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Just added the livejournal app for the iPhone so I can now post from various locations around Singapore (not just home or work, or by lugging my laptop around). What is really nice is that Singapore has a fair amount of hotspots throughout the city (wireless@sg). I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship. I just gotta better at typing on this little keyboard.
I am at Toa Payoh Centre about to have dinner. Why am I here. Well, I decided to come down here after I received a flyer for some hair tonic that is suppose to help with that little spot at the front of my head that appears to be slowly but surely missing hair. Needless to say I could not find the place, but all is not lost at least I got the wireless@sg account to work for the first time (granted I just signed up yesterday). Anyway it is rather warm (92F/33C) in this mall area since no air-con so I am headed out.
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
OK, OK, I know I have not written in this BLOG in quite some time (well, neither has anyone else) and not writing in the BLOG kinda defeats the main purpose of why we created the BLOG in the first place - to communicate with our friends and family back home (or whoever else is interested). Moreover, if you keep going back to a this site and nothing has changed you eventually might stop going. Well, of course there is no excuse for us not to exercise our fingers on the keyboard more often and have an open dialogue about this fabulous yet sometimes crazy experience in the Middle East. However, just in case we slack off in our writing there is an easy way for you to check up on us without going back and forth wondering if we ever will (or when we will) write in the BLOG again. The way you can do this is to subscribe to our BLOG through something called RSS. This way you can easily go to one location (a website) that you already might go to and quickly glance if any updates have been made (e.g. - iGoogle w/Reader)
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What is RSS
The purpose of the remaining part of this BLOG is to review the basic steps of subscribing to an RSS feed. Thus, if you thought that RSS was a bunch of non-sense syllables than maybe this part is for you.
To start, the letters RSS stand for "Real Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary" which is a way of "delivering" constantly changing content over the Internet (http://www.whatisrss.com/). The bottom line is that RSS makes it easier if you prefer to get all your information in one place rather than going around to many different sites to view content that is important to you. Whether the information is national, world, or a specific blog of interest, RSS can help you organize these glance-able snippets so you can be in the know.
NOTE: The steps reviewed will cover adding a RSS feed using the Google reader (not necessarily an endorsement) to access a the feed from a BLOG, however there are plenty of other RSS readers available (for FREE) and other methods for gaining access to RSS feeds.
Generally you view RSS content which can be a summary or the full-text through a "RSS reader" "feed reader" or an "aggregator". Users can subscribe to receive the feed by clicking on a number of different icons/text link (see image below) that is generally located on the specific BLOG page to initiate the subscription process. The reader will check the feed regularly for updates and download any new content.
For this BLOG the icon looks like this
Enough talk, I am ready to subscribe.
Step 1
Click the icon/text to subscribe to the specific RSS feed
(The screen capture is from one of my student's blog)
Step 2
Choose the application that you desire to use to read the RSS feed. As you can see there are a number of different options.
Step 3
For this example you would chose Google and then Click "Subscribe Now".
Step 4
The next screen gives you the option to add the RSS feed to your Google home page (iGoogle) or to a Google Reader.
Add to Google Homepage
The individual feed resides as an single "gadget" (a google term) on your Google Homepage. The module only provide updates related to the specific feed that you subscribe too. If you are planning to subscribe to more then one feed it might be easier to add the "Google Reader" as a gadget to your Google homepage (more on this in a moment).
Google Reader
This serves as a RSS feed manager. The Reader allows you to combine all the feeds that you subscribe to in one location, categorize them (by topic, type, etc), and search all subscribed feeds. The reader can be used as a stand alone application and/or added as a gadget to your google home page.
Once you click on one of the options you are done. You will be automatically taken to either the google homepage or the reader to confirm that you have successfully subscribed to the RSS feed.
The screen shot below shows the Google Homepage with both gadgets displayed. The top gadget ("Saudi Journey") represents a RSS feed received by clicking the button "Add to Google homepage" and the gadget below represents a RSS feed received by clicking the "Add to Google Reader" button.
Another method for adding a feed
Once you have setup your RSS reader you might decide you want to subscribe to additional feeds. In order to do this you can repeat the above steps (1-4) or you could add a subscription directly within the reader application.
To add a subscription from the reader click the "Add subscription" link
Type the web address in the text field that appears (copy and paste from the blog's web address would be easier easier) then click "Add".
The new feed will appear in the left column in the "Show: updated - all" area.
