CCC gradually coming back to life

I was going through the Qurum area today and decided to drive through, if I could, the Capital Commercial Centre's parking lot.

The gates were finally lifted and everything was just breathing in life all over again. 2nd Cup had installed new windows, the other restaurants next to it were still left as they were after the Gonu incident; this is including: Nando's; Bollywood Chaat; and Pizza Hut.

Suprisingly, the CCC/Qurum branch for Mcdonald's had it's drive-thru opened up for customers but there wasn't anyone waiting in line.

Coming back to the haunting memories of seeing this place being over-flooded by rainfall was a dreadful memory to remember. But thank God, that no one was in the store at that time, since the country declared an emergency state of affairs.

Everything else was closed down, but it seems that work is afoot to have everything back to normal by the time Ramadhan would loom over the Sultanate.

Hopefully, it will.

haven't they had enough, already?

There's been word circulating around that New Line Cinema & Bret Ratner are willing to push further and make another Rush Hour movie - this time, setting the scene for Jackie Chan's & Chris Tucker's characters to be set loose in Moscow.

It's bad enough as it is that Rush Hour 3, although it has cleared the box race up until this moment, was (or rather is) one lousy movie made to up the hype of the cinema that has no brains whatsoever for originality.

That's not the only sad case of a movie franchise not put to bed, there's also some murmuring around for a Men In Black 3, Bourne 4, M:I-4, Spiderman 4, Die Hard 5, Pirates of the Carribean 4 and one last Resident Evil.

It's no wonder nobody wants to watch American movies anymore, they've lost their touch with what the audience really wants to see or clearly the audience's tastes ain't what it used to be.

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Link:

- Rush Hour 4 is set in Moscow at WorstPreviews

CBFS: no joytime for Eid holidays

That's right.

We got word today that our final exams, which are due by the 16th or 17th of October, 2007 will still be carried on, even if it means that they have to issue them right after the Eid Al Fitr holidays.

So this would mean we would break for Eid holidays, have our exams, after which there are two weeks holidays until sometime in November, 2007 (approx. 4th or 5th of November).

Did I mention that I hate studying?

this is new..

Well, it seems some people high up in the 'food chain' are pretty pissed off because of a report made by the US State Department on illegal human trafficking and how the Sultanate of Oman has been ranked the 3rd in that alleged list.

Sure the report was full of contradictions, but were they all truly 'baseless' as the Oman Tribune reports? After all, we all remember the start of negotiations between the Sultanate of Oman and the United States of America federal government on the ongoing process of agreeing to what norms must be followed regarding the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries. Where, the US 'attacked' Oman saying that there was no legal rights given unto the foreign workers as they are in the United States. Something, that the US was truly bent on having done.

The US-FTA was also an entrance towards the World Trade Organization for the Sultanate of Oman to help Oman gain international standards and status in free trade - as it did with the European Union.

Although, there are no known public cases of inhumane experiences provided for the foreign workforce, it does not mean that there are no cases. For we never hear of cases of murder, rape, theft, and drug abuse unless they hit the headline news provided by the Royal Oman Police's public relations department but there are definitely plenty of them out there. This - however - does not mean that there are any cases of such human torture and trafficking in the Sultanate of Oman because I wouldn't know where to begin to look.

Maybe the whole report was made by some wreckless employee who wanted to get finished with his day job for the day to come back home to his wife and children. Maybe it is the truth. All I can say is that there is a need to look further deeper into this situation before blindly defending those who are guilty.

You can read the whole article through this link.

insomnia

Couldn't sleep at all this night, which is maybe due to the fact that I have been sleeping at very late timings (sometimes 9am) just because I am on the Internet blogging posts.

Oh, well..

Lethal Weapon 5

Unlike the Rush Hour movie series, Lethal Weapon is a mingle between comedy and mayhem between two buddy officers ever since they were put together in the epic that shot them both to stardom in the first movie.

Now, Richard Donner, the director of the movie series wants to put the whole series to bed by doing the final installment dubbed respectively; Lethal Weapon 5.

Everyone wants back in, but Mel Gibson is in hesitation because he wants to be absolutely sure that he can do his stunts with the athleticism that is much needed and Donner won't do it unless Mel says 'Yes.'

Considering that we haven't had a good action/comedy movie that displays such 'buddyness', it will be great to see this movie a reality.

Consumer Protection Agency .. my foot

Ever since the Consumer Protection Agency has become a solid and known organization in the Sultanate of Oman, we have not heard nor seen any development in the scene of curbing the prices of consumer products like FMCGs (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) and yet the Central Bank of Oman releases a new weather report on the local economy saying that due to high product prices, the country's inflation has risen by more than 62% to more than 4%, all within a year's time period.

That's not to mention that high rising prices of houses, rents, raw materials and people's desperation to secure for themselves a roof over their head is still an issue to be solved although there has been an announcement that the government is in fact importing cement to help bring down the prices and offer a temporary solution to the problematic situation in Oman right now.

