End of Year Review part 2

Dear All,

Its new years eve, the biggest party night of the year, and i will be going out in a few hours but not too party, as i dont really go out anymore, no im going to meet my friends for a civilised meal, and just to hang out and chat and chill out, and to be honest i prefer it alot more! It could be because I have Shamina, and so I dont have that need to go out, or the fact I dont listen to much music anymore, or no where near as much as I used to, however its jus not for me anymore.

Well in the last posts i wrote about the first 7 months of the year, the pre-blog days, i will give a very brief overview of the remaining months as you can read my past blogs for more information.


Aug 06- Witnessed me enter my first communist state on my own(i had previously been in russia when very young!) It was a inspiring experience, one which .brought me to near death and also brought me to the world of blogging.

Sept 06- Was definetly going to Qatar, after my Cancer scare, and so i left mid-sept, not sure exactly when I will be back, and with a lot of questions and not many answers..it was a tough time, being in that enviorment and with people who I would not normally hang out with.

Oct 06- My family came to Qatar for eid+i started to enjoy myself properly now in Qatar and begin to love it, though i did get into a few car accidents. It was mine and Shams bday, and our first ones apart, this was probably one of the hardest things of during my whole year, as I value birthdays so highly so it was hard for me to accept this.

Nov 06- Saw me move apartments in Doha, and come back to the UK for some training, and meant i could see my family and Shamina again, which was awesome!i started to spend alot of time in the evenings with the local people in my area, smoking, playing backgamon, and watchin football, and it was nice to be making new friends and not some of the abnoxious people that i had met so far.

Dec 06- Move apartments again, hopefully for the last time as it was a night mare moving!i came back to the UK, and i got a new flat mate that masallah I get on well with iA it continues... I also went to Brussles with Shamina, and it was so lovely, very french though, but the amount of choclate on offer was unbeliveable, and the waffles, how people arent fat over there amazes me!


Now over the last year, as you can tell quite a lot of things have happened to me, im not sure if its more than others or less, i guess its all relative, however for me the situations i have been and the consequences of these situations has not only changed my outlook but i feel has made me grow.

There is so much more to life than money, and i think you only realise that when your earning good money ironically, and i realise by being away from ym family and Shamina, that once iA everything is ok on the marriage front I would like to bring everything together.

I have tried to beocme more relgious, however as ssoon as i come back to the UK i become less relgious which is quite annoying but hopefully again once i have a better structure in my life, than it wont be the case.

I have become more concious of my spending and my future, though i still spend like a bitch, i do try to conserve and forward plan alot more but unlike in the pas where i would pan out the next 10 years of my life to the minute detail, now i plan for the next 2 years at a max, and even less at times, but that is so i can develop a understanding of what Im looking for in my life, and focus my life better, obviously with all plans, their there to fail, but that is why i always had flexibility, theres a strong relationship where u have to plan for the future whilst enjoying today, i dont know if i have mastered it myself, but i think once i do then i will become a lot more happier!

Overall this year, has taught me what it means to be in love, i mean i know its going to sound cheesy, but its true, i have been with Shamina for over 2 and a half years now, and we have spent almost every wakin minute in some sort of contact with each in that time, we have lasted the thousand of miles between us, we have found ways for our relationship to adapt, and though its not been plain sailing, (what is?) I have to say that i would not change a minute of it, I have thought in the past I knew what love was, but I was clearly mistaken, as this year has shown otherwise, and it means that I can go into this new year full of hope and promise that this year my relationship with Shamina will be lawful in the eyes of Allah and my family and friends...iA...

Take care and have a happy new year

Asif

2006 End of Year Review(part 1): The Non-Blog Months

Dear All,

its the final entry of the year, and the one many of you have been waiting for....

Well lets get straight into it(the first 6 months is quite hazzy but ill do my best to remember the important stuff)

Jan 06- Well the start of 2006,was fairly uneventful, I had a quiet new years, the first one in the last 5 years as i didnt go out. I had plenty of coursework on, and was starting to plan my dissertation.

Feb 06- Valentines day is always a big one for the couples of this world,and me and Shamina did our usual gift swapping, I got a Ralph Lauren Romance Silver aftershave and the bottle was engraved, it was a really nice present, i wont go into what i got her as it wud jus been bragging and wud make her feel bad cuz my presents always kick ass!! Apart from Valentines day and University not much else going on in my life.

Mar 06 - Decisions regarding my carear after uni, were starting to become more of a weekly occurance.I was unsure of what job to take or where to go in my careaar and was going all over the country to interviews, pursuading and being pursaded about which company to join. I was also conducting the interviews for my dissertation.

Apr 06- My sisters bday so i spent time back in Knutsford with the family and i needed out of london as it was all driving me crazy, the jobs, dissertation, projects and the up-coming exams.

May 06- Handed in all my work, including disseration and project. I also completed all my final year exams, it was a high-pressued month, that towards the end saw me completely burn out. One of the last days of May was the UCL ball, and for me it was awesome, Shamina came with me, which is quite rare, as we dont go out that much at night together so it felt really special and i wore a Tux for the first time in my life,it was jus a nice night and added with the fact some of my cloest friends were with me, it was memorable.

Jun 06- I found out my results and was so relived to find out i got a 2.1 and was estatic to find out i got a 1st in my dissertation. I celebrated my 2 year anniversary with Shamina, where I recieved the top that Manchester United was wearing in the 1968 Euro Final (the 1st European Cup won by a English side(i know celtic won it earlier so thats why i said English not British), we had a wonderful anniversary, and i stayed in Halls for a extra 10 days to sort out lose ends around uni and spend time with Shamina. Shortly after leaving halls, I went on holiday with my mum intially to Dubai where we met my dad, and i kept to my promise that i wud began dialougue with my parents about Shamina. However this was the first of many disagreements with them and my sisters.

Jul 06- Saw me go to Bahrain and Kuwait with my family, and spend time at my dads house in Kuwait. Realised all the gulf countries are very similar and they all contain wide roads and loads of shopping malls, attractive women hidden behind a veil and fat men in bright white walking around...I couldnt wait to come back to the UK! however they did have something truly wonderful, KFC all u can eat! if u know me u know how much i loved it..it was jus something that dreamz are made of.....


Thats it for the first part, and iA the second part will be coming once i'm back in the UK (which is tonight!CANT WAIT!)

Take care of yourseleves

Asif

Now thats What I call Qatar 30 : Asia Games

Dear All,

The asia games has come and gone, and it has supposedly spurred Qatar to bid for the 2016 Olympics. So something must have gone right, well though the stadiums were never full (expect the ceremonies and the football final (and Khabadi events) the facilities on offer were very impressive!

After spending a whole day at the sports city for the asia games. I have to say its one of the best sporting events I have been to in my life! I saw wrestling,boxing,badminton(from a far), cycling(BORING), long jump,high jump, javelin and other athletics, and the best sport of all was Gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics to be precise it was jus awesome. Now I don't know if my admiration is coming from my dsypraxia roots but it was amazing!!

With regards to the media coverage, I was very disappointed/annoyed that the BBC barely covered it, I mean its trying to portray itself as a world leader in News, compete with CNN/Al Jerzaera (now)/Sky News(in Europe@least) however I witnessed much more coverage on those three channels than there was on the BBC, it was only because Iraq made it to the final that towards the end their was a little bit of coverage. Normally imp very passionate and proud of the BBC and believe the TV license is one of the best value Taxes that u have to pay in the UK(I know its not classified as a Tax as such but it really is as majority of people do have TVs so I kinda classify it as one!) however with this instance I was severely disappointed with them.

The tickets for the event were cheap though, which allowed almost everyone in Qatar to enjoy the events which was nice and when i mean cheap i really mean, it most events were between 5-20 riyals (so like less than 1GPB to 4GPB), and like i said the facilities were very impressive in the stadiums and generally the infrusctutre has had a massive uplift!

One of the funniest things is seein as it was the asia games, some ofthe events you could mistakenly think you were watching the Afrian games, as majority of the gulf countires all had african atheltes representing for them, its unbeliveable, i suppose its not too different to like the way college is in the US, in that it hires people to play for them, by like offering free education and stuff!

I met a another northerner there he was volunteering,was suprised when i heard by accent, which for some reason led me to become more northern in my accent, and then he became more northern yet neither of us ever acknolegdged the other was northern! But there were far too many volutnerrs and it led to chaos at times withpeople thinking they were more important than they were!

I saw another thing that disappointed me greatly, was in the football final the organisation was terrible people were cutting cues, pushing each other and was close to chaos. However one particular incident annoyed me so much, there was a Indian guy, who was in the queue and everyone was pushing and being pushed by the crown he happened to be near a fat African-American women (whom spoke Arabic) and was married to a white American guy, anyway, she accused the Indian guy of elbowing her, when it was clear that in that crowd no one could control their hand movements. And she told the police, the police subsequently arrested him and then her husband came and I thought common sense would pre-vail however the jackass goes if it wasn't for my wife and child here I would beat you up, or something ridiculous along those lines, which I couldn't believe, it really pissed me off, so I went to the police after the bitch and her knob of a husband left, and told them that the guy was innocent however the fcukin Arab police wouldn't listen to a Asian guy, and jus continued to hold the guy. It was so infuriating and made it hard to enjoy the match, I hope that guy is ok because he certainly didn't deserve to be in that situation.
Well though that soured the match and quality of football on show wasn't great the atmosphere was very impressive. I was sitting with the Iraqis and they made more noise despite being outnumbered 10 to 1 to the Qatari's. Overall though it was a fitting and fairly tale end to the Asia games.

Now thats What I call Qatar 29: Europe the Neo-Cons nightmare?

Dear All,

I am writing this like a true journalist at a costa coffee, looking onto fairly busy traffic infront of a desert, oh how wonderful is Qatar!, the only thing i think im missing is the cigarette!!

Well i had a busy few days, work is killing me at the moment, im getting alot more responsibility, and given a shorter time to learn and do things, but its ok, im slowly getting there..i think.

