passed, or that gravely silence if I got a "daad" or a "raseb ta7riri"...(happens more often, lol!) You may get grey hair in your early-twenties (if there was any hair left!), you may get Alzheimer even earlier. I won’t mention all the stress, lack of sleep & un-healthy-eating-balance related disorders you will sooner or later get, you see sleep & food are considered luxuries to a med student! You may end up visiting a thera-pist twice a week complaining of having no friends, no intimate relationships, no time for parties, & not doing well in your stud-ies! But just don’t worry.. That’s all normal, enjoy those years because they are the best years of your life. What terrible price we sometimes pay for our high scores in sanawia 3ama, but so what? That’s the essence of being a med student :) By Nihal Abdelazeem

14

Poetry is the best way, to let others know about the things you can’t directly say, as what comes out of the heart directly touches the heart. Here are some poems written by people to their lovers, moms and even to their selves... Read them; think of what you have al-ways wanted to say or do, search so deep inside you and then write your poem, too...

CHILDREN Children in the street With empty bellies And bare feet Deprived of a human's basic needs Care, love and affection Are words they never knew A kiss, a hug, a warm tap on the back For them seems untrue. Victims, they are to an unjust word Victims to a frozen humanity. Of hearts that forgot what childhood means? Do they realize they are sowing evil? And so shall their hands reap? Who have been deprived of warmth and love today can not share us tomorrow

By HebatALLAH Ebrahim

I LOVE YOU I really love you of course I do I really love you & I think you've got the clue I loved you once & I'll love you again Wana mota2akked men keda mesh been el beneen My love is obvious and you can deduce Enn Kalamy wade7 w mesh me7tag le kamoos My love is clear and needn't have a proof Ella law kan mokhak add mokh el kharoof I won't leave your love wherever you are We mesh 7astaghna 3annak w law eddooni 5 dollaar I really love you, of course I do Ya nas 7ad ye2ollo, Ya 3alam fahhemooh

By Ahmad Atef Belal

TRY SMILING

When the weather suits you not, Try smiling!! When your neighbours don't do right, or your relatives all fight, Sure it's hard, but then you might, Try Smiling!! Doesn't change the things, of course But it can not make them worse Just Smiling!! And it seems to help your case, Brightens up a gloomy place... And it may even rest your face!! So keep on smiling!!

By Raghda Ayman

15

TWO DREAMS COME TRUE Ten years ago my teacher asked about our dreams I said that I didn't really know She told me "imagine yourself at a point where different roads are there, Then choose the ways you find yourself attached to." I did so … and I imagined myself going through two ways Passing through many days I found myself entering a very big place Wearing a jacket colored white Doing my best for patients to feel all right Yes teacher, I want to be a doctor Is it possible to have my own hospital? She told me then, " set it as your first goal It does need knowledge, certificates and money To achieve this you have to get them all And now what's your second goal? If there's another one at all! " I then got back to my two ways And passed through the days To find myself sitting on a desk Holding a pen Surrounded by papers And feedback from people Yes, this is my second goal A famous writer! Whom people like to read Teacher, will I succeed? Knowledge, experience and a magazine are all what you need

YOU ARE MY LOVE The night slips on the world A scene that I really adore The moon is dressed in silver The sea and the cities are wonders But you lack my presence Still living in my absence How come you still don't know it? U can't feel the love, and I can't show it But even if we couldn't be together I’ll love you forever I will carry you with me to the sun In the dreams that beacon I will steal the colors of the early morning And on the limpid sky, I will paint you darling I miss u even more, every night I wish you're there at my sight..

By Mousa Azer

Only then, did I put my hand on my dreams Only then, did I know what I want to do To see them coming true I decided to work hard and not to sleep Because what I sow I'll finally reap I now am in the medical school And for the second goal I' m writing in "THE BUZZ" That's all!

