The Curse of the Internal Clock!

Why is it that on the days I NEED to get up in time for work, it’s a mission and a half (see blog entry “The Curse of the Snooze Button – http://wp.me/p2lSXI-16) but on a Friday – the ONE day I have when I can sleep in all day if I want – my body automatically wakes up at ridonculous o’clock!?

The worst bit:  I CAN’T FALL BACK ASLEEP!  *whines, stomps feet and throws a mini tantrum*

People say “it’s because your body is used to waking up at this time”. Well obviously it’s not if I struggle so much on weekdays!  They say we need about 7 hours of sleep but I only had 5 and woke up more wide awake than ever… so I don’t get it.

On top of all of that, my cat is sleeping blissfully at the foot of my bed and I’m glaring at her in envy.

Maia sleeping blissfully… lucky cow!

Maybe the Universe is having a laugh…

Anyone have any advice on how to prevent this Friday morning lack of slumber???

I guess there is one silver lining on this dark, dark cloud… at least I can watch the latest episode of SUITS now!!

Have a beautiful Friday ❤

Ramadan Kareem

Ramadan Kareem

As the Holy Month begins in the UAE, it’s like a spiritual pixie dust is floating around and settling as a blanket over the country.

I love this time of year. There’s something magical in the air when people turn towards God and spirituality, cleanse their bodies, thoughts and intentions, and focus on love and charity.

Ramadan is a month of reflection. People are encouraged to look within and evaluate their current lifestyles and mentalities and commit to a better path. It is a time of forgiveness, peace, piety and purity.

You may know Ramadan as the month of “fasting” – which means Muslims don’t eat or drink anything between sunrise and sunset for 30 days. But it’s more than that. In Arabic, the word for fasting is “sawm” which means “to refrain”.  This doesn’t just mean refraining from food and water. It also means that during this Holy Month, Muslims refrain from evil or impure actions, thoughts and words.

So even if you aren’t fasting, why not make a special effort this month to be kinder, more patient and to help those who are fasting to conquer this inner struggle. I plan to do my best to be nice and understanding to those around me, to make sure I don’t use any profanity or inappropriate language, to dress respectfully and to not eat or drink in front of those who are fasting when I’m not. It may not be the same as properly fasting, but hey – it’s a start!

Ramadan Kareem.

Chairdancing!

So apparently I’ve started a new trend!

Since I work on the radio and spend most of my time sitting at the mixing desk, I tend to do a lot of what I call “chairdancing”.

Basically this is when I dance along to songs (usually trying to copy the moves from the videos) whilst sitting in my chair.

The other day, Nick video taped me and decided to put it on Facebook and show it to everyone in my office… and it seems like it’s catching on!

Have a look:

Chairdancing!!

You can’t pour water from an empty cup.

This week I decided to do something a little bit different… a little bit unusual for me… something I wish I had started to do a LONG time ago.

Every day, I took a little bit of time for ME.

A little bit of time to do the little things that make me feel good, that make me feel like I’m taking care of myself and that help me feel like I’ve got my life a little bit more together.

Don’t you find that you’re often so caught up in running here, there and everywhere that you often skimp out on truly spending time on YOU? I was getting worn down and approaching burn out so I decided that things needed to change.

I started with just a few minutes a day – a little extra time to do my nails or a little extra time to write in my journal or read a good book. But as the week went on, I started seeing a difference and have started allocating more time for ME in my daily routine.  Now it’s an extra half an hour before bed of just ME time – to organize my room or even just watch some of my favourite TV shows. Time for me to just BE.

I wanted to share this with you because I think it’s important to make YOU important. Some people spend so much time taking care of others that they forget to take care of themselves. Start with the little things, and move on from there.

It’s a beautiful trait to want to give your time and energy to people, but we must remember that if we don’t replenish OUR energies, there will be no energy to share with others.  You can’t pour water from an empty cup.

Make time for you. Take care of you. If you don’t, who else will!?

 

When it rains, it pours…

Why is it that you can never have an isolated “bad incident”?

Bad things come in packs… and just when you think the worst has come, something even worse hits you again!

I had one of these days yesterday – from the moment I woke up, little things started to go wrong and then it just spiraled downwards.  First I woke up and my cat had knocked over a vase of flowers, spilling water all over my books and sprinkling shards of glass all around my room. Then I put on my favourite shirt and saw that there was a hole in it so had to throw it away. Then I was STARVING so I left early for work thinking I could stop by the shop on the way and grab some fruit…but of course, as luck would have it… some guy drove his car into the side of mine while I was on the road. (Who tries to turn left from the right lane of a round about anyway!!?)