Well, that's it. Two different ways to add RSS feeds. 1) Add subscriptions directly from the BLOG website; 2) Add subscriptions from the RSS reader. I hope this was useful. So now that you know about RSS, if you want to subscribe to this feed click the RSS or ATOM button. Now all I have to is catch up in my writing on this BLOG. Until the next feed. See ya!
PS - Questions/Comments let me know.
zomgs! haven't written on this in a bit.
kk, so anyways, my mom FINALLY gave in and let us get A CAT!!! W0oT! *excitement*
she's soooo cuute!! her name is Saba, she's about 7mths old, she's white with brown spots and the top of her head is also brown.
yesterday we gave her a bath...that was an experience. lol. actually, she took it better than I thought she would.
so, yeah, been really busy lately. there was this valentines dance, and that was kind of a mess because I had to get a dress (something that I don't own, and do NOT make a habit of wearing. as a matter of fact, I haven't worn one since 7th grade-my parent's graduation) then shoes, and I even wore a bit of makeup :).
uh-huh. then, there's a play that im in, and a band concert next week, and we're going on a diving trip.
plus there's Girl scouts, science fair research project for Bio class, and my friend's birthday is next week, so we're throwing him a surprise party. haha, woops, maybe I shouldn't post that on the blog. hope he doesn't read this...
so anyways, im posting some pix of the cat and of the valentines day dance on facebook right now
oh GUESS WAT?! ESSAM HAS CHICKEN POX!!! it's so cool!!!! i've never seem a chicken pock before! it's so cool! and he also gets to miss 5 days of school. and I kinda wish I had chicken pox. and then again...I don't.
- Mood:
blah
Needless to say, Emet and I were both really tired because of the long day of traveling. We knew that we needed to get a good night's sleep because we had to return to work the next day as our holiday break was over.
Well at about 3 am, I woke up because Emet was doing a lot of tossing and seemed to be having a bad dream or something. I groggily opened my eyes and saw a cat standing over me. I tried to adjust my eyes to see if what I was seeing was really there and to make sure that I was not dreaming or a result of my bad eye sight. I realized that I was not dreaming, that I was fully awake, and there was a cat in the bed. I then tried to remember where I was (we had stayed in at least 5 different hotel rooms over the past 10 days) so it took me a minute to figure out where I was sleeping. I looked around the room and realized that it was indeed my bed and my own bedroom. I said, "Emet, there is a cat in the bed!" He said, "I know." Then he started to mumble in an annoyed manner.
At this point, I was really confused and trying to make sense as to what logical reason there was for a cat being in the bed. So I asked Emet, "how did the cat get in here?" To which he replied, "walked, I guess" in a very matter of fact way as if the cat being in the bed was normal. He was trying to shoo the cat out of his way because I think the cat was rubbing him or something and it was disturbing his sleep. He was not at all alarmed about the cat being there just annoyed that the cat woke him up.
I sat up in the bed and turned on the light. Emet then successfully shooed the cat out of the bed. The cat stood on the side of the bed looking at us as if he was waiting for something and as if he belonged there. His eyes said, "why are you tripping?" Emet got up and tried to get the cat to leave the room, but he was pretty adamant about staying. Eventually, Emet picked up the cat and took it downstairs and put him out the back door.
When he came back to bed, we started talking (and laughing of course) about a cat being in the bed. We tried to figure out why and how the cat got in. Emet went through the house looking for an open door or window, but came back saying that everything was secure and closed. I remembered that when we came in from the airport early that day a window was open in the kitchen. I ruled that window out as being the cat's entry point because there is a screen in the window which had not been disturbed. We could not figure it out so we reasoned maybe when the maid came she inadvertently let the cat in and did not notice. She sometimes leaves the kitchen door open while she cleans up.
After talking for a few minutes, we laid down to go back to sleep. During the time with the cat, we did not make a lot of noise so Kirstyn nor Essam woke up. Essam was across the hall sleep in his room and Kirstyn was down stairs dozing on the couch. She had fallen asleep watching TV. We just left her there because she did not have school the next day. We heard her going to her room a little after that.
Laying in bed and trying to fall asleep, Emet said he thought he heard the cat. I said, oh no that must be my nose whistling. I was a little congested from a cold and sinuses. Just when we began to fall asleep, Kirstyn let out a blood curdling scream. We heard her slam the door in her bedroom, yelling "there is a cat in the hall." Apparently, the cat had returned and met her in the hallway to escort her to the bathroom.