At the weekends, i like to lie in a bit, as during the week i have to get up at 6am Qatar time(3am UK time) so at the weekends i like to sleep till like 10am-11am, Qatar time, then on Fridays I have to go to Friday prayer which begins around 11.15am and ends an hour later. This morning i was going to sleep a bit longer, but then the construction work next door woke me up at 6am, and though i managed to get back to sleep decided to awake at 10am and go for my weekend walks, this time taking me to HSBC, which is like X-pat central, ull find everyone with a UK accent da,well majority and the rest with a US one, at least at the weekends anyway!

I been reading a interesting article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6189793.stm)  the end of the Neo-Con dream, which I foolishy used to mistake as a zionist themed organisation, however over the last few months I have started reading alot more into it, and its not exactly the case though the two certainly over-lap...(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservatism)


The influence of neoconservatism in the Bush administration appeared to have found its purpose in the shift from the threat of Communism to the threat of Islamic terrorism. The administration undertook an invasion of Afghanistan shortly after the September 11 attacks, to remove the al-Qaeda-supporting Taliban from power. The administration also began planning and obtaining political and diplomatic support for an invasion of Iraq, citing Iraq's dictatorial government, support for terrorism, purported links to al-Qaeda, work on chemical and nuclear weapons, and refusal to abide by U.N. resolutions regarding inspection of weapons programs.
Neoconservative identification with the State of Israel's struggle against terrorism was furthered by the September 11 attacks, which served to create a perceived parallel between the United States and Israel as democratic nations under the threat of terrorist attack. Moreover, some neoconservatives have long advocated that the United States should emulate Israel's tactics of pre-emptive attacks, especially Israel's strikes in the 1980s on nuclear facilities in Libya and Osirak, Iraq.

However I dont c Islam itself as the enemy, and like the above article states, its more people were looking for a enemy after the cold war, and they found it in the form of 'Islamic terrorism' (like there is any other??). I think its fine personally the philopshpy of trying to exert ur influence onto other countries, especialy if u have a good idea, and i do feel democracy is good, and because i of it i have lived a relatively safe life for the last 23 years, however what I dont agree with is the means.

For example In China when I went in the Summer, its a prosperous country, and it is enhancing the lives for all of its citizens, and though the free speech there is rather limited, I feel that they are doing a hell of a better job than India and USA at improving the lives of its citizens,  Yet people in the USA wanted a confortation into the means by which China freespeach and human rights records. (again wikipedia)

Thus, neoconservative thinkers were eager to implement a new foreign policy with the change in Administrations from Clinton to George W. Bush. Despite this, the Bush campaign and then the early Bush Administration did not appear to exhibit strong support for neoconservative principles, as candidate Bush stated his opposition to the idea of "nation-building" and an early foreign policy confrontation with China was handled without the vociferous confrontation suggested by some neoconservative thinkers. Also early in the Administration, some neoconservatives criticized Bush's Administration as insufficiently supportive of the State of Israel, and suggested Bush's foreign policies were not substantially different from those of President Clinton.

I by no means am a supporter of the state of China, and I do think its a oppressive Goverment and I have seen first hand how they treat the minorites, be it Chritistian , Muslim, Mongalian, its not that different from the regimes in charge of the arab countries, where there are tiers in society, and people cant practice faith or carry out acts as they wish,  I know for Muslims in China, though there are thousands of Mosques throughout China, what the muslim leaders can talk about it severly limited, and with all media controlled by the Goverment, any knowledge the muslims in China have about the struggles other muslims are having in other parts of the world such as Somalia, Palestine, Iraq, Chechnaya, all go unnoticed, and they assume the muslims to around the world dont know about their plight that they have. The same goes for the Christians I met, they cant practice their faith the way they want, and all sermons need to go through the goverment, they too have little knowledge about the Christian sufferings though the middle east, like again in Palestine, and throughout the middle east (read http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6205299.stm). and I think this lack of knowledge only fuels the anger and hatred within the those communities towards the goverment.

So that is why I think rather than the supposedly liberalised soceity of the US and the strict society impossed by the goverment of China and the Gulf countries,  the UK and Europe in general has found the right balance. No-one country will ever be perfect or suit everybody however I feel that it has the best it can, and though i have plenty of compliants about it, I definiely would stay there in Europe of any other country in the world. Europe is similar in its idea of demoracy however for me the fundamental difference between them and the Neo-cons is the means it wants to exert its influence, the EU doesnt need a strong mililary presense, and that is what I admire and that I feel is what some of the Neo-cons are starting to realise and maybe fear that the way forward, is to practice what you preach....


Thats all for todays sorry if I got any of my information wrong and feel free to correct me.


Take care

Asif

Now thats What I call Qatar 28: Charlton TV????

Dear All,

Its been a while, well I moved into my new flat in a area called Al-Saad, living on my own but will c how long that lasts!

Its a nice new flat, and its quite cool in that it has a fairly large TV, but as with many things in the Gulf, the list of problems with the flat are endless, and means constant ringing up and getting people to change and fix things, well hopefully things will get better soon in that respect!

I cooked for the first time whilst I been here, it wasn't much, to be honest many people wouldn't even call it cooking, I fried some chips and some chicken dippers, and heated some rice (and when I say heated I mean in the microwave not boil lol!) however I haven't lived in a place I feel comfortable to cook for about 8 months, and even then I was working too much to cook. In my first yr of Project Mgt for Construction, I cooked loads, it was partly wit the fact that I had a nice flat, along with the fact I had a lot of free time, and the people I was living with,also liked to cook,so that kind of helped. Also I met Sham after that, and she is a great chef, so I didn't need/have to cook much after that apart from special occasions such as making the worlds greatest cake for Shaminas 22nd bday!

Apart from cooking I haven't done that much around the flat, I mean I moved in at the weekend and spent all weekend moving stuff in, and then on Saturday getting to know the area, I also purchased a smartcard for the satellite dish which means I can watch premiership football!However like I said with all things here, something went wrong, and now its already back in the shop, but whilst going through the channels I found the most bizarre channel, Charlton TV, based on Charlton football team, I mean who the hell would want to see that? and who the hell especially would want to see it here in the middle east. I have Real Madrid TV which is completely understandable, but Charlton, that's jus pure and utter nonsense!

I have been writing a entry to do on the Asia games and will hopefully post it this weekend and for those of you on facebook, I have the pictures of the Asia games on their along with other amazing pictures that I took over the last couple of months! I really feel my photography is really coming along though many of you may disagree, and even call me pervy for some of the shots I took during the Gymnastics, however I can for once say in a positive way, I saw the women as objects similar to a bowl of fruit and not in a sexual way, so therefore deemed the photos to be more artistic than anything else.

I will be back in the UK in jus over a week and can not freakin wait, I really need2get out of ere as its driving me crazy, when I was at uni I was looking forward to work in a way that it wud bring much needed structure into my life, as well as much needed money,however I negleted to factor the pressures of working,(away from home in this case)and it makes it all the more tough. It also makes u question if you are ready for this life you have chosen, the life that everyone around you seems perfectly fine to do, the life that your parents/uncles+aunties have been doing for the last 20 years, one bad day in the office and it knocks your self-confidence so much so that you begin to question even the point of working at all. But then what drives those around you/your parents/uncle+aunties is responsiblity, they cant afford to even think about giving up, they must succed, and its this life and death mentality that causes most people to succed so I need this motivation for me to succeed...I think! I know working in the UK suxs majorly financially but I know at one point like I said in the last entry its my home and I will want go back, and so I need to decide my future plans over the forthcoming months and decide where the short+long term future takes me...

Aneway its taking me to a meeting now!

Takecare

Asif

Now thats what I call Qatar 27: Metrosexualism

Dear All,

I have bee run off my feet lately not so much with work but with worry and stress, I am being evicted of mi casa, as all employees in Bechtel are being forced out, due to some Syrian bloke taking the money from Bechtel and other companies and running off with it (supposedly to UAE) meaning that we employees are caught in the middle and have to move to a new place which is quite far from my current place and really far from work so it really sucks, only plus side is I heard its got a wicked TV!

I'm so tired at the moment, its hard to sleep when you have so much going on, the only time u manage to sleep is when your body tells u ur going2sleep,it can b anytime, anywhere but my body justs shuts down fora minute or two, im sure that's not healthy but wot is for me?I live such a unhealthy style its quite sicking to be honest and shameful, its not only I need to eat healthy, or the fact I do no exercise its the shisha...its killing me...I been going to a shisha cafe bout 4 times a week, its really cheap like 1.50GBP for shisha,mint tea and water. So why the hell not, well maybe cuz of my lungs, because I get out of breath at the slightest thing, im accelerating my descent into old-age and the worst thing is I only have myself to blame.....

Well talking about blame, often people ask me how do I feel leaving Shamina alone in the UK whilst I go swanning off in another country 'living the life' (I have no idea where people get that from because as you can tell from these entries its far from it) ...the thing not many people realise is, though there are many commercial benefits to being out here, and I can imagine if you been working all day and your stuck on a packed tube after walking 5 minutes in the freezing wet weather , this place must seem like a dream however the social side here makes u really re-evaluate what you hold important to yourself. I mean though I have friends here, and I know some of them will be reading this, I don't mean it as a diss, but its just sometimes not the same as in England, its not that im homesick, because I got over that a long time ago, its more im realising just how English I am, and how proud I am to be, and that really is where my home is.

Its not the case im lonely, as I actually really like time on my own or with small groups (im not a big group kinda person unless I know EVERY1 or at least 90% of the people) and that's the case here, but its the people that matter the people I have grown with, who are absent from this part of my life, who don't see this part of my growth, and I know im growing and becoming more accountable for myself, but the ones that matter to me aren't seeing it, which upsets me. I know if Shamina or my family or friends came, I would crave time alone, and that's just Human nature, to wan something you don't have, so that's not what Im saying exactly, what I want is people to who know me and understand to 'live da life' with me. Its like travelling on your own, though I love being able to do as I please and when I please, the fact u cant share those moments is always something that makes me re-think travelling on my own and so this new year I wont be going anywhere on my own but travelling back to the UK and whilst im there im going to Amsterdam and Brussels with Shamina, so though im not going anywhere exotic im going with someone I can share the experience and to me right now that means more...