By Raghda Gasser

16

Going through life there are many obstacles and hardships that one meets every now and then. Some of them can be overcome easily with minimum damage, like studying for exams: hard but doable. Others oc-cupy most of our time and energy, like having a quarrel with your best friend. And of course there are always the ones that leave a permanent mark on those who live to see them, like losing a beloved one. Unfortunately, hardships come along with life in the same package, they're just inevitable. The most surprising thing about this is how different people react to different forms of stress, which depends mainly on each individ-ual's attitude and perspective towards life. There are the pessimistic people, to whom the glass is always half empty. They go through life feeling that something bad is gonna happen and so they sit there waiting for it instead of actually living. On the other hand, you'll find the "look at the bright side"

guys, who are just full of life and the desire to live it to the edge. These are the survivors, because no matter what, they will always find something to hold on to in life instead of giving up.

Bottom line, each and every obsta-cle we face is one of the lessons that life has to offer, so it wouldn't make much sense if we just went through them without coming out with a piece of experience to use in our upcoming life.

And remember that no matter how dark and scary it gets you can always find light at the end of the tunnel if you only fill yourself with hope. This light, whatever form it may take: a friend, a family member, a memory or even a kind gesture from somebody, will help you get back on your feet and continue your journey with more strength and determination than ever for what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

By Sarah Maged

17

The past is only history; the future is only a prediction. Your opportunity is NOW. Right now, at the very moment you are reading this, you can start doing things you never thought you had time to do before. This phenomenon I call "The Challenge of Now". In the world of great expectations, time consists of infinite "Nows". Each "Now" contains an instant opportunity. Right after you finish this, remember to take advantage of every possible "Now" and miracles shall brighten your life. Basically you have got time to accomplish EVERYTHING that is humanly conceivable and maybe even more. I call this "The Challenge of Nows" because each "Now" is available to all of us. So, don't waste anymore time and DO what you have to do, NOW. By Ahmad Atef BelalBy Ahmad Atef Belal

18

On his way back home to his country, he looked through the plane's window. His land started to appear into sight. "At last I'm back, how happy you will be when you know that I'm back forever this time, mom. I'll never upset you again. I'll stay here & never leave again", he thought as the plane landed. He got home as quickly as he could pos-sibly get, he ran up the stairs but stopped at the doorstep…What's this gloomy mood?! Who are all those people?!! He shouted, "Hey, what's going on?" The an-swer echoed in his head, "Your mom…… You are late." He grieved in despair, alone: "Why am I always late?' he wondered "if I were a bit ear-lier…" How many chances did he miss because of too much hesita-tion? He lost the only person he loved for years. He thought a hundred times before telling her he loved her, and when he was brave enough to say it, she had already been engaged. He missed the greatest job op-

portunity one could ever get, "There is still one week left for the deadline. Why should I be in a hurry?" But others applied be-fore him & deserved the better chance. He had a quarrel with his best friend & didn't apologize at once, thinking it is never too late, but when he decided to do it, it was really late. He used to postpone studying till it's exam time & when it is exam time, then he'd get too nervous to study. He postponed having fun till he graduated & when that happened, he got busier & it was time to work hard. This time he was determined: "NO... I won't hesitate, I'll gather my friends & have fun, But as usual, he was too late, all were busy and no time for that anymore. Chances come only once & it's smarty-pants who never lose them.

By Yomna Zaghloul

Missed Chances

On his way back home to his country, he looked through the plane's window. His land started to appear into sight. "At last I'm back, how happy you will be when you know that I'm back forever this time, mom. I'll never upset you again. I'll stay here & never leave again", he thought as the plane landed. He got home as quickly as he could possibly get, he ran up the stairs but stopped at the door-step…What's this gloomy mood?! Who are all those peo-ple?!! He shouted, "Hey, what's going on?" The answer echoed in his head, "Your mom…… You are late." He grieved in despair, alone: "Why am I always late?' he wondered "if I were a bit earlier…" How many chances did he miss because of too much hesitation? He lost the only person he loved for years. He thought a hundred times before telling her he loved her, and when he was brave enough to say it, she had al-

ready been engaged. He missed the greatest job opportunity one could ever get, "There is still one week left for the deadline. Why should I be in a hurry?" But others applied before him & deserved the better chance. He had a quarrel with his best friend & didn't apologize at once, thinking it is never too late, but when he decided to do it, it was really late. He used to postpone studying till it's exam time & when it is exam time, then he'd get too nervous to study. He postponed having fun till he graduated & when that happened, he got busier & it was time to work hard. This time he was determined: "NO... I won't hesitate, I'll gather my friends & have fun, But as usual, he was too late, all were busy and no time for that any-more. Chances come only once and it's smarty-pants who never lose them.