After waiting for over half an hour for the police to come and sort it out, the only positive thing was that they acknowledged that it wasn’t my fault and gave me the green paper and I could finally head to work. Of course, I was an HOUR late! Poor Humaid had to stay and cover for me. (Thanks Humaid!)

By the time my show finished at 4 I thought I was gonna faint from hunger so I went to meet some girlfriends for some food. The waiter got my order wrong but I didn’t wanna make him feel bad so I ate the food anyway (okay and because I was famished so didn’t wanna wait :p) During this meeting I found out that my ex is getting married… great! Aaaaaaaaaand I found out that the guy who I kinda sorta may be crushing on right now has feelings for someone else. Perfect. Just the icing on the cake, that one!  And finally, when I got home I was feeling so sick that I just wanted to cry.

Okay maybe in hindsight, these little things weren’t so bad but yesterday it felt like my world was gonna end and I just wanted to crawl under a rock and hide from the world.

There were two things that managed to make me feel better – one was a very wise and insightful friend (AO you’re wonderful) and the other was my mom.  My friend Ahmed just put everything into perspective for me – the car will get fixed and thank God no one was hurt, you will end up marrying someone way better than this ex, etc.  and my mommy was her usual spiritual guru-self and was explaining to me that I had a choice to make the day good or bad. She reminded me not to let “Mr. Chip”* get to me and told me that in life, your experience is based 10% on what happens to you and 90% on how YOU choose to deal with it.  She’s right. I could have chosen not to let things get to me as much as they did. I could have chosen to look at the bright side, to let go of the frustrations, and to be thankful for the good things.

So today – I made it a point to change my attitude. Today, no matter what bad things happened, I smiled and let them go. I accepted things and I chose to look at the bright side. And so far, today has been wonderful.

I guess the moral of the story is that even though when it rains, it often pours…if you can find the sunshine then you’ll be able to see the rainbows.

Okay that was corny… but I tried. :p

*If you don’t know who Mr. Chip is, read my earlier post called “Who Is Mr. Chip”. You can find it here:

https://sheenaspace.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/who-is-mr-chip/

Do Nice Guys Really Always Finish Last?

I don’t know what is wrong with the female gender…myself included!

We all say we want a good guy – one who treats us well, adores us, is attentive and sensitive to our needs, calls us, texts us, does cute little things for us, right!?

So why is it that when that good guy comes around, we often run! We run so far from the “good guy” that we run right towards the “jerk” instead. I feel like someone needs to write an opposite version of the book “Why Men Love Bitches” and call it “Why Women Love Jerks”!  Not just for guys either – I would like to understand it myself!

This whole thing makes no sense to me, yet I have seen so many girls go through it. They have this great guy who is everything they think they want…but for some reason, they just don’t want it! And no matter how hard they try, they can’t force themselves to like someone.

Some people say that it’s because of a need for “the thrill of the chase” but I’m not too sure about that. Could it maybe have something to do with the fact that maybe some girls subconsciously associate “nice” with “less macho” or “less manly” and therefore find that translates to not being able to protect and provide for them?

Or maybe it’s that the nice guys are just TOO nice. Sometimes people can be so nice that they just agree to everything, say “whatever you want sweetie”, always put the other person first and never argue.  As nice, sweet and giving as this is – it can also be a turn off.

I guess many girls want a guy who is confident, assertive and who respects himself. We don’t want a doormat who is willing to say “yes” to everything and not have a backbone of his own. Maybe the guys who are too nice become a little boring. If they’re just willing to follow the lead of the woman and be agreeable and accomodating all the time, where is the excitement!?

I don’t really want to believe that being nice can actually be detrimental for a guy. I’d like to believe that we really do want a “nice” guy… so maybe it’s just the guys who are a little bit “too nice” that will really finish last.

Whatever it is – if I were to write the book “Why Women Love Jerks” (except I would call it “Why Women Don’t Like Guys Who Are TOO Nice”), my advice for the guys out there would be this:

1) Don’t be a jerk, but be confident.

2) Be kind, loving, giving and sweet without being too clingy, eager, pushy or desperate

3) Live a balance – sometimes be a leader and sometimes let her lead.

4) Don’t play games and be honest. The truth always comes out anyway.

Hopefully this helps!

I’d love to hear your thoughts 🙂