Ok I know this edition as seemed rather metro-sexual in parts and im going to put it down to moving stress and fatigue, rather than any personal character trait....

Anyway take care

Asif 'Metrosexual' Mahmood

Now thats what I call Qatar 26 : Back from the wilderness...

Dear All,

It feels like I have been in the abyss for the last few days, away from civilastion has i have been screwed so hard it hurts all over...

I have barely stopped working for the last 4 days non-stop, including in the evenings as I had a deadline for 1pm today, which i JUST made, thanks alot to the help of the managers PA, thank God for palestinian-jordans, there hardworkers, and if it wasnt for her i would have been screwed!

Talking of Jordan, as the asia games has begun here(dont know how big it is in the rest of the world, but the opening cermony compares very favourably with those of sydney and athens), aneway i watched Uzbexistan(sp?) vs Jordon, and that compares very favourably to a sunday league game of football, however it was fun, and the chances of me watching either team again are slim2say da least! The final score was 3-1 to the Uzbexs,and the stadium was near empty(so much so that there was no seat allocation jus go sit wherever u want!) it was an experience! Uzbexs are odd people though, and if ur reading this from there i appoligize for the generalisation, however theres some who look chincky, some who look mafia russian. some which look arab, jus a random bunch and with a random mix of russian/english/arabic language, and even thuogh i had some photos with them(coming on to facebook shortly!) there a unpleasant bunch!

So im sure many of u are wonding how my team is doing in champ, well ur reading the words of the manager of the year 07-08, thats two years in a row, and why well because im premiership champions 2 years in a row(lets hope jus like reality), and thanks to them amazing success i have had, the FA have appointed me as manager of England. I feel though its time to end it at Manchester United and give England my attention, at least till the next world cup in 2010. I will inform you all of any developments regarding my managerial carrear...

However my football sucess doesnt end there, in Fantasy football, I am still topping all the leagues I am in, including top of Qatar, which has to be one of my claims to fame, and may, jus maybe make my CV if it remains at the end of the year, or I cud jus put 'was top manager in Qatar during 2006' if i lose my spot, cuz its a bloody honour i tell u! I have a big night tonight in the premiership, as 5 of my players are playing tonight! Some people have questioned my squad, but the key to me is I try to learn from my mistakes, last year I didnt do well in fantasy football, I know that may come to a shock for many of you, but its true I made some rookie mistakes, and this year Im not and thats the difference, its not so much my team but me, theres small errors that will cost you points every week, but if u can correct it, then u can make the difference, however Im not dumb, we all know theres a element of luck, and jus so happens i can be quite lucky, especially in love!!

Tonight is the big game of Manchester United vs Benefica, (ok i know my Entries have been quite football related of late, but thats because its a very busy/important time of the year plus not much else in my life on) man utd need a result, otherwise man utd will be out, and from last year we all know benefia can be knobs(we jus do shit against the portguese(remeber porto when jose cockface mourino was in charge, and benefica last year) but were at the theatre of dreams, so hopefully a postive result! Ill be hopefully watching it at a shisha bar, however every1 it seems supports chelsea, and mainly because of the hench negro Didlier Nigroba, so they all want to watch chelsea or local footbal. However last time i managed to watch united play, thanks largely to a old egyptian man(potentiall egypitan mafia if there is such a thing), who kinda wouldnt allow anyone to change the channel, and kept the commentry to english, even though i was the only guy who understood in the whole place! Aneway to counter the whole love for Nigroba I been trying to convince em Man utd are the team to follow as Saha is black too, but they jus dont seem to accept him as one of their own...

Aneway i Best go but take care of yourselves

Asif

Now thats what I call Qatar 25 : Manager of the Year 06-07

Dear all,

You are reading the words of the Manager of the Year 2006-07 after guiding Manchester United to a HISTORIC victory, by one point over their fierece rivals Liverpool. With some shrewd signings at the start of the year (Frank Ribery(15million structured over 18 months) and Shaun Wright Philips (20.5million structured over 24 months) and Javier Savoila (10millions) and Cambiasso (for 11million who was a inspired signing and did amazingly with Carrick in the centre) and then in January signed Khaled Brouzgelu (the chelsea defender however u spell it for 8.5 million) so as u can c i have been splashing the cash, but after getting 40 million for Rio Ferdinand, i was able to bring in 5 top quality players in return which provide the strenght in depth that was needed. Going in to the last game of the season, i was 1 point ahead of liverpool and i was playing reading at home, easy-peasy right?well no, i lost it 2-1 however my old mate, Mark Hughes at blackburn beat liverpool to give me the title.

I lost in the champions league in the quater-final stage thanks to a David Villa hatrick (Valencia), and i put weak teams in the domestic cup competetions that saw me lose in both! aneway its close season now, i made some signings during the year that will occur now, like bringing in Johnathan Woodgate, now i know people will be likely he is a liability,however he is a sold player, and i luv having home nation players in my team, i belive that a team shud consist of a spine of that nations players,

Im firmly behind Fifas plans to introduce Qutoas, and though arsen the knob wenger has a point in that its descrimination and where they come from shudnt matter, a club has a duty to its community and the country it is in, to help provide and give a place where people can succed. If we in england constantly got african or eastern euro players instead of english players, there wud no future englsih team, i mean will always have the one offs (like wayne rooney and stevie gerrad) however ask George Wear if one many can change a team...answer if u dont know who im talking about it no!

Well i know for alot of you u wud have finsihed reading way up there but for those still reading this, i thank u for taking an intrest into my days at Manachester United, and though i have a sneaking feeling that the glazers have a anti-muslim policy may i continue to bring success to the club and then get someone else to take over instead of those dirty bastards!

Talking of dirty bastards...the policy makers in the usa and isreal and the gulf countires have come to ingengious conclusion that they cant wipe out palestine/stand by and do nothin. Palestines population growth is much greater than isreals, therefore soon they will have no choice but to accept their existance and the fact that they need a soverign country.Also with the added fact that its inhumane what is occuring at the moment, and that with each murder means the perpertual motion for violence continues 4 fold. Im not saying palestine is without fault, as all they can do is bicker amongst each other, which isnt going to help anyone. However i sincerly hope all those involved and responbile will start some sort of dialouge but i think we all know WW3 is only around the corner...and this conflict in my opinion will be the source of it...

Aneway enuff for now, take care of yourselves..

Asif

Now thats What I call Qatar 24: Football Manager 2007

Dear All,

its the first of december, i final 31 days before we see the close of the year ( via the greogrian calender) and oh my this year has gone by ever so quickly..i iA intend to do a review of this year and what has happened and for those that only know me through this blog, what happened between Janurary til August 2006.

Firstly I would like to point out that my precious pearls have obviously spread and i quote "The divisions which exist among Christians are a scandal to the world," the Pope said after the meeting. Just a few days after my email about divisions in world relgion, i dont think its jus a conincedence!

LAst night I watched the Man utd vs Everton game, was a ok game, man utd had a much younger team out there and their inexperience showed at times, however it was a solid victory, which along with Chelseas win, puts both teams firmly in front of the rest of the league. And on matters close to home, fantasty football im jus storming it at the moment, and hopefully will continue, it all depends on the big man Kevin Doyle... Though im quiet annoyed that im third in Qatar at the moment, as I was first(well joint) but i gone down, btu hopefully will go better int eh coming weeks!

The internet cafe im in every1 has disappeared and the lights are off, im kinda shitting it, im going to leave and continue it later on take car!

Im back, and having started football manager 2007 im in complete football mode, before i give my inital views of football man2k7, Fernando, has give me a article to read that i think is a great article on chelsea and why exactly they will never be Man utd or liverpool etc http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2006/11/28/sfnhen28.xml

Aneway footy manager, well the interface is fairly similar to 2006, exacept alot easier to use which is good as usually with the new versions it gets more complicated each year. Transfers are usually a easy process,though im having trouble signing any1. I sold Rio Ferdinand to Chelsea for 40 million, straight away, and wit the money brought Saviola (9million) and Cambiasso (11million) and im trying to get a defender maybe another argentine, like Walter Samuel, or Miah Richards but so far been unsuccesful. I won my first 2 games on the premiership, against bolton and charlton and jus drew 0-0 with arsenal at home, i dominated the game but sadly came away with nothing. Well im gonig to go back and play very shortly!

I love skype, without my and Shamina would barely talk and if we ddi talk like the current levels i wud be spending half of my wage on it! I found out Ebay own skype, and Google owns Blooger(the company that produces my blog) its amazing how these 2 companies are slowly dominating the internet, i admire both companies but google mroe, and think its fantastic how it has grown, and i cant stand people who hate on it, it stands for the same beliefs i have like the freedom of information that in turn will lead to a better informed society, meaning the ignorance that exists in the world wud in my opinion be diluted.

Aneway thats enuff from me

Adios

Asif

Now thats what I call Qatar 23..I'll be gone til November

Dear all,

its the end of November almost and i have again reached my aim of 9 blogs a month, which doesnt sound much but its pretty hard to fit in when ur working 48 hours minimum a week plus i spent a third of the month in the UK!

Well ull all be shocked to know I have a flat-mate, now its not out of choice, but the company has been increasing the number of people here near expentionaly and ALL THE HOTELS in Doha have been taken over by the goverment, therefore noone can rent any rooms which means we need to move everyone who has been staying in hotels and put them in flats. I dont know how long my current situation will last as i dont really like living with someone anemroe, i mean i like having my own space. Its not that hes a knob or anything, hes quite nice a guy its just like i said i need my own time. Though i picked the bigger bedroom, i have taken over mosf ot the living.dinning and kitchen rooms but i wont go as far as to be the flatmate from hell to make sure he moves, as firstly hes a nice guy and secondly I dont wanna get a reputation for being a knob, and though some of you think its jus a matter of time till my company think that aneway... im not ready for them to know yet!!