By Yomna Zaghloul

Missed Chances

23

Okay… You are feeling down and depressed… So why don't u try our new therapy? "What therapy?"…..Our new therapy that I'm offer-ing you right now…and it is all for free…It consists of just one simple word…"Smile"… Most of us think that a smiling person is a happy one, but how many of us know that just by smiling we can relieve stress and feel happier even for a moment? Smiling, which to most of us indicates at least a minimum degree of good mood, has proven to lower heart rate and produce less stressful and rapid breathing and it can also make the brain pro-duce endorphins which reduce physical and emo-tional pain and give a greater sense of well being. Researches also show that when we do smile, it produces the emotion most closely related to it, feeling happier! Social psychologists suggest that these findings point to a real link between certain facial expressions and emotions. Have we ever tried to sustain a smile in the moment of anger or stress and continued to feel as angry or stressed? In other words, when we smile we cannot feel angry for in-stance, at the exact moment we are smiling! So, the next time you are down-The next time you are feeling blue or just plain old blah-SMILE!! An action as simple as this just may improve your spir-its. And who knows, it just might become contagious.


24

Place: Empty Street Season: Winter. Time: 2:30 am. Weather status: raining heavily. Characters: Two boys (street children) and an old rich man Scene: it’s after midnight and the moon is the only source of light... While an old rich man is parking his car, he notices on a spot that’s not too far. Two shadows with variant heights are slowly creeping over an old building's wall... A filthy dressed, crying short boy broke the silence: I wonder where the sun goes at the end of the day, If she only knew how cold winter nights can be, I'm sure she'd always stay shining, just for me The taller shadow, stared directly at those big brown eyes of his friend, and then said: It's still winter,…“ by spring, things always change” this ‘s what my mom used to say Oh! I wish I knew how to write a love song I do remember her eyes were blue and her hair was long My mom, oh how I miss her.. It’s been forever since I last saw her in my dreams Is she mad at me or so it seems?!

I wish she could come show me again, how to smile Will our life ever change?! Is it really worthwhile?! The old man is deeply touched by what he hears and he starts moving slowly Towards the two boys: No matter how hard your life is Just thank God that u can still survive And instead of crying like this Try to work to find out what you miss The two guys: We cry because we don’t know Till when we will be living in this pain Till when we will be sleeping in the rain Hungry and suffering, with nothing to do Sitting on pavements and begging people like you The old man: Why didn't you try to change? And for a better life why didn't you search? The two guys: We never wanted to be that bad But we have grown to find our-selves in the street To find ourselves always in need To find ourselves all alone Sleeping on a stone We live the weather, cold and hot

25

Nobody can help us out of this but God The old man: And here's God putting me in your way To let your suffering stories end And give you the chance to start for a new trend But it's only one chance And it's just one thing you can ask for So choose what you really think is the cure The two guys were so confused, they didn't know what to do and what to choose The first guy: What should I ask? What should I say? Should I just ask for money? Would that be the best? I've been living in a mess Money can put an end to all of this, and give me a great bless I'm asking for money, Yes, I am Asking for the freedom I deserve to have The 2nd guy: made up his mind well "I want u to help me to study" he yelled