This is all due to the decreasing exchange price of the pegged Omani currency to the US Dollar, the increase of number of projects at one time here in Oman and our enforced agreement of the WTO that includes a sole rule that states that there should be no governmental interference into local trade competition - except in this case; there is only one company that supplies such raw materials, in the sense of the word: monopolization.

So then, in this case, what is the point of a consumer protection agency if it has no authority and cannot do anything except lead by speeches and such?

If words cost money, then they should just keep their silence.

who would you choose to be?

What is beauty without a form? What is an intiative without taking the risk of losing the definitive?

The role of life surrounds many themes. Some trust their instincts. Others trust nothing but themselves. Others just take the flow as it is and think nothing of it.

The cherished desires that we all hold deep in our hearts, our very souls are the ones that drive us to where we would meet with the true calling of our nature: destiny. It is not destiny that put us into this world. It is not destiny that makes us believe that we should take one path or another.

But, like the devil, destiny chooses to play the non-existent role playing module that surround us with it's willful yet intangible power that could the glass of time and water flow of the space itself.

What we choose to be is of our own nature.

Which path we choose to live is also of our own desire and ability to control such a nature.

But what holds us between the two is nothing more of circumstance, reason and doubt and a little emotion.

Who would you choose to be?

Ramadhan 13th September .. astronomically speaking

It's been announced that Ramadhan would fall on Thursday, 13th September of this year according to astronomical bearings taken by scientists.

Hopefully, this time around we would stick to one date across the whole Arab & Islamic world instead of fooling ourselves and then stating that we 'never saw the crescent'.

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Link:
- Al Shabiba: astronomically 13th September first of Ramadhan

Rush Hour 3 released in Muscat 29th August

Ok, so I made a hell of a commotion about this movie to the point where it became absolutely pathetic. But, honestly, it was all a matter of having to see the movie at the same time that the whole world sees it.

Rush Hour 3 now has a release date on Al Shatti Plaza - the 29th of August, 2007.

But this time I got to see the movie upfront through a download and, seriously, it sucked - big time. Just remember, this is coming from a guy who always loved funny/stupid movies that made and poked fun out of anything.

If they couldn't make a good story, why make one at all? And what's worse is that it's leading the US box office this week.

You can all judge for yourselves when it comes out here.

ironical measures

It is so ironic to see slogans being shouted out to bring down the bad habit of families rising up with the rates of Mahr that the groom-to-be has to pay in order to get married to his beloved wife-to-be. It is also a shame that there's a supposed law of a ceiling of no more than 2,000 Omani Riyals that no one in the entire country adheres to, to allow marriages to flow freely as possible without financial entanglements.

But what really takes the piss out of this situation is the fact that not one person in an authoritative position is really doing anything about it. In fact, if anything, they are increasing the pressure on the remaining male and females genders of the society that wish to get married with such things such as rising prices of getting a home, lands, services, and even the banks have joined in by offering loans to 'make dream marriages come true'.

When two people come together for a marriage they expect to take life's difficulties one pace at a time, and not all in one go, and especially not through facilitating marriage loans that offer you to payback the installments in long-term installments with interest.

One such bank is BankMuscat. I am not saying that BankMuscat is the only bank that is wrong in increasing pressure but it is one of the major players in the banking industry.

I ask that the authorities concerned should take an proactive movement in such a long life dilemma to the utmost consideration lest they want to see the number of single people arising in a country that drives on depending on a population that is less than 40 years old by 75%.

Horizon newsletter update

For those who have been waiting to hear any updates about the Horizon newsletter at the Sultan Qaboos University or about my articles in the said newsletter; it would seem your wait is going to be a long one since I had been informed yesterday (Monday) that this month's issue would carry students' works in total.

That would mean that my articles would probably only get published by sometime in September, 2007. There are now 2 articles in the waiting list and they have been agreed to publishing but only initially. The last decision lies withe newsletter's editor.

Hopefully, everything will work out fine.

Thank you for your patience.

mock test

Today would be our first mock test after finishing the first syllabus for IF1.

We'll be questioned in the Legal Insurance Contracts & Utmost Good Faith.

Hopefully, this will be a nice and easy test.

Next after this is the one on Saturday which would be in IF2 in Properties & Combined Policies.
Wish me luck everyone..

Omani inflation rises to 4.7%

According to the TimesofOman.com, there has been a 62% increase in consumer inflation here in the Sultanate of Oman compared to the last record of 2.9% back in June 2006.

As it stated;

“Increase in rent can be attributed to the arrival of expatriate workers in large numbers. As at the end of June 2007, the number of expatriates working in the private sector stood at 570,226 as against 510,713 in December 2006. The private sector recruited more 59,000 expatriates in six months,” sources said.

Meaning which, that, due to the Omani Currency - the Omani Riyal - being pegged to the US Dollar, there would be a great depreciation in prices of items bought and sold, & imported and exported between Oman and other countries of the world.