I watched the Man Utd vs Chelsea game the other night in a dirty shisha place, it was like i was watching the game with Drogba's family, except half of em were supporting Utd...
The game it self was a great game to watch and i miss watchin games especially utd games as they attack with such great verocity especially if there losing, its on the edge of ur seat kinda stuff!

Today i have a big meeting, the first one i held on my own, its going to be a semi live/semi telephone conference call as some of the particpants are not able to come. Im nevous as hell but at the same time I cant wait, its the kinda of thing i been looking forward to doing,and hopefully i will do well, I have my supervisor/mentor with me, so i know he will be da to help me, but sometimes though its really comforting to know I have someone da who can help when im stuck its sometimes better to find out for urself if u can swim, or if ur going to sink. I guess its like with a baby(i know some of the jokers out da will go thats cuz u r a baby, hah hah hah..NOT) when u dont know when there ready for things, thats why u mother them and over-mother them as in this case, my company has vested lots of money in me, and i know it wud not make sense to c me fail, and like that a mother will have vested lots of love in me, and therefore emotionaly wud not make sense if i failed, well sometimes (and i know its a lot easier saying it when ur not the parents/employer) u just have to let me c how good people are... Or at least how well they can cope. Same goes for relationships, like i said in the previous entry, my family obviously want the best for me, however they in this case cant keep mothering me, I wud never grow or become wise if there were limitations to my life learning, I need to find out for myself if Shamina and I will be as good together as I imagine, we might be we might not be, but whats imperitive is I find out for myself, and i hope I carry this same values when im a parent, but i dont know if I will, because I know when I care for someone I become more involved and protected of them to the extent its over-bearing....

Well thats enuff self-reflection i can take for today I best prepare for my meeting but hope you all have a great day and take care of yourselves...

Asif

ps. whilst spelling November i just about it odd the spelling, like really odd, how the mb is next to each other without a vowel, i know its a mute point just found it a odd way to spell the word! (i know the troubling world of a dysleix but man it looks strange to me!)

Now thats what I call Qatar 22: Shamina Update

Dear all,

Now i know the last2 entries have been a rather grim affair, however im in better spirits today!

im jus checking my fantasy football teams online,i had a good start so far but the weekend is only jus beginging!

So my life at the moment, has taken many turns, sometimes one which sees my future become clearer and others which dash my dreams and hopes and makes the future i want even further away, i think from what im saying u may gather im talking about me and Shamina. Well i havent updated anyone for a while on what is going on there at the moment, well things personally are great never been stronger however things between myself,my family and her are as distant as ever, and im getting really impatient(thus the last 2 depressive blogs) its weird, i jus saw OC season 4 eppiosde 1, and i wont ruin it for those who havent seen it and plan to, but i feel like one of the characters who is confused and has their girlfriend thousands of miles away(ok u guessed it im talking about the legend know as Seth Cohen...and u wont hear me saying Legend and Cohen in the same sentance that often!) well like our friend Seth, im undecided of what to do with the relationship I have, however unlike seth the problem is not with each other but with our parents.

Yesterdy I mentioned Mike, the Coptic Egyptian guy i work and live with, well i was talking to him bout Shamina, and he understoof the whole class thing and say it happens in Egypt too, we both also understood its a parents perogrative to wan da best for their kid. However there comes a point when u must let ur child make their own mistakes/choices, depending on how u c it, no marriage is a gurantted success but the chances to succed are surely better when the two parties want it to happen, i dont know what is going to happen with me and Shamina, but im sick of the stalemate that currently exists and sooner rather than later me and my family will have to decide just how the future will work....something that though im looking forwad to being with Shamina, im not looking forward to the confortation that is going to happen! to find out the answers but i think its all about building my character and standing for what I belive in.

Aneway i best go as I have work tomrw morning, but take care of yourselves!

Asif

Now thats what I call Qatar 21: The death of a Tree...

alright guys,
how goes things?
im at a internet cafe, sweatin my balls off...(sorry for the crudeness) but pissin me off, i jus been in a really pissy mood recently as i got back, getting home sick, as i had such a amazing time in the UK and now im back in Doha and i got shit loads of work and there seems2b no escape...well at least til december 28th when i go back to the UK!

I been hanging out with a egyptian-american guy called Mike alot, he works with me and lives in my building. He is actually called Mike and not like a abbreaited muslim name, this is cuz hes cristian egypitan, and to be precise cripto (or something like that) orthodox, which is he was tellin me is something like a acient form of the othordox faith, its intresting certainly to learn about other faiths, and the differences within the faiths. I still dont understand the differences between protestants and caltholics very well, i know it has something to do with
Henry the 8th and his wives, or somethign along those lines, btu jus puzzles me how something that has nothing to do with God manage to split a relgion, i may have the complete other end of the stick but i jus dont know! Like the difference between Sunnis and Shias, again though im Muslim i dont have a CLEAR understanding over the differences, yet a lone the differences within sunnis and shias which is also quite a big thing. I know that Shias belived someone else shud succed the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) after he died and sunnis someone else. I know to some people they maybe surprised at my lack of knowledge on this issues, considering how important I hold relgion to myself, however the way I see it these differences, sunni/shia, catholic/protestant/orthodox all primarily still follow the same faith and in the end of the day the same principles and with that being said, i feel there all the same! However one cud say then if u take that belief then u cud say Judiasim/Islam/Christanity all the same as they all belive in the same primary principles, and i would have to say I agree, the differences are suble, im not saying there not important, but in essence there all from the same tree just difference branches, they intersect each other at points however they all go in different directions, and that is what were seeing at the moment in the world, the faiths are being torn apart, dividied and broken, not only against each branch but within those branches the same twigs are competing, its a shame becausing using the Annalogy if they worked together the tree wud be alot stronger and more beautiful and powerful because of it, but instead the tree will start to die, and lose itself and decompose....

how morbid of me?well like i said im in a funny mood at the moment! lol lets hope for a nice blog tomorw!
--

Now thats what I call Qatar 20: Pissed OFF

im so pissed off at the moment, my internet was down yesterday at work, ALL DAY so i wrote up 1 and a half blogs, then when i come in today the blogs are wiped out! fcukin computers, seriously, its prob because yesterday i was bitchin in my blog abuot computers and how reliant we all are on the dam things!!

well aneway onwards and upwards....
well today is thursday (my friday as its the day before the weekend) im so tired i cant wait to sleep! though tonight im playing football after work den there is a leaving party for a guy on my project who is going to albania....ummmm who the hell wud wanna go da? saying that who wud want to go to bangladesh, (where my mum is born and bread) its a shame, as i dont know about albania i will go with the trend and say its a shit hole and the people from there are scum....lol, no not really i jus personally havent found any nice albanians, jus like pimps and drug dealers around soho thats all, so is my judgements from their country skewed unfairirly? probably, however what else do we have to go on?

The reason im saying this is because often the case with myself i see myself as a example of many things, like a muslim, a english guy, a male, a bengali, a northerner, etc and the reason i do, is that if someone i meet has for whatever reason never met one of them, then i am a representative for that type or person, or a combination of those, like most people would have met a male, however not many people say in Qatar have met a bengali/british guy before so therefore im the first point of contact they have wit that genre type of person, so thats why i can be judgemental but also considerate, as i dont want people to think bad of anything that i may represent...

Im still pissed about the AWESOME blogs i wrote yesterday and its time to go home now its da thursday feeling! aneway wil maybe blog later tonight, but im still PISSED OFF!

Adios

Asif

Now thats what I call Qatar 19: Raining Edition

Dear all,

its a fine day2day in the glorious state of Qatar, as it is the first time in God knows went, it has rained!! the thing is with the desert, when its cold its COLD and when its hot its HOT...at the moment with les than 2 weeks to the Asia games, its pouring down, so we will c how it all goes down!

Im going to try to write alot over the next few days as i have had emails wondering why i am not writing, so i will update alot more over the next 2 weeks, and iA write at least another 5 in the next 10 days! so enjoy those pearls....(of wisdom of course!) and i will not review my trip all in one but spread it over the next few days!

Well well... i jus spent my first trip back to the UK, it was so good, i really missed it, however what i think made it so good was the fact that there was a limited time on it, so i knew i had to do so much in that amount of time. If i didn't have a return date, and i suddenly was told on Saturday that I had to return i highly doubt i would have a good time, it also makes the time that u have together with ur friends, family and loved ones more special. For those who have seen the SAW films, i think it plays a little on this philosophy of time is special, as when you know you have a limited amount of time u shud do something with it, again the film PhoneBooth plays to this line of thinking, and i strongly agree, in the way that most people jus coast their lives, neither loathing it nor enjoying it but jus getting by, when u have some structure and some passion then life and the choices u make in it mean alot more...
I think this is partly why holidays are so popular, as u have a limited time away, and though u may love to get away from home, if u were to live where u go on holiday it would be seldom that people would actually enjoy it more to where they currently stay.. as people aren't dissatisfied with their surrounding but rather their own lives but just don't realise it and look to blame everything else!

The plane journey was good and i love the fact im halfway to becoming a silver member of Qatar airways, it has to be one of the best airmiles programes in the world, and i think whenever i travel east of Russia i will always travel Qatar, as though i hate stop-overs, its a very good airline, offering v.good prices on long-haul, and very good facilities, for those who haven't experienced it i would strongly recommend u do, and something else i loved bout last night/this morning flight, was that it was empty, i jus took whichever seat i wanted, i moved around the plane, and jus loved it, as i hate planes where its so busy its claustrophobic... also randomly i met a guy whom went to my old school who works in Bahrain, which was quite cool.