Help me to build up my way To take it step by step and see

my goal closer everyday That’s what my mom always wanted me to do

But she was in a hurry and she had to go

The old man looked at the 1st guy and said: Well, all your wishes shall come true I'm giving you more than you imagined to own I hope you don't blow up this great blessing Hope you don't misuse this double edged weapon Then he turned to the 2nd guy and said: I am so happy for you And I'll do my best to let your dream come true I'll put you in an internal school But promise me to work hard to achieve your goal The first guy: I can't believe it , I hope I'm not dreaming All this money is mine, My life will be divine ...then he took the money and left, and the 2nd guy did promise not to waste this chance ever... Years passed and now both are telling us what happened The first guy: I bought everything; I thought I'd never pos-sess I even paid one thousand to a beggar who was sleepless I lived seasons in different techniques But I couldn't imagine this day! Couldn't think of the moment I fail I thought I'm smart, but as it turns out I'm not All the money I dreamt of has gone I'd no idea how I spent them for fun! And now guess I'm back to where I started

26

Back to the stinky life, it's like I'm marked I wish I had been wise, I wish I had saved some It's like going so fast, forgetting the turn The 2nd guy: I did join the school I kept my promise and followed every single rule Successfully passed And joined the university And through all those years I worked really hard, and didn't sleep I knew that what I sow I'll finally reap And here the day comes And here I graduate And now I have a bigger goal Work hard, raise money to build an internal school Just for the street children To the ones who don't want to be bad To give them the chance I had And I'll call it SAM Which is the name of the old kind man The old man met both of the guys again accidentally as he was walking through by his car, the first guy was again sitting on the pavement, and the second one was rushing out of a shop near by.. and that's when they met and started talking . The old man: Well, everything seems clear The harder you work, the better you be Money is not the only solution

It’s not worth it without the proper education The second guy: I can't thank you enough, although my life has been tough But I'm proud of it, of all my teaching staff And I promise I'm going to help my old partner I won't leave him alone facing thunders I believe this has to be the act of every gentleman Of everyone who knows how to obey their lord The old man: We all need to pay attention to street children To do whatever we can to help them I hope you improve your choices next time Make up your mind, and never act blind…

By Raghda Gasser, Mousa Azer, Nihal Abdelazeem

27

Question : "What would you like to have .Fruit juice, Soda, Tea, Chocolate, Milo , or Coffee ?" Answer : "tea please" Question : " Ceylon tea, Herbal tea, Bush tea, Honey bush tea, Ice tea or green tea ?" Answer : " Ceylon tea " Question : "How would you like it ? black or white?" Answer : "white" Question : "Milk, Whitener, or Con-densed milk?" Answer : "With milk " Question : "Goat milk, Camel milk or cow milk" Answer : "With cow milk please. Question : " Milk from Freeze land cow or Afrikaner cow?" Answer : " Um, I'll take it black. " Question : " Would you like it with sweetener, sugar or honey?" Answer : "With sugar" Question : " Beet sugar or cane sugar ?" Answer : "Cane sugar " Question :" White, brown or yellow sugar ?" Answer : "Forget about tea just give me a glass of water instead." Question : "Mineral water or still wa-ter? " Answer : "Mineral water" Question : "Flavored or non-flavored ?" Answer : "I'll rather die of thirst".

By Raghda Ayman

Question: "What would you like to have .Fruit juice, Soda, Tea, Chocolate, Milo , or Coffee ?" Answer: "Tea please" Question: "Ceylon tea, Herbal tea, Bush tea, Honey bush tea, Ice tea or green tea ?" Answer: "Ceylon tea " Question: "How would you like it ? black or white?" Answer: "White" Question: "Milk, Whitener, or Condensed milk?" Answer: "With milk " Question: "Goat milk, Camel milk or cow milk" Answer: "With cow milk please. Question: "Milk from Freeze land cow or Afrikaner cow?" Answer: "Um, I'll take it black. " Question: "Would you like it with sweet-ener, sugar or honey?" Answer: "With sugar" Question: "Beet sugar or cane sugar ?" Answer : "Cane sugar " Question: " White, brown or yellow sugar ?" Answer: "Forget about tea just give me a glass of water instead." Question: "Mineral water or still water? " Answer: "Mineral water" Question: "Flavored or non-flavored ?" Answer: "I'll rather die of thirst".