Now, we were really baffled. How did the cat get back in? Emet went out in the hallway to ask the cat to show him how he was able to get in the house. Of course the cat did not answer. Emet decided to escort the cat out again. He took the cat out back again and sent him on his way. While we were speculating about how the cat was getting in I asked if Emet checked the front door. Apparently, he checked everything, but the front door. When he went to check the front door, it was open. It seems that when Emet and Essam went out to the store earlier in the day, they LEFT DOOR OPEN!! After Emet took the cat out the back door, he just walked around the house and came back in through the front.
Well the cat kept hanging around our villa for the next few days. We were curious about to whom the cat belonged. We could see that it was very clean, had a collar and a bell so we knew he had an owner. Even though it looked like it belonged to someone, he was obviously lonely or hungry because he waited by our back door, sleeping on a piece of carpet we left out there. The kids and Emet got attached to the cat so Emet decided we would adopt it. I made it clear that we would not allow the cat in the house at any time. Emet bought food for the cat and fed it for several days. The cat came to our patio everyday for the rest of the week to eat, have water, and sleep.
Suddenly on Thursday, the cat disappeared and did not return. I believe the cat's family was out of town and the cat was hungry and searching the compound for food. Then, this weekend the family must have returned and fed the cat. We have not seen the cat since Thursday morning.
My kids say I am cruel but I am not sorry to see him go. So long Ali-Chester (Kirstyn gave him Ali and Essam gave him Chester), salam.
- Location:at home (Jeddah)
- Mood:
pleased
Usually we take a picture for the holidays and send with a card to all our friends and relatives. Well, this time we decided to save some paper and postage (especially since sending mail from Saudi Arabia would probably get expensive) and just post the holiday photo on the blog.
We went to Bahrain and Egypt during the winter break (which we might not normally of had, but this year it corresponded with the Hajj Holiday-EID Mubarak). We will definitely have to write more about this trip later with photos.
Merry Belated Christmas and Happy New Year, Everyone!
- Mood: happy
Yesterday, we gave Emet a “surprise” party. I use the term surprise loosely because someone spoiled the surprise before i even had the time to set it up. It is interesting that something that seems so straightforward can be misinterpreted. I am not sure if this is cultural or just ignorance, but definitely there was a gap in the communication.
Two women from my office thought it woudl be a good idea to organize a party for Emet’s birthday. I agreed and they did the planning. They asked me whom should they invite. I wanted to keep it a small affair so I suggested the members of my office and Emet’s office. I added one of the male faculty to the guest list because most of the people in both of our offices are women. I thought it would be a good idea if Emet was not the only man at the party. It seems that Dr Zulfiqar is not familiar with the surprise party concept.
Lama created a nice electronic invitation and sent it to all of the intended guest. Notice the invitation clearly states the party is a surprise, but that did not seem to make an impression on Dr. Z. On the Wednesday (last day of the work week) before the party, Dr. Z told Emet that he would see him on the weekend. Emet questioned what he meant because he had no plans to meet with Dr. Z. To which Dr. Z. replied “your party.” When Emet continued to look confused Dr. Z said I got the invitation and I will be coming to the party. Since Emet still did not get it, Dr. Z turned his computer monitor so that Emet could see it clearly. There it was for him to see -- an electronic invitation for his surprise party that Friday.
Emet was disappointed, but he just said o.k. then. At that point, Emet decided that he would just pretend he did not know about the party and go along with the plan when I laid it out. Unfortunately, Dr. Z. would not even allow Emet to pretend that he was surprised. He called throughout the day on Friday to get explicit directions to reach the restaurant. The first time he called, I heard Emet explaining how to get to a location on the Red Sea. It sounded to me like he was giving directions to the restaurant where we had planned the party. But, I convinced myself that he could not possibly be giving directions there because he had never eaten there before. Although he had taken me there before (remember Emet is my primary driver), he had never been inside so I was sure that he would not recommend the place to anyone else. I thought he must be giving directions to a location near the restaurant; it’s just a coincidence I said.