Anyway i best go but take care and hopefully all hear from u again v.soon iA

Now thats what I call Qatar 18..training edition

Hey guys,

how are you all on this fine evening?

Im at the training centre at the moment, its ok, its very intresting
but very tiring!

I had a hectic time since i arrived in the UK, i arrived an hour late
in Manchester, then spent the evening at home, getting settled, the
following day i went around Manchester with my family, and was so nice
to spend time up north, sample cheshire water and air, and was so
sweet jus being up north!!

Saturday morning was busy as I went to Macclesfield bright and
early(9am!) to get the train down to london, first class of course!
then I went and dumped by stuff at a 41 Clarence Gate Garddens, and
then ran to liverpool st for some awesome paintballing, where i got
nailed but also did some nailing on others, and overall my team
destroyed the other!

After that I ran to oxford st2do some light shoppin,however turned
out2be quite heavy shoppin! but oh wel, i ended up buying quite a few
games and LOADS of DVDS!

I came to the decision2day that I wont bother renting a car wen I go
back to Qatar,at least not for nowi, its really expensive, and i have
had so many problems with it, it jus makes sense to get lifts for the
next month! Ill be in england aneway after that for another 10 years!!

so then met up with the B93 gang on saturday night for a wild nightof
risk that ended prematurely for some...Fern!

Sunday was a bright adn early start, 9am for footy, had a solid 6 a
side game, was a good laugh! and was intresting game i didnt play that
well myself, havent played on grass for over 6 months or so, however
hopefully playing again this sunday so shud be a intresting experience
and made me realise jus how much i miss london, and my friends in
london!

It is good to go out in Qatar, and its such a intresting experience
but these trips makes u wonder what is it al for, however i dont want
to delve too much into my precious pearls today, so i will leave it
for now, take care and will write another one soon

Asif

Now thats what I call Qatar 17- @Doha International Airport

Dear All,

I write this from the whole that is currently doha international airport, to be honest its not tat bad, its quite nice however its tiny, and for a country about to host the asia games(u thinking what da hell is that?) so was i not long ago,howver turns out its the 2nd biggest even in the world after the olympic games(not surprising as the event does have China and India (ie half the world population) and so with such a large and complex event, u wud assume that everything woutl be ready however as its Asia, u shud never expect anything on time. The main stadium that is expected to host the opening cermony (tickets cost almost about 80 quid which though isnt extorniate is still massively overpriced for local prices) is not even completed! the roads throughout Doha are not made...its jus unbelievable how poorly planned everything is, i mean they have employed thousands of people and got staff who have worked on the olympic and commenwealth games in the past so there is certainly no lack of experience in arranging it, however what it comes down to is the money men who jus have no idea what there doing, they spend millions on roads each year, laying down a surface then uprooting the road because they didnt put a pipe in and then re-doing the road and this happens over and over again all throughout the city, but its not jus Qatar the whole gulf has this problem and it jus comes down to extremly poor planning, though i ahve to say things are getting beta and i will miss this place as i leave!

I cant wait however to be back to western civilasation, its been almost 2 months, im so excited by being with my family and seeing Shamina, i cant wait! I have pretty much planned every minute for while im back, as u realise when u work time is very precious and when uget time off u have to try all u can to use it! Training shud be k, but not amazin, and will feel annoyed about being in the same city as Shamina but not being able to see her!

Well lets get to some brief world affairs, Democrats as expected wiped da floor with Republicans, but like i said in my last post, i wont be holding my breath with regards to them changing their policies abroad. I mean i would love it, but jus dont c it happening, i been told i seem rather negative in terms o world affairs, but i jus feel the world is full of complexities and faults and therefore ther e will always be dissatisfactions and people who are jus constantly pissed at the world, im kinda one of those people im afraid to say, i mean i do love life, at a personal level, but in a worldy level i jus see pain,suffering,hurt, violence and very little love and peace in the world right now, and its sad, for me the only way to not let it consume you is to not hate, or dwell and for myself the belief of God helps majorly as I always belive that in the end people will get what they deserve be it now of in the after life, and i think alot of non-relgious people say this is why they think people belive in God, for this sense of comfort. And to a certain extent i think its true, it does allow people to live their life without become too consumed with the world around them, and when they see injustice and are powerless to stop it, they believe God will handel it, its a very conforting feeling, it would intreast me to know how agnostics or athesists feel towards wordly injustices...

I been reading alot about Turkey and its role in the EU and Middle East, i dont know that much about the history, I mean the whole Ottamen Empire thing, my history knowledge is poor, however im learning alot more, and I have the natural instinct to side with Muslims, however from what I ahve read, the Turkey goverment and the Turkish army are a repressive regime, whom just want to appease the EU. I dont think from what I have read that turkish people have the same feelings, however because of the strenght of the army, they have little choice in the mata and its sad, i mean the army and the goverment is meant to represent the people (think of Thailand, the Army there i felt did a good job in the coup, and had the peoples intrests at heart) however the turkish army from what I have been reading have Turkey's historical honour as their primary concern, i mean whatever Atturk(the founder of modern Turkey, an ex-army general) says, they still belive shud be the case today, and is not a reflection of the people of Turkey. I have met alot of Turks in England and when i was in Saudia Arabia(much to my surprise, as the majority of turks i met in london, arent relgious) however the ones in Saudi were extremly nice and devout muslims, and it pleased me to know that country hadnt become so secularised that its peoples behaviours changed. They obviously identified themselves as turks, however they told me that there are plenty o relious people in turkey it is just that the ones in power see themselves have a duty to secularism, (ie the army). However reading recently there are elections coming up, and if the prime minsiter becomes president, it would be intresting, as one of the biggest controversys at the monent is the headscarf ban in public intituations, and the priime minsters wife wears a headscarf, so it would be intresting to see what happens there... I am becoming more and more intrested in turkey and im very intreseed to see what happens with it in the following few months so expect more views on Turkey...


Well i have written a fair amount and will end on this.....

Zidane is in Bangladesh at the moment, and is being given the respect he deserves by my people, im so proud that he has visited and people think so wot, but for me, its a very big thing and a proud thing, that people like him and the world media are taking more of a intrest in Bangladesh and not for shitty reasons like famine, flooding or violence

aneway take care and have a good day iA i will

Asif

Now thats what I call Qatar 16: Saddam the Democrat...

Dear All,

I been busy getting ready for London I cant wait! jus a couple of day away, and I been organising football on sunday morning at 9am! yeh i know nice and early but what beta way2 start ur day of rest than gettup at the crack of dawn!

Man utd are Flying at the moment, i cant belive it, iA it will continue, though i dont know, as the Man utd of recent seasons has sowed seeds of doubt in my mind, if it was the teams of 90's i would have said the title is wrapped up,however I cant say that, cuz I still think it can go to any of the top 4 teams of last year.

Its an eventful week at the moment in terms of current affairs, yesterday Sadam Hussain was found guilty and has been sentanced to death by hanging, now I feel death penelty is fine in certain circumstances, where it can be proven without any doubt that the person is guilty and in this case i think it was clear. I also think its a very good deterent and though crime still occurs where it happens(China, USA , Saudi Arabia) im sure lots of people do get 2nd thoughts about their actions if it means their life will end. However some people will not get detered from crime, and will go at it no matter what the cost is, and those people cannnot expect anythign less than what they desrve. I think it was a disgrace however that the decision is 2 days before the US elections, it was like perfect timing for Bush to show his new Iraq is working, and it seemed to me to be completelty worked, in that way so that they could use it for an extra couple of those swing votes!


Tommorrow is the USA mid-term elections, its a big day not jus for the USA but for the wider-world especially the middle-east, because if Bushs party loses the Senate and the House of Represenatatives then the policys with the goverment will change fairly dramaticly well at least that is what the commentors are saying however i dont really see this happening as though i am not saying all americans are the same, far from it, majority of the americans i have come face-to-face with have been some of the nicest people i have ever met, and would not wish to taint them with the same brush as I do with the goverment of their country. The republicans/democrats there is not so much difference between the two of them, both consist of neo-cons/hawks, there is no range in the political spectrum, which is sad for the country that is supposed to be the face of demoracy, they only offer 'two types of sauces' as apposed to the UK where we do we have vast and wide-ranging spectrum, from the Green Party, Scottish National Party to the more credible 3, Lib Dem, Conservative and Labour, and despite in recent times of a mixing of policy by the the latter 2 they all still generally appeal to their target audiance. The same cant be said in the USA which is seeing ridicilous levels of money being spent on the 'swing voters' damn Swingers.....always causing trouble! Well i cant wait to see what happens not jus tommorrow but over the next few months and see what changes does occur, but my thinking right now is no matter the result not much will change and the exisiting policies will remain...


Aneway I best go but take care of yourselves and hopefully I can send one more whilst in the State of Qatar!

Now thats what I call Qatar 15 - Pasha

Laddettes and Lads..

Hope this email finds u in good health....its the first of November today and my first blog of the month, obviously!

Today has been a little less busier at work, but still busy, im jus counting down the days til UK, its a week tomorw that will reach the great shores of the British isles.

Been thinking of what to do for my bday if anything, im thinking of going to a a nice morrocan restuarant in Gloucster Rd, i been before with Shamina and its really nice, something different and they have really nice shisha, so this blog isnt so much an update or 'Pearls of Wisdom' as people like Baqer had hoped but rather a invivtation to come and enjoy the splendour of mine and Shaminas bday, it will be a afternoon occasion for obvious reasons, such as it being a sunday (12th) people will be working the next day, and i have training!

My sister is in the guardian today so u can check her and her husband out in G2 in the Guardian, they have a special on Muslims, but who doesnt these days, were so in, its unbelieveable!