Extracted from the web

by Raghda Ayman

28

It was 8:00 pm; I must've been sleeping for years. I just had this very weird dream; it was more of a nightmare though... I found myself in the middle of a building - in a hall - an exam for sure. There were those answer and question papers in front of me. I couldn't see what was written that much... The exam session was very weird. I suddenly saw people screaming in my face, telling me: "There's only 15 minutes left. Prepare your papers; nobody's going to be allowed any extra time ...” The strange thing about this exam, something you can't imagine. People - I mean students - were not sitting at their desks. They were –like- run-ning everywhere. I was very surprised. How could these examiners leave students just like this?! So I stood up and asked someone "What's going on, Isn't this an exam?" He answered: "What's wrong with you? Are you still on the same floor? “ I said: "What do you mean?" He was very amazed, and yelled at me: "You have to answer all the pa-pers of all the floors" and that's when he ran away. I wondered for a few seconds about what he meant. I then walked to-wards the stairs and went down to the next floor. Same here; people running, obviously scared they're even writing their answers while run-ning! , I was so shocked; I haven't answered a question, so how would I keep up with all these runners?! You can tell it wasn't an exam for sure. It was more of a war and I was in the middle of it. To get my questions paper, I had to move forward, towards a stall like invention. A professor was sitting inside this thing, and she was blowing

A very weird dream

29

away the papers at the people surrounding her in a very in-humane way. I even saw people beating one another just to get to the professor, to get the papers of course. A very disappointing situation for me, I haven't started yet , I only have 15 minutes left , about 4 floors to go – not to mention the first floor where I started my dream - not including the time I needed to write my answers , and don't you ever give time for the thinking part 'cause that would take me two weeks more … Crying wouldn't be the hard decision, but screaming was something I figured out, oh yes, I started screaming at all these people, screaming but in vain. They didn't have time to notice my existence. In a minute, I don't know how I got all the papers of this whole building! Five floors! Every floor had a paper for some subjects... I was satisfied somehow; satisfied but worried! Maybe about the time left to answer, or the usual worry I get in exams... And suddenly some friend came to me, and said '"Congratulations, you've done a great job, but do you have time left for the other building?!" And then I woke up, thanking god it was a dream. Never knew night-mares would feel that real!

By Mousa Azer

I stopped someone else, and I asked him "How many floors are there left for me?" He said: "You're on the 4th floor man, keep away from me ". You can tell it wasn't an exam for sure. It was more of a war and I was in the middle of it. To get my questions paper, I had to move forward, towards a stall like invention. A professor was sitting inside this thing, and she was blowing away the papers at the people surrounding her in a very in-humane way. I even saw people beating one another just to get to the professor, to get the papers of course. A very disappointing situation for me, I haven't started yet, I only have 15 minutes left, about 4 floors to go – not to mention the first floor where I started my dream - not including the time I needed to write my an-swers, and don't you ever give time for the thinking part 'cause that would take me two weeks more … Crying wouldn't be the hard decision, but screaming was something I figured out, oh yes, I started screaming at all these people, screaming but in vain. They didn't have time to notice my existence. In a minute, I don't know how I got all the papers of this whole building! Five floors! Every floor had a paper for some subjects... I was satisfied somehow; satisfied but worried! Maybe about the time left to answer, or the usual worry I get in exams... And suddenly some friend came to me, and said '"Congratulations, you've done a great job, but do you have time left for the other building?!" And then I woke up, thanking god it was a dream. Never knew night-mares would feel that real!

By Mousa Azer

30

Here's a test to see what

your handwriting says about you. To take this test,

please write the following paragraph as you normally would and keep the paper of questions in front of you. Remember, there are no wrong answers! Discover at the end what your handwrit-ing says about you! 1. Are the letters in your words Fully connected, with clear breaks be-tween the words? Partially connected, depending on the letters? Unconnected, like printing? 2. Between words, do you leave Wide spaces? Narrow spaces? No spaces - words are connected, pen doesn't leave paper? 3. What color ink did you choose? (If you used another color, which of these three would you prefer?) Blue-black Red Light Blue

4. How large was your capital I in the sample? Larger than the other capital letters About the same size as the other capital letters Smaller than the other capital letters 5. What do your t bars look like?

