Category: Everyday Me

Four Years Of Subzero Blue

Last Friday marked the 4th anniversary for my blog “Subzero Blue”.

For four years this blog has been a great space for me to throw my ideas, thoughts, rambles online and share whatever I find important or interesting with the world. It has been a great ride, and I’ve loved every minute of it.

It’s incredible how much that previous paragraph makes it sound like I’m about to announce that I’m going to quit blogging, but well even though I have to admit that the thought has crossed my mind a few times, I think I’ll be hanging on for a while longer.

The past year wasn’t as active as the three years before it, mainly because of the big changes in my life, from taking on more responsabilities in my new job to having a child to so many other things.
But well, I’m hoping that the year ahead will be a better one and that I’ll have more time to devote to the blog and to other internet projects I have in mind.

A big thanks to everybody who has taken the time to come visit, read and comment on Subzero Blue; You guys rock. Thank you for everything.
I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy writing it.

A Couple Of Office Space Quotes

Last night, I popped in one of my favourite comedy movies “Office Space” into the DVD player and laid back to enjoy.

I just thought I’d share with you a couple of quotes from the movie that I think a lot of people in the IT field will relate to.

Peter Gibbons: Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements.

and…

Joanna: So, where do you work, Peter?
Peter Gibbons: Initech.
Joanna: In… yeah, what do you do there?
Peter Gibbons: I sit in a cubicle and I update bank software for the 2000 switch.
Joanna: What’s that?
Peter Gibbons: Well see, they wrote all this bank software, and, uh, to save space, they used two digits for the date instead of four. So, like, 98 instead of 1998? Uh, so I go through these thousands of lines of code and, uh… it doesn’t really matter. I uh, I don’t like my job, and, uh, I don’t think I’m gonna go anymore.
Joanna: You’re just not gonna go?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
Joanna: Won’t you get fired?
Peter Gibbons: I don’t know, but I really don’t like it, and, uh, I’m not gonna go.
Joanna: So you’re gonna quit?
Peter Gibbons: Nuh-uh. Not really. Uh… I’m just gonna stop going.
Joanna: When did you decide all that?
Peter Gibbons: About an hour ago.
Joanna: Oh, really? About an hour ago… so you’re gonna get another job?
Peter Gibbons: I don’t think I’d like another job.
Joanna: Well, what are you going to do about money and bills and…
Peter Gibbons: You know, I’ve never really liked paying bills. I don’t think I’m gonna do that, either.

If you haven’t already seen this movie, you just have to, it’s so so funny…

Check it out: “Office Space”

The Seven Deadly Sins & Me

I just came across this quiz by way of Roba, by way of Tololy, which rates you on the Seven Deadly Sins; here’s how I did:

Greed: Medium
 
Gluttony: Medium
 
Wrath: Medium
 
Sloth: High
 
Envy: Medium
 
Lust: Very Low
 
Pride: Medium
 

Interesting…
I do confirm the “Sloth” part, I’m one of the laziest people alive; working on it though.

Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz

My Top 10 Favourite Tunisian Dishes

I posted a couple of years ago about my 10 favourite dishes, from different origins, but to be honest, no matter how many countries I’ve been to and how many cuisines I’ve tried, I still think that Tunisian cuisine is the best when taken in its entirety.

This is why I thought I’d share with you the list of my top 10 favourite Tunisian dishes.

1. Mloukhia: I personally worship Tunisian Mloukhia, and so do most other Tunisians. It’s the greatest dish created by mankind with a magical taste and smell that enchant your senses.

2. Couscous: Our Tunisian national dish, whether with meat, chicken or fish it’s just perfect. With a cup of fresh Lben on the side, I’d have this meal any day.

3. Nwaser: Another Tunisian delicacy that I love. Its small steamed square-shaped pieces of home-made pasta covered in a delicious tomato-based sauce just take you to another level of food joy.

4. Dwida Mfawwra: Another steamed pasta based meal that I enjoy so much.

5. Njara: A dish from my home city of Bizerte, also steamed pasta based, and very delicous as well.

6. Kleya: Small pieces of meat, liver and whatnot spiced and cooked with some onion and parsley thrown on top. Great dish.

7. Tunisian Pasta: Pasta may have its origins in Italy, just across the mediterranean, but it only lives up to its full potential when cooked in a Tunisian household with our Tunisian tomato sauce.

8. Keftaji: A great Tunisian fast food made of a mix of vegetables, topped with a fried egg. Love it.

9. Leblabi: Another Tunisian fast food; boiled chick peas and bread crumbs, spiced and mixed, very yummy.

10. Blankite Salad: Slices of baguette bread, soaked in a tomato-based sauce, topped with Mechouia Salad, a slice of egg, a slice of cheese and a slice of olive. Amazing.

If you’re ever in Tunisia, you have to try some of the mouth-watering dishes above; you’ll never forget the tasty experience.

Back In Tunisia, Back To Work…

I flew back to Tunisia yesterday… Alone; Eman and Adam will be staying another week in Jordan… And the same group of old people that were going to Omra on my flight to Jordan came back to Tunisia with me, what luck!