Maybe pre 9/11 a decent percentage of the world i felt was ignorant to the fact Islam existed and now i would guess a very small percentage of the world knows nothing about Islam! Its not necceasry a good thing, and certainly its often negatively portrayed by muslims and non-muslims, however its jus intrestying how much in the limelight it is these days....I imagine its similar to Jews in Europe after the war, as many people may not have known about them, but after the War they became much more recognised, though that could be a shit comparison, im jus trying to implicit it often takes something tragic for the world to take notice, and thats the shame of the world we live and always have and always will focus on the negativety aspects of society....i can write much more on this topic but i have to leave now, and pray and then go home and take my sister and nephew out as they only have a few days.

I hope Baqer and my other readers who long for my pearls of wisdom are happy as they got a lil dose!

take care of yourselves

Asif

Now thats what I call Qatar 14 - Halloween Edition

Dear All, its October the 31st which I believe is known as Halloween around the western world, the pagan festival that has been commercialised to the extent that the people of the worlds only super-power has spent $5bn on stuff for this one day..... just amazes me! (if u don't believe me check out bbc online!)

Well I gave everyone a bit of a bumper edition the other day! I hope you enjoyed it!

I have been endlessly busy recently, work is hectic, my sister is still here and it was my nephews birthday yesterday so just been having so much. However my mind is still focused on coming backtot he UK next week, I just cant wait to be going back though i will be doing training! I will get to c Shamina, and its been tough, it will be 2 months since we last saw each other, which is the longest it has ever been, even with all my summer traveling i have never been away from Shamina for 2 months, and its difficult, its hard however thankfully things are going well, partly because i spend a significant amount of my salary on her bday present!! (and who says money cant buy love....???:P)

I am going to be paintballing iA when i go back, i never been before and im kinda shitting it, if anyone has even seen Biker Grove they will know why! however if u havent, then basically Ant+Dec(tv presenters now, previously Newcastle's finest rap/acting group) shooting each other during a paintballing match and one of them going blind and eventually Gay!! that made me go off the thought of paintballing for at least the last 15 years!

Oh before I forget I will inform u of some Beef that occurred the other night here in Doha, well I was in the largest shopping mall in the middle east, City Centre, and the car parking as u can imagine is terrible, however i eventually found a place, however so did a dirty Arab who was behind me, we were both waiting for the guy to move, i told the guy it was my spot but he just ignored me and then when the car left the DICK just went and took my spot, i got out and had a argument, then some other impatient Arab dics, started beeping and telling me to move as I boxed him in, i was so pissed off but as always there are lessons to be learned in these situations, such as the helplessness of life in the middle east. There seems to be no authority.,..


Im listening to a podcast, and there commenting about a extract from Wayne Rooneys autobio, how if he was called a different name how different would his life be, some may think a name would not make a difference at all, however i beg to differ as i feel that in certain situations by naming ur child ur self-fulfilling a prophecy or at least directing them towards one.... an example being Learndo Di-Caprio, would he be as famous as he would have been without a exotic name, however in a footballers case, usually it is the footballers ability that attracts the headlines and not names, so Pele and Maradona would be known the world over even if their name was 'Bill Smith' and 'Sheikh Bin Thanik Thaokum Waleed Haque' or something random, would they still be the legends that they are known the world over....? im so sure that alot of people will have had different lives if their parents have named them differently...

Man Utd had a cracking victory at the weekend, and i jus love the fact my two favourite teams are both top of their respective leagues, Inter milan (being my 2nd favourite team...why i am not so sure, i just loved them since i was about 10 years old, and they had amazing players, my favourite being Janiver Zanneti and Roberto Carlos playing together, was jus phenomenal, in my opion 2 of the greatest fullbacks in modern football, however someone i think that is on the same level as Jannier Zanneti and sometimes i feel better, Gary Nevile, who is one of my favourite players, he lives, breathes man utd, he is solid, works hard and does well, and for those same reasons i respect Steven Gerrad for his love for Liverpool(though he ha been lured by the green, which did make me lose a lot of respect for him...im sure he is bothered), Totti for Roma, and there are many the world over, which is refreshing, because of the ashley cole saga which jus shows how greedy people have become.... If ur not aware of who he is and why he is such a prick, well he was offered a contract of 55,000GBP a week, 2,860,000 a year just to play football, and he wanted more money than that, he isnt worth 55,000 a year however it just goes to show (again in my previous blogs about money wasting) how disillusioned the world is....however I admit i am part of the problem, i pay to go and c man utd, i pay for their tops, souvenirs and i am then indirectly funding rio's coke habbit... or rooneys lust for grandma's....

I am going to go now as i have work to do...take care of yourselves.

Sheikh Asif Mahmood

Now thats what I call Qatar 13: The nuclear/Islamic world in my eyes(and others)

Dear All,

2 Posts in 1 day, what did you guys deserve to get this?? Not much really, except im bored and thought i would let you know how I feel about things at the moment in the world but before I start http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6086042.stm ,that article is a good article on how Al-Queda is using the internet to promote itself, Its funny how alot of people think of Al-Queda of some random middle-eastern men in thobes(long white gowns)and big beards, who are illerate, uneducated ,fearless monsters, however the fact that they stil exist and do what they do makes you think how the hell do they learn and gain access to use all the weapons and internet and everything else they do...

So I wil copy a email conversation I was having between 2 friends of mine, Richard Valtr and James O'Donogue, where I asked them their feelings about North Korea and Iran... here are their responses...


Richard wrote..
North korea – little man with a gun. Poor bastard wants some attention.
Iran – feeling wronged by history. Pretty rightly so after Britain and US have fucked them around so much, but still, it has a fairly educated population, so I’d expect better than go in for these hard man tactics. It smacks of jilted lovers: there is no real conflict between Iran and the Europeans or even the Americans, it’s just an issue of respect. Though I think Ahmadinejad (or however you spell it) is obviously a clever guy and he’s just doing it the whole ‘invade the rhine’ way (excuse the comparisons with nazi germany, I don’t mean to go there, but just using the whole thing as a template for how a smaller, less powerful nation can try and utilize its potential in an age of international confusion) and he’ll probably end up doing Iran more harm than good. So, yeah, it’s a touch cookie to crack, because China seems to want to become a superpower at all costs, but still remain all-embracing to everyone. It’ll be interesting how that pans out. Especially given Russia’s new resurgence. Sorry, these notes are a little shorthand, but it’s supposed to be a quick reply.

Whilst James wrote...

nk+iran is v. interesting. i was impressed with the UN resolution on NK because china took a firmer line than i thought they would. it shows that they are starting to come out of their shell a bit and realise that they need to move a little in their frosty relations with japan. i think its far more than just attention seeking, as the regime is fighting to keep itself alive at the mo. its a bold move to come out and test the bomb, but can also be seen as a simple evolving of their strategy over the last 15-20 years. dont be surprised if in the next 2 years nk cools off and gets some financial reward for doing so, both from the US/Japan/SK group and china - they just want them to fuck off and stop making trouble, so after the tough words will probably give them what they want so they can get on with the more important business of developing their own economy through easing relations with japan+US.

i dont really think the iran situation has much to with history. the issues there i think centre around a desire to become a leader in the middle east (though dont know how successful they have been coz of the differing religious divides - you prolly know more about that ass-clown). but by offering a strategic deterrent against israel (who not only has vast conventional superiority, but also has the bomb) would go some way to overcoming these divides i think. i also think there is a genuine desire to use the technology for civilian purposes (as well?). the issue about them being a member of the NPT is one that riles me, because while they have a duty not to use any nuclear technology to build weapons and to allow inspectors in, the nuclear weapons states also have significant responsibilities that they simply dont live up to - disarming and providing assistance to powers who want nuclear technology are the main ones. why should iran play ball if the others dont. given russia close links to iran, and chinas dependence on her for energy imports, i dont see such a firm stance being taken. in fact, i dont think a nuclear iran would be such a bad thing, as long as they have the proper command and control mechanisms in place, since it could actually stabilise the middle east. its certainly no less dangerous than nuclear india who the US is actively encouraging to progress like this with its deals, which again flouts the NPT rules.

one thing i will say though is that the 'rights' nk and iran have are real, and each sovereign state should be allowed to do as it pleases. within reason - with rights come duties, not only duties of responsibility to others ( i.e. not destabilising the strategic security environment) as well as duties freely accepted by those states in being signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (i.e. dont make nuclear bombs). equally the nuclear weapons states (as defined by the NPT) have responsbilities to live up to their end of the bargain ( i.e. disarm and help spread technology), but two wrongs dont make a right, and there is also the question of who wronged first?.




I hope they dont mind me showing everyone their views, but i show them because I think they are diverse and insightful. Myself in response to those views wrote the following...

Regarding china and russia, it will be intresting to see how it all develops, as China is becoming increasingly important to the world, and playing a larger role (the olympics in 2k8 being one example) however i still think the middle east will play the biggest role in world politics for at least the next 20 years. Not so much the war on terror, but more the war on Islam, if you look there are battles/wars all over the world and the vast majortiy have muslims involved, you have russia and checyna, the whole usa vs iraq, Nato vs Afghanistan, Kurds vs Turks, Pakistan vs India(over khasmir and other beef), then the most obvious and most dangerous isreal vs palestine/iran/syria/lebonano and egypt and jordon(if they grew some balls again) on top of all that there is a significant muslim populour in China which wants to seperate in the north west and have had many clashes with the goverment, if all means its going to be kicking off sooner rather than later, and for some it will be seen as the holy war, which it already has whilst others it will be a more geographical or political war, however whatever the way people will view it it is going to be mix, and i have no doubt nuclear weapons will be involved. Who uses them i am not so sure, Saladam Rusdie recently said in a article i read that he hopes Gen. Musaraf (leader of pakistan) stays alive a long time not because he likes him but he feels that without him it would just be a group of extremists/fundamentalist incharge of a nuclear weapon, whereas the way I see it personally is that if the muslim world does get attack there will at least be one country who could help defend it. From this view, you can tell i think Iran and N.Korea both have ligitmiate rights to develop anything as they see fit to protect the country, I understand the US, UN and EU have to help police the world at certain times, however if the people of one country belive in something that surely prohibiting that country of its duties to its citizens is a crime?