(The crossbars on your letter t) They tend to be to the left of the stem of the t They cross the t more or less in the mid-dle They tend to be to the right of the stem of the t 6. Does your writing Slope upward on the page? Go straight across the page? Slope downward on the page? 7. How much pressure does your writing show? Fine and spidery? Firm and even? Heavy? Now Check your answers with the analy-

sis below.. 1. FULLY CONNECTED - indicates that you are a social person who likes to talk and meet others. PARTIALLY CONNECTED - indicates that you are a shy, idealistic person who does not find it easy to have relation-ships, especially intimate ones. UNCONNECTED - indicates that you are a person who thinks before acting, intelli-gent and thorough.

31

2. WIDE SPACES - indicates that you are reserved, shy, cautious, and thoughtful. NARROW SPACES - indicates that you are a talkative person, maybe even a busybody! NO SPACES - indicates that you are not very reserved, impatient, self-confident and fond of action 3. BLUE BLACK - indicates that you are rational, conservative, a person who adheres to conventions and traditions. RED - indicates that you are spiritual rather than material, perhaps religious, and may have a deep understanding of other people's problems. LIGHT BLUE - indicates that you are strong, vital, energetic, affectionate - you like action and have an original ap-proach. 4. LARGER THAN THE OTHER CAPI-TAL LETTERS - indicates that you are a person with a high opinion of yourself, or who wants others to think that you do. ABOUT THE SAME SIZE - indicates that you are a person who may be feel-ing depressed or have low self-esteem. SMALLER THAN OTHER CAPITALS - indicates that you are well adjusted, harmonious, a person content with your current role. 5. THEY TEND TO BE TO THE LEFT OF THE STEM OF THE 't' - indicates that you are cautious, possibly uncertain about things. THEY CROSS THE 't' MORE OR LESS

IN THE MIDDLE - indicates that you are not very original but very responsi-ble, possibly in management. THEY TEND TO BE TO THE RIGHT OF THE STEM OF THE 't' - indicates that you are a reliable, conscientious worker, with possible leadership poten-tial. 6. SLOPE UPWARD ON THE PAGE - indicates that you are energetic, opti-mistic, and assertive. GO STRAIGHT ACROSS THE PAGE - indicates that you are a person who may be suffering from temporary de-pression or fatigue. SLOPE DOWNWARD - indicates that you are steadfast, purposeful, and pos-sibly aloof. 7. FINE & SPIDERY - indicates that you are a person of sensitivity, refine-ment, modesty, and spirituality. You may also be overly critical and austere. FIRM & EVEN - indicates that you are a person of strong but rigid will, obsti-nate but powerful. HEAVY - indicates that you are a per-son of energy and elasticity, able to roll with the punches and adapt to what-ever life brings.

By Raghda Gasser

2. WIDE SPACES - indicates that you are reserved, shy, cautious, and thoughtful. NARROW SPACES - indicates that you are a talkative person, maybe even a busybody! NO SPACES - indicates that you are not very reserved, impatient, self-confident and fond of action 3. BLUE BLACK - indicates that you are rational, conservative, a person who adheres to conventions and traditions. RED - indicates that you are spiritual rather than material, perhaps religious, and may have a deep understanding of other people's problems. LIGHT BLUE - indicates that you are strong, vital, energetic, affectionate - you like action and have an original ap-proach. 4. LARGER THAN THE OTHER CAPI-TAL LETTERS - indicates that you are a person with a high opinion of yourself, or who wants others to think that you do. ABOUT THE SAME SIZE - indicates that you are a person who may be feel-ing depressed or have low self-esteem. SMALLER THAN OTHER CAPITALS - indicates that you are well adjusted, harmonious, a person content with your current role. 5. THEY TEND TO BE TO THE LEFT OF THE STEM OF THE 't' - indicates that you are cautious, possibly uncertain about things.