I’m back at work this morning with a ton of emails to go through, a bunch of stuff to do and some necessary meetings to get back on track and rolling again…

The last day of a vacation and the first day at work after it have to be the hardest and yuckiest days that can ever be… You know the vacation is over, yet you don’t want it to be, and you know you have to be back at work, yet you’re not quite ready to be…

My stay in Jordan was quite hectic this time and I didn’t get to meet as many people as I wished, nor go to as many places as I planned. I hope I’ll get to go back again soon and do all the things I wanted to do.
One thing I did do though is eat; I had every meal I wanted to eat, ending the food marathon with Msakhan, a great Palestinian delicacy. It’s a wonder how I didn’t gain any weight.
Another post will follow soon with some of my other thoughts from this trip to Jordan.

Hala Hala Jordan

After a hectic period of preparation, we finally made it to the Tunis-Carthage airport yesterday all three of us, to catch our flight to Amman, Jordan.

The flight was even later than usual, an hour and a half late actually, but this time to be honest it wasn’t Royal Jordanian’s fault, it was because of a group of old people who were going to Saudi Arabia for an Omra and were transiting through Amman, and who chose to hang around until the last minute to check-in.

Once on-board, we found absolute chaos; never in my life have I seen such chaos on a plane because of seat numbers; again because of the Omra group who were just sitting anywhere they pleased; It took over an hour to just get everyone seated. Personally, I wouldn’t have been amazed if any of the cabin crew went to the back of the plane and slit their wrists open; In their position I’m sure I’d have beaten up a person or two.

This of course was Adam’s first flight, and as much as we wanted it to be memorable (mostly for us I guess, I think he’s still too young to remember), we were also hoping he would sleep throughout the whole thing, but of course that was in our dreams and went out the door as soon as the plane took off, still to be honest he was a lot better and quieter than my worst case scenario.

We got to Amman at around 9PM, and we didn’t get to see much on the drive home, even though we saw hints of new buildings here and there on the way, but we were too tired to really look. I can’t wait to go out and take a spin around Amman, see what’s new, and also visit the old places I love.

I have to say that I really miss Amman, and it’s always a pleasure to be back here.
I’ll keep you updated with my doings and whereabouts, and post photos whenever I can.

Twenty Eight

I became 28 years old yesterday…
It was my first birthday with my son Adam around… So that definitely made it special…
It was celebrated at our place with my wife, son, parents and sister…

So how do I feel now that I’m one year older?
Well, exactly the same…
I’ll quote myself on my 26th birthday: “To me, it’s just the same as 25, 24, 23, …etc. It’s just a number really. How much we obsess about it is what makes the difference,” and well I don’t really care about stuff like that.
Maybe in 2 years time, when I become thirty, I’ll actually feel something, and then again, maybe not, I guess we’ll just wait and see.

Anyway, what are my plans for this upcoming new year on earth?
Well, I don’t know yet, but it’s promising to be an interesting one from the unexpected events that have started to unravel over the past few days, with a number of possible changes and some big decisions to make. More details about that will be made public when possible; For the time being, please wish me luck.

Back In Tunis

Home Sweet Home…

I got back Sunday evening; my plane landed at 9PM but I only got out of the airport slightly before 11PM, that’s because the lazy guys at the airport chose to put the luggage from 3 planes onto one conveyor belt, even though all the rest of the belts were empty.

My flight back was on Tunisair too, and it was quite a pleasant one, the leg space was pretty comfortable, the food was quite good, the service was ok (they should learn to smile more); anyway, in the end, Tunisair beats Air France hands down on this route. I’ll be doing my best to only travel on Tunisair whenever I have to go to France.

I’m back with my dear wife and son, whom I missed so much. Adam’s doing better, he’s coughing less now; It’s amazing how much I feel he grew up after just one week away from him, and it sucks that I wasn’t there to see it happen.

I didn’t get to do much in Paris this time around, I had a lot of work to do, and in the evenings I was mostly too tired to really do much but take a few walks, eat and maybe catch a movie.
I did get to meet Mochekes who works in Paris now, and we had a nice dinner at Pizza Pino on the Champs

ReBonjour Paris

As the title of this entry suggests, I’m back in Paris again. Just like last year, I’m here for work, so most of my time will be at the office or in meetings with clients.

I got here yesterday evening at the Orly airport; Orly not Charles de Gaulle because this time I chose to fly Tunisair instead of Air France, and I thank God that I did, the seating was a bit more comfortable, the food was so much better, I got here on time and I didn’t have that back-ache I always get when flying Air France.

I’ll be here for only one week this time, and even that feels like a really really long time for me be away from my wife and son, especially that Adam is sick, plus I just got back from my trip to Manchester a few days ago.
I can’t wait to get home again.

I’ll be trying to meet up with a number of friends who live and work here now; I’m quite sure I’ll end up going to a movie or two in the evenings; I don’t think I’ll have much time for shopping, just something quick maybe to pick up some gifts or souvenirs.

I’ll be taking it easy with the fast food this time around as I’m trying to eat healthier; last night’s dinner at McDonald’s should be enough unhealthiness for this trip.

I might be looking for a good and affordable DSLR camera, like a Nikon d50 or d70, so if anyone knows where I can look in Paris to find a good deal, please do let me know.

And finally, as usual, I’ll be taking some photos of Paris here and there to share later.

Stay tuned for more from the city of lights, where almost everything shuts down at 8pm. Still the lights stay on.