I read a quote this mornign that pissed me off no end..
Unifil is meant to act against Hezbollah and not against Israel

Amir Peretz
Israeli Defence Minister

This was in reference to the flights that isreal is still doing over Lebanon, which France have deemed to go against what was agreed, it just shows what is wrong in the Middle East, where countries feels its right to abuse the UN when it decides but as soon as someone does something that you dont like, u use the UN and claim innocence, its just wrong, why should a army like Unifil take sides in this war, they are there as peacekeepers and not as Israels personal army, I dont have anyting particulary against Isreal so dont start on that, its just sometimes the arrogance of some leaders in this world astounds me, as well as the people who support and put that leader in power.

Regarding the Taliban btw I absolutley despise them, though I dont think much of the US , the taliban are crazy, they follow such an extreme form of Islam its unbeliveable that it could be called the same thing, some of the things they do are good, like force people to not lie,cheat,steal etc, however the way they treat women, is jus shocking, if any of you who are knowledgeable about Islam I would recommend watchign a Afgani film called Osama, its a very good film but again only for those knowledgeable about Islam because its important to make the differences between the different forms of Islam...

Regarding the whole Nuclear issue I agree with James, the world must either choose collectively to Dis-arm and (therefore UK and USA forget about building all those new nuclear plants and find other forms of energy) or allow every country the right to do as it pleases as long as it doenst infinge other countries. And when I say infringe I do not mean like when Iraq was close of becomign nuclear in the 80's and Isreal bombed its nuclear facilities because it didnt WANT a nuclear neighbour, that is completelty wrong, and if anyone was to bomb north korea or iran without either of them infringing on anyone else then i sincerly hope the UN and the EU would take a strong line against it. The only country I have respite for is South Korea who is in a very difficult situation due to its historical ties, culutural ties and its own economy and social welfare needs to becareful regarding what it should do in regards to North Korea. No other country should be getting involved i feel, but yet USA are involved in the 6 party talks with NK and indirectly talking to Iran(thru the UN), it will utimetly be down to them, I dont begrudge this fact, in fact I think its somethign that we all have to accept that they are and will be for the forceable future the dictator of the world, they are still the only super-power in the world, and as history will tell you, when any country has been dominant in the world they tend to rule with a iron-fist and they do invade and take terrorites and through their weight around, and I am sure there are worse countries than the USA that could play that role, so rather than be a pessimist its always beta to be a opptermist and accept what is going on and just try working with the current parameters in trying to achieve a more harmonious world....

And there you have it my(and others) brief view on the current nuclear crisis mixed in with some of my views on the Islamic world...

I welcome your comments.

Take care
Asif

Now thats what I call Qatar 12: Another Day...Another Riyal...

Dear All,

Today is Thursday, and I have just had 3 days off work for Eid and now I have a weekend to look forward to! Its not a bad life at the moment I'll tell u that!

Yesterday was Bilal and Shaminas bday, and thanks to Bilal Shamina managed to get her present so I was greatful of that, though obviously I would have loved to spend their bdays in England i was here in Qatar earning my Riyals to pay for their presents!! Also it would have been hard to decide whos Dinner to go to, lol, i aint saying who i would pick but im sure u all know who....!

Regarding Money its obviously Imperative to earn money in this commericalised world, however where do u think the trade-off between enjoying urself/life and earning money ends? some take the view of earning their whole lives and working hard throughout...these people tend to be americans, then there is some who take the view of lets work hard for the first 50 years of our lives and then enjoy life after (i would say this a fair reflection on the English) and then there is some who take the view of Lets work a little but lets have lots of fun at the same time(these tend to be the Medeterian people ie Spanish, Italien, Greek) and finally you have the people who just cant be arsed working because they dont need to and that unfortunantly for me is the Arabs.
I see it everyday how these lazy bums, are jus living off natural resources and not doing that much with their lives, its so upsetting, and though a large amount of displeasure is thru jealously, I still think it isnt really living life.

If anyone has seen the film 'Click' with Adam Sandler will know that work/family life balance is critical, i think the film portarys the balance well and though it has its usual Hollywood features especially the ending, it was enjoyable and enabled me to releate to the film now that I am working( though i dont have my own family, i have Shamina and My parents,sisters+nephew) and the balance I have to have between all the parties involved. Its certainly true with ages comes responsbility, because I am feeling it, I already feel the pressure to make somethign of the myself, push myself up the coporate lader, become more family orientated, become a better muslim, its all these things that constantly play on ur mind that gives you little time to enjoy life for what is it. Even on Holidays like I jus had, I am still thinking about work, I worry about this and that, there is never a end, when we were back at school or uni, there was always a end in sight, like you knew at the end of this term that was it for a month/3months, and u cud do this and that, and then go back eventually or you know another chapter in ur life, where as with work there is nothing to look forward to, i mean there is but its ur annual leave or the weekends, and it jus really suxs. However becuase I am on a international assigment i get extra holidays called R+R on top of my annual leave which is for 16days every year(2 sets of 8days every 4 months!) so i have that to look forward to, however right now im jus counting the days til im back in the UK for training in novemeber.

I still havent decided what I am doing when I am back for training or for my bday but will let u know over the next week or so!

Aneway that is it for me for right now but I will be back very soon for one on my views on current world affiars...LOL not one to be missed!

Take care

Sheikh Asif Mahmood

Now thats what I call Qatar 11...VIP Birthday Day....

Dear All,

Its on the eve of one of the most important days in the gregorian calender for myself, its almost the 25th october, where two people close to me have their birthday...Shamina Khanum and Bilal Anwar.
For those who know me i take my and other birthdays a very serious occasion, in serious i mean SERIOUS GIFT GIVING/RECIEVING, and despite my long distance away from these people i have done all i can to ensure I can still give presents. I gave Bilal his before I left, and have ordered Shaminas which she wil hopefully recieve at some point!

So for my birthday I went to a meal with my dad, sister and nephew at the intercontinental, it was a really nice place, and it was a ramadan tent, which is quite common among al the nice hotels here, where they have swirrling devishs(dancers with long piece of clothes that swirl around in a artistic manner, ( i know its not clear, however if you wish to know more I would suggust checking it out on youtube, its quite intresting to see) and then there is live singers and as much food as u can imagine, and its not that expensive, it is expensive for over here but not more than a average-good restaurtant in london, and so when u comepare to the london prices its DEF worth it!

I also been taking my family to many places whilst they have been here, and l been getting a better grasp of DOha, and its certainly growing on me... like i said in the previous emial I just i wish i could share it with many more people! I think quite a few people will start to visit me over the next few months, and my life here is a little crazy already and I am sure it wil get even more so in the future! I have been here since middle of September, and then I am coming back in Novemeber to the UK for training, and then over the New Year I am coming back to the UK, and maybe somewhere else in Europe! And then in Feb I jhave my R and R and intend to go to Saudi Arabia to do Ummrah(which is like the pilgrimage to Mecca except isnt done at the anytime of the year that is not in Hajj) iA. After that I wont be back til at least may, and therefore I expect most of my visitors between that time...or around Christmas..


Im watchign the new episode of Lost, Fantastic! for those who havent seen it, where the hell have u been?u get to get on that mofo...i dont know how the writers and the producers do it, its jus so different to the usual programes its like watching a film, execpt with short annoying week long breaks!

Aneway im busy txting Bilal and Shamina, as I always do i try to get the txt in bang in at 12am,,,i dont know why i get so funny about birthdays, but the way I see it , its for a few reasons firstly I think of the day as special because it is the day God decdied to bring them into this world, and secondly because they have celebreated another year on this plannet, which is a good thing, and deserves to be celebrated!


I best go but I am so happy and in someways im more happy this day than I am no my birthday, as I enjoy giving more than reciving, what do you guys enjoy more?

Take care of yourseleves and enjoy this day for it could and should be a special day...

Asif

Now thats what I call Qatar 10: BIRTHDAY EDITION

Dear All,

Its been a while, I say a while, even though its been less than a week, but I'm sure people have been visiting thinking what is going on, I'm in the (mah)mood for a his blog, but he just doesn't up date, well fear not I'm back from my mini-hibernation!

Well you may ponder to think why would I update today, well as some of you will know (especially those reading this on facebook, as you can c it when you log in) its my Birthday.

So I think ill give a BUMPER edition today!

Well this last week has been a 'mare' northern English for hellish/nightmare, I got the flu, I became exasperated with life here, and with the problems of my car, which only just got sorted out further complicated my life...however today is a new day and I shall try not to dwell to much on my anguishes this last week...

I found a shisha cafe last night near where I live, where they were watching WWE(formally WWF) and so I sat down and got a drink and a shisha and watched it, and it turns out they show the football there but I didn't want the man utd game as I had to go and do some things, however guess how much a bottle of the finest Qatari water and a decent shisha was???? GBP 1, not even that with the conversion rate, I was like what, when they said, cuz at first I thought they said 60 riyals, but nah it was 6 and the rate is 6.8 riyals to the pound so I as like SWEEET not only did I get my fix(albeit VERY HEAVILY edited) of WWE but also managed to quench my thirst and my desire to be a Arrraaaaab.

The company have found me a place to live, I am not 100% sure on it, I haven't seen it yet, but some people have said its not all that whilst others love it, so I don't know wot to do...it jus seems its all going down today innit! I have my car(at least for the time being iA) and a place to call 'home' yet im somewhat still dissatisfied...
Maybe its because I am quite lonely here, I mean I have people around all the time, but I don't share my experiences with anyone who means anything to me, its like when you travel on your own, though its cool at times when you can jus do whatever you feel, and ur completely liberated from any responsibility and your ur own timekeeper, however when you see something incredible or experience something terrible you have noone to share it with, and the sense of loneliness makes it hard to deal with issues when things arent going well...so for me, when I travel I have fully evaluated both aspects of traveling and think though independent traveling u can gain much more and learn more about yourself, its no where near as fun as having someone with you whom u know well to share the experience with...At the moment I am experiencing so much, however the number of people I can share it with is limited, and those whom I do share with I can only do it by writing and talking to, but not showing and feeling, and just makes everything that little bit worse...