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Link:

- TimesofOman.com: Inflation hits 4.7 per cent on rising prices

less than four months to go

As I had announced in an earlier post on Sleepless In Muscat, I will cease and desist from blogging from the moment that it is the 1st of January, 2008.

That leaves me with 3 months, 17 days left to that moment.

I have had wonderful and fond memories that I shall keep forevermore.

For those who didn't know me, I guess there's always the real world - and for those who have, ermmm, there's still the real world to see me in.

I only hope that I don't regret this decision, one day.

distracted

I think my compass is way off.

After watching Freedom Writers, I was so impressed and moved by the movie that I have decided on this: I am going to take a notebook around with me and start writing an actual story. Maybe I would merge between what I have done up until now with my poetry along with it to create a unique experience.

I swear, it's like my mind looks for distractions such as these in moments of intense mental stress like the ones coming up this Tuesday and the coming Saturday.

What am I talking about?

My insurance tests - that's what.

My mind is everywhere right except where it should be. I have to focus. I have to focus. I have to focus. I have to focus.

I have to get me a Coca Cola to help me focus.

God.

Royal Oman Police - Part 2: all the king's women & all the king's men

It's now been about 5 months since the Royal Oman Police had implemented the simplified procedures of whereby if you have a simple accident that you go straight to the insurance company to get a claim based upon whose fault it is.

But you still see the people of Oman oblivious to this fact.

More than 4 accidents have happened in 3 day period and all occurring without any human loss whatsoever. Yet the drivers leave the vehicles on the public road as they are and stand aside as traffic is at a bottleneck whether it is to see what has happened to cause all this commotion or because of traffic peak during the day.

The fact of the matter, that even though the ROP states that it has cut down dramatically on the number of traffic accidents due to these mishappenings, there still seems to be a minority that wants to clutch onto that part of the past for the sake of assurance that 'justice has it's rewards'.

More importantly, you still see people speeding by you like they were in a race for life or death against time even when the road ahead of them is paved with passing speed-o-monitors.

Yet you can be glad about one thing, though, that the authorities are trying to cut back on the number of people they award their licenses to but only if they are under the age of 21 years.

Maybe this time around, they'll also re-implement the fines they established in the beginning and bring back the good old times of where you can have a nice, fun, and safe driving experience on the roads of Oman.

Freedom Writers

First off, I would like to thank Meticulousness for providing the torrent file for this movie on his new blog by the name of The Movie Theater. Some of the movies that I found there are of excellent quality and I had missed out on them so finding them was an opportunity not to be missed.

Back to this post, now.

Freedom Writers is a movie about a new teacher who wants to fulfill her obligations beyond what is the calling towards a group of students who, although always being put in detention and punishment for doing the worst deeds anyone could ever come up with, they still have the potential to be someone better no matter what anyone can say or do to stop them.

Along the way, she loses her marriage, someone gets shot at, others want to give up.

Now, there's a point that I would stop at here in the movie: it shows the suffering of the Holocaust victims back in World War II when there was a genocide of 6 million Jews by the Nazis back then.

In all manners of respect, the world recognizes that such a thing happened. I don't know whether it did or not. But what matters in the movie is that the students relate to it individually because it calls out for solidarity in a time of violence and epic warfare between minorities of different races and colors when they should unified by what their goals are in the not-so-distant future.

I simply loved the movie because I believe it delivers a message to everyone out there and I would recommend it to everyone, especially families. Even though it carries themes of violence, it's the ending that matters.

Believe me, you will never regret getting this movie.

Personally, I am going to get the book that this book is based on. If you're interested, it's by Erin Gruwell.

You can also view the movie's trailer on YouTube, here.

Al Araimi Complex partially open

I don't know if any of you know this, but I am going to publish this anyhow. The Al Araimi Complex has started operating back with it's ground and upper floors after the Gonu incident had hit the Sultanate of Oman.

It is - however - unknown, when they restarted their operations but it seems for quite some time as the underground level is fully covered and inaccessible to any visitors of the complex. Sources have said that it could take some 2 months to get it back into full swing.

One thing you do notice once you enter the commercial building is that the air-conditioners are not working in full capacity for some reason. Perhaps this is one of the after-effects of the flood that had hit the complex (refer: shocking Al Araimi footage - Gonu Relief Blog).

Everything else in the mall looks fine side from the fact that most of the shops are closed down for some reason even in the upper floor.

It seems the management of the commercial complex are planning to reopen it in style as I had also noticed that there are two new shops inside; Splash and Baskin Robbins both on the upper and ground floor, respectively. Whilst some other shops on the ground floor have closed down and moved out although their trademark logo can still be seen on the top before you enter into it.

So, I guess it's a wait and see game from hereon.

Heroes - Season Two

After the cliffhanger ending in Season 1 of Heroes; the thrilling drama of a group an unknown 'ordinary but extraordinary' heroes come back for Season Two starting September 24th, 2007 on NBC.

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Link:

- VIDEO: Heroes and The Office Sneak Peek on NBC's Primetime Preview