THEY CROSS THE 't' MORE OR LESS IN THE MIDDLE - indicates that you are not very original but very responsi-ble, possibly in management. THEY TEND TO BE TO THE RIGHT OF THE STEM OF THE 't' - indicates that you are a reliable, conscientious worker, with possible leadership poten-tial. 6. SLOPE UPWARD ON THE PAGE - indicates that you are energetic, opti-mistic, and assertive. GO STRAIGHT ACROSS THE PAGE - indicates that you are a person who may be suffering from temporary de-pression or fatigue. SLOPE DOWNWARD - indicates that you are steadfast, purposeful, and pos-sibly aloof. 7. FINE & SPIDERY - indicates that you are a person of sensitivity, refine-ment, modesty, and spirituality. You may also be overly critical and austere. FIRM & EVEN - indicates that you are a person of strong but rigid will, obsti-nate but powerful. HEAVY - indicates that you are a per-son of energy and elasticity, able to roll with the punches and adapt to what-ever life brings.

Extracted from the web

by Raghda Ayman

33

The Cycle The words below are dedicated to... -he/she who gives way to others to take con-trol of their lives; their moods and goals. -those who wander in life believing light is outside. -'ME' and 'MOST' of YOU. Special thanks to everyone who never tried to break THE CYCLE. For their passiveness was what stirred the following. Since we were toddlers we were taught to feel inferior. At home, in school, on TV and in streets, the acts of our adults demonstrated their weaknesses and uncertainties. Uninten-tionally, they passed them on to us. In us, awareness of what we lack did bud. As we grew, so it grew! A truly not welcomed growth; like a malignancy, our negativities increase and spread to feed on our tiny souls. Stagnant waters can not allow pearls to thrive, but can be a perfect place for a dark depth. And somewhere amid its shadows arose our place of self-destruction.

At this stage, we crave to compete with anyone who seems to have a bit more! Knowledge, beauty in soul (and maybe figure), money, content and any other of life's symbols of satisfaction becomes our enemy - a risk factor - that threats our comfort and peace! It must be eradicated! It should be destroyed! It should bow to the incompatible 'ME'! For now our salvation and self-esteem lies in having something more. Our winning lies in another's loss! Our smiles should only follow their tears. We lose focus of where in our souls lies strength. We forget to make our talents grow. Some may choose to live in fanta-sies. Others may end up stirring inner wars that are soon to burn the world around them. However there are those who break free. Though few they do exist. Yet most of 'US' become insensitive to another's pain. We fail to feel the power and beauty in a child's smile. We look at him as an inferior creature, who is weak and poses no danger on our self-esteem. He feels our weakness and uncertain-ties. Unintentionally, we pass it on to him. His awareness of what he lacks do bud and THE CYCLE again begins!


34

H ow would you reflect upon this question: are you as a human, in

essence, good or evil? At a first glance, it might seem to be an exhausted question that we all know the answer to. But after reading Paulo Coelho's International Bestseller, 'The Devil and Miss Prym' you might, just as myself, realize

that this is not a yes/no question (it's as everything else, capable of having shades of grey.)

Paulo sets seen of the novel in a remote village called Viscos, amid mountains and greenery, with a total of 281 inhabitants. Wonted to their everyday life, gaining satisfac-tion by complaining about never getting what they deserved, Viscos is a representation of the human world. However, everything is about to take an up or a downhill route as a stranger arrives offering the village a prize of ten gold bars if a murder should take place in a one week's time!

What I enjoyed, about the novel, most was that it's human-centered, represented in a number of ex-treme characters having one thing in common: they are human. The most significant of which was the stranger and Miss Prym. The stranger who comes to the village accompanied by the unseen devil, burdened by his painful mishaps is here to demand a justification for his suffering and sets with Miss Chantal Prym, a young life-loving woman dreaming of wealth and

35

happiness, a deal to announce to the village his proposal. Soon she becomes involved in the stranger's plot and both as well as other inhabitants are presented with challenges that set what seems to be a never-ending struggle in souls. Here, Paulo tries to give us a key of how good or evil would win the other and what or who determines the final winner. Although I enjoyed every single aspect of the book, I couldn't help but feel awe at certain points, where Paulo would so plainly point out the worst in man. For example, I was really disappointed by the inhabitants' reactions which were influenced by greed, cowardice and fear, yet is a perfect representation of a leading majority in today's communities. 'The Devil and Miss Prym' is a Paulo's 'must-read' that I would recommend for those who ever wondered what makes us who we're: how our good/evil

characters develop. It proves how to live our lives to the full each one of us must get his chance to pass alone along the alleys of fear, pain and choices as Chantal, the stranger and the in-habitants had to. Af-ter all, as Paulo puts it: The story of one man is the story of all humanity.