About my birthday, this is my first blog of iA many on this day, well im the grand old age of 23, and yes im still the youngest guy on the whole of the project, which kind of sucks but then is quite cool in terms of learning, as I have the most to learn, and so I am more of a sponge and therefore I pick up everything a lot more, whereas others older who have been working for longer, are more aware of certain things but then let other things by-pass them, whereas someone new will pick up on things more, anyway yen well im 23 and celebrating my first bday on my own, or am I?? well no, cuz my sister and dad and nephew managed to change their flight and hopefully iA they will be in Doha this afternoon, and then I have booked a dinner at the intercontinental hotel which is supposedly has the best iftar tent in Doha, so hers hoping!! Its weird because I am usually the biggest fan of birthdays, but I don't know why but I have been really subdued today, its weird, im finding it hard I think to find a way to celebrate, like I said in the above paragraph it all comes down to loneliness...
However though I keep bitching about loneliness the funny thing is as soon as im with other people I will want to be alone again which is jus the weird way I am, however who doesn't want what they cant have? its jus a natural human tendency...

Now lets get on to the topic of long-distance relationships, quite a few of my friends are currently involved in those messy type of relationships, like I am, and its hard, its tough, and though like isaid sometimes when u with them u want a break when u live far way the inverse is true, and though I don't particularly love life in London, I would go just so I can spend more time with Shamina, a lot of people fail in long-term relationships however both sides need to make an effort to stabilise the relationship no matter the distance, if one side does all the week then the relationship is doomed, however funnily enough a lot of the time each person thinks there the one doing all the work and the other is doing nothing, well in reality in those situations its very even, but each person is being blind at the other half's efforts, and that in my humble opinion can also be detrimental to the relationship...

I have written a fair bit of random stuff, I was about to say crap(instead of stuff) but I don't want to be judgemental lol!
anyway I will luv ya and leave ya now...

take care of yourselves and enjoy this beautiful day, that God introduced me to the World and thus making the world and all of your lives THAT MUCH BETTER

Sheikh Asif Mahmood

Contract Administrator

Bechtel Civil

New Doha International Airport, Overseas Bechtel Inc,

P. O. BOX. 24117, Doha, State of Qatar

Mobile: +974 585 4924

Fax: +974 467 9583

Email: amahmood@bechtel.com



I threw in my work signature so you can all be like WOW! and show im trying to make something of myself at the age of 23 I still got a lot to learn before that job title turns into CEO....but give it 10 years!!

Now thats what I call Qatar 9...Oh so tired....

Dear All,

I been on a bit of a sleeping marathon, last night i slept at 10:45pm (which is pretty early consdering i normally go to sleep at 12-1am) and when i got back from work i slept as well, so im certainly gettin my shift of sleeps....

I had a fairly productive day at work, did some online courses, and helped my manager/mentor with some stuff, and so was well happy with all that, and with my sleep i certainly aint complaining!!

If anyone knows how to get a counter onto my blog, because i lostmy blog counter when i re-did the whole design (still well pissed about that) and so if anyone could help then i would appreciate it!

I have been feeliing very discontent with the life over here, though it has its amazing features, like the food, the shopping, and just how comfatable you live, however the way the life is so hireacheal, and the way the people treat others is disgusting, i dont maybe this is because i am asian, and it is mainly asians whom are treated badly, they are paid like minimum wage and just treated very badly, however to the credit of the Qataris, there is some things that i think are very commendable like how they arrange iftar(breaking of the fast) for all muslims at the mosques, it allows those whom cant afford maybe to eat nicely, (though the food isnt 5* quality it isnt bad at all) and a couple of days ago I was i was in the car, at iftar time, and there was a guy handing out water and dates to break the fast at the traffic lights, which i just thought was really cool and a nice touch...
these little touches make the biggest differences, and therefore shows me the advantages of muslims living in a muslim country, HOWEVER the prime problems in muslim countries is the freedom aspect,we dont have the same kinda freedom that countires in europe do have, (i would say USA however i belive that is becoming more and more of less democratic state, where everyone is being monitored, watched and buisness is being done with the concerns of the goverment and not the people, if you ask how, well phone lines are being tapped, foreign companies are being told they cant buy this or that, (same as china and russia) and the passenger information that USA goverment wants from all planes flying in USA airspace/or landing on USA, acts like this in my opionon serverly limit the country and therefore make it much more of a theoracy as opposed to the great democratic capitalist state that it claims to be...


Google brought YouTube, which i cant quite understand however when you have that much money why the hell not!! Facebook could be sold for a 1bn, these guys, they come up with relatively simple ideas and the become million/billionaires, but it also shows how fickle the world is in my opionon, where people become Billionaires for setting up a networking website, or video website, or a telephone networking (skype) and they become billionaires, its a joke, how do thesse sites really benefit people, i mean ok Skype i do understand, it brings people together and allows people to communicate whom couldnt afford it before hand, however the other sites though much fun, i just think that people should be paying money to other kinda of ventures that do more to help people, i been reading about proverty in so many countries, and yet at the same time money is being wasted on companies likethis! im sure lots of people will disagree and this is jus the way commerce works, but oh well!

My sister and nephew are coming today to Qatar, but then are leaving to go to Kuwait, so i dont know if i will get to c them!

aneway i best go but take care of yourselves

Asif

Now thats what I call Qatar 8...Helpless in a land far far away....

Dear All,

I have endured an eventful time since my last blog, my 'buddy' (the technical term that Bechtel use for someone who helps me settle in the company) and his flatmate was involved in a serious car crash,where a Qatari Women was put into hospital and for anyone used to the Gulf thats a BIG, FAUX PAS, you never injure a local and u never injure a women, however it wasnt there fault, as two other cars coliaded and then one of those cars spun into their cars, and just highlights the dangers about these roads. On top of this my car had a minor incident, where both tyres on my passenger side blew, something in the road punctured/slashed my tyres, and i had to wait by the road for hours til someone came and helped, (thus the title for this blog)

Today I am breaking my fast with a work-do, there is not that many muslims in the office, only about 30-40 of a team of a 150-200 which isnt that many considering it being a muslim country, then again it could be considered alot considering its an American firm....

Well i have to go shortly but wanted to post some big news regarding myself....lol im coming to england iA in November for a week for training, however on the weekend possibly November 18th, i will be having my birthday party(most likely a dinner) though it is exactly one month late, its beta late then never, so make sure u keep it free, i only maybe intend to merge it with Shamina and maybe Bilal (as they are both born a week after me) but they have yet to be informed lol!

Anyway will let you know more, but get ready for the big bash!!

Take care

Asif

Now thats what I call Qatar 7..Dr Love Edition

Dear All,

Good evening to my readers in the great State of Qatar, all 1 of
you.... and good afternoon to those in the UK and good morning to
those in the USA (west coast)!!

So its been a few days since my last update, and I'm pleased to know
there has been quite a few comments about my blog to me, which is
nice, and there are still a number of readers whom are reading my
blog, and though the great medium that is Facebook, that number will
rise....

Talking about facebook, they allowed everyone to join which i applaud,
especially as it allows Shamina to become a member which she has done,
though it means i must check my behaviour now...lol! only joking, i
always behave well! Regarding that topic though, it is very typical
that for couples the issue of jealousy and other girls/guys always
cause a major problem, and the whole x's situation, and it takes a
long time, for couples to get over the whole topic...

Rheanna once told me, that one should never fret about x's or
concerned of the past because we should just be happy,because whatever
has happened has helped shape that person, so for example say a person
has had a 'thousand' flings or just one serious love, whichever it is,
that/those relationships have helped the person you become who they
are, and you may not be with them if they hadn't those experiences so
rather than obsess about the past its vital for any
relationship/marriage you learn to move on, accept each others pasts
and move forward....

Sorry went into Dr Love mode there, but being away from Shamina, and
all my friends and family has placed a a light onto the relationships
i have, with my Friends, family and especially shamina, the distance
is making me put the relationships i have in perspective, and in
retrospect you can c the nature of people, and generally i have found
majority of my friends to be as good as i thought they were in
England, however some people have disappointed me whilst some have
excelled my expectations, one such is Henry, who has been emailing me
lengthily emails fairly regularly, and though we were good friends
before i feel that our correspondence has increased our friendship....

I have been missing my friends alot ,and my family and my nephew
ESPECIALLY (look at my facebook photo album titled Graduation to c the
cutest 22 months old in the world) but honestly i been missing mostly
Shamina, its really hard being away from your partner,. most of the
people here have girlfriends back home in England/USA, and from what
i gather there all finding it tough, but most of them haven't been
with their partner for that long as I have, and they have all been
here longer than i have plus I'm the youngest on the project, so with
those factors compounded I'm finding it hard in that respect, however
its being made easier with the help of Skype (my name is
Stormyasif786, for those who have it add me), and the fact i have
pretty good holidays here and the level of living conditions is so
good here, that it makes the whole situation a little easier to take!!

Anyway i think everyone had there dose of Dr love for this week, and
finally i will end with this news story

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0928/p03s02-ussc.html


which i found to be very intresting and was a surprise in reading it,
but found it funny how the article said that the main factor is
because they share an intrest in 'immigration' where that has nothing
to do with relgion, and hispaniics are quite strong
catholics(generalisation i know), so it did surprise me, however that
many people are converting especially in USA where Islam has such a
negative light, you would assume that there would be very few
conversions, and any in the west do convert, but i guess any publicity
is good publicity, and people have learnt about it alot more, but im
still surprised.

Anyway take care of yourselves


--
Sheikh Asif Mahmood

amahmood@bechtel.com

www.stormy786.blogspot.com