36

Aaah Pink Floyd… The very thought of them gives me goose bumps and fills me with awe, for they have the courage to explore the inner labyrinths of the psyche and come up with the best explanations for some of the never ending riddles of life. From the very first start under the conduction of the late Syd Barrett, they appeared in the music scene (1965) as a me-diocre psychedelic rock* band. But when Syd Barrett’s men-tal state started deteriorating badly, they had no choice but to replace him with, today’s guitar legend, David Gilmour. With Syd Barrett away, being submitted into a mental hospital, Roger Waters (bassist/ vocals/ genius) started taking control over the band. Being influenced by Barrett’s will to create a psychedelic rock band, they started finding their feet with albums that will seriously flip you over, such as Meddle, Atom Heart Mother and Obscured by Clouds. However with the four band members meeting in Nick Masson’s (drummer/ percussionist) house for breakfast, they decided to create a new album, a unique album, a “concept” album. Quoting Waters, “It's very well-balanced and well-constructed, dynamically and musically, and I think the humanity of its approach is appealing. It's satisfying. I think also that it was the first album of that kind...I think it was probably the first completely cohesive album that was made. A concept album, mate!” And so their most enduring master piece was released. Not only being the first concept album in history but also marking the beginning of the mature half of Pink Floyd. The sometimes harsh raw sounds experienced by the band during their earlier years are totally refined into a very smooth soothing sound, in this album, marking the emergence of the great Pink Floyd era. Many Critics consider this album as a point of reference in determining between the classic blues rock and the new genre of electronic music, back then. From the first time you listen to this album, you will be completely cap-tured and entrapped into the wizardly created world of Pink Floyd mes-

The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)

By Pink Floyd

37

merized by the unique musical styles of the four band members resulting in a very unique style of music, being difficult to place under any if the traditional genres. Phi-losophical lyricism, parts from interviews, and amazing sound effects mark this album as a real wild ride into the world of psychedelia. That’s simply the way a psychedelic album should be! As a concept album it discusses the pressures of modern life that are enough to drive a normal human to insanity. For instance kicking off with a track like “Breathe” shows the beginning of any human-being breathing in the air as an infant, having no choice, “breathe in the air, don’t be afraid to care”. On a track like “Time”, it shows the tricky nature of time and how fast it can slip from any, “shorter of breath, but one day closer to death”. “Us and Them” symbolizes the never ending conflict and wars in the world, “us and them, and after all we’re only ordinary men”. “Money” is the most musically brilliant track on the album, with David Gilmour excelling in a very unique sonic sounding guitar solo, picking up what Dick Parry left from one of the best saxophone solos ever! In “The Great Gig in the Sky” the amazing, powerful, sad vocals of Clare Torry symbolize the inevitable end of every hu-man being which is death. And in “Brain Damage” (aka The Dark Side of the Moon) it shows ironically that only crazy people are the ones that really do understand life. *psychedelic rock: One the classic rock icons, Roky Erik-son put it that way being asked about psychedelic music, “it’s where the pyramid meets the eye man!”. A friend of mine stated it in a much simpler way, he told me “it’s rock music created by drugs dedicated to dugs!!” Quotes from the album: “And all you touch and all you see Is all your life will ever be.” “Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown

Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.”

“You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today And then one day you find ten years have got behind you No one told you when to run you missed the starting gun.” “Money it’s a crime Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie.” “Forward he cried from the rear And the front rank died.” “You lock the door and throw away the key There’s someone in my head But it’s not me.”

By Ahmad Badawi

the buzz

Documents