When I heard him giving the directions a second time, I was sure that he had to know about the party. I was really upset and I was trying to imagine who would have spoiled the surprise. I could not imagine that he would be actually giving directions to any of the people we invited. Most, if not all, of them have been here longer than us and know Saudi well. It did not even occur to me that it might be Dr. Z. He only recently moved to Jeddah earlier this school year. As I said I was quite upset, but i was not sure exactly what was going on and I did not want to spoil it if there was even the slightest chance that he did not know about the surprise. I asked him who was he talking to and i did not think he answered so I assumed that he did not really know what was going on. I wanted to go along with the surprise and tried to do so. BUT, Dr. Z. was persistent. He called again before we left the house. He called while we were in the car. AND he even called again when we arrived at the restaurant. Each time he was asking for directions to the restaurant.
Finally, when we got to the restaurant, I asked him who was it that spoiled the surprise an CONTINUED to call all day for directions. When he confessed it was Dr. Z I could not believe it; I wanted to strangle him.
Until this day, I have not learned if Dr. Z was just being ornery or if he was truly that thick-headed that he did not know how to keep a surprise party a secret. I am still really curious to know.
I guess the party’s biggest surprise was that our guest of honor knew all about it long before the party!!
Although we live overseas we still have an opportunity to participate in the election process by voting absentee (333 days until the Presidential election, 11/04/2008). The process to vote absentee does not seem too difficult, but of course you have to be aware of the deadlines and have all your paperwork in ahead of time.
Since I did not want to miss out on voting even for the primaries I did some checked out the following websites -
Virginia State Board of Elections - since Virginia was our last place of residence I found out that we can participate in the Virginia Primary (2/12/2008). Besides just checking the website I called the State Board of Elections (804) 864-8901 because I was not sure where to send the application (to the state or the county). The response I received was that I would send my application to the county where I last resided. I spoke to a Ms. Williams who was extremely helpful and sent me the documents that I needed via e-mail while we were still on the phone. She also gave me a website to give to other US citizens in case they want to find out more information about their states absentee voter procedures (Federal Voting Assistance Program). Also, if you want to check the date of your state's primary you can go to Project Vote Smart.
The process for the Commonwealth of Virginia is as follows:
- Complete form (instructions and deadline)
- Send to the application to the County or e-mail scanned copy of application with signature.
I hope this information can be useful to someone. Even when we lived in the States I talked to a number of people who did not vote and I lived in a college town (I guess I thought all these educated types voted). Anyways, I wanted to do my small part on spreading the word to get out and vote.
For a summary on some of the candidates (democrats and republicans) you can check out the Washington Post, also I found this site that shows how the candidates stack up on the issues (2decide.com). For those of you are unsure do the research or you can use my hint.
| We have been given the right to vote so it is important that we exercise that right. Not all countries give the people the right to choose their leadership. If you have not already registered to vote you can go to Rock the Vote and register. |  |
The second day things got off to a slow start (but I will do a quick overview of the day as not to bore). We took the bus to La Défense Station on our way to central Paris and we stopped off to get a snack. I stopped off at Starbucks (how could I after returning from Italy) to get a Carmel Machiato (for shame) and of course my "city mug". This little stop turned out to be quite exciting when Essam's frappuccino (chocolate) spilled on him (seemed like it blew up) and got all over his clothes. So instead of a quick trip to get a snack now we had to buy Essam a shirt (I do not think Kim and Kirstyn minded shopping since they veered off and started looking at shoes). After we found Essam a shirt we were off again and on to the Musée du Louvre. Today we were not disappointed the place was open and there was not a long wait.
The Louvre is huge. There is so much to see I cannot image that you can do it all in one day. But of course we checked out some of the crowd favorites like the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper.
This one guy definitely has some issues.
After the Louvre we tried to make it to the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris which closed at 6, but unfortunately we were too late. Trying to figure out how to get from the Louvre took a little longer then we expected and we just got there after they were closing. So of course we were a little disappointed.
One of the things that we have missed tremendously on these trips is Jacques (especially now that he is taking French). Unfortunately (in terms of the travel), he is back in the states working on his college degree (stay strong) and working at Gold's Gym. Kind of a hard choice to make travel or school, hmmmm. Hopefully we can make it up to him a little since we will all plan to go to Egypt in December and Jacques could stop over in Paris on the way from the US.
Although, it is not the same as going on the trip we still had to get him something so on our way back to the hotel we stopped back on the main avenue and picked him up a Tour de France t-shirt (official since we were in France). Moreover, they were already preparing the main avenue for the tour which ends in Paris (we missed it by a week, that would of definitely been something cool to see).
I enjoyed our little European vacation and hope that we will have more visits to many more countries to share. I encourage everyone to save up a little and travel the world, there is nothing like it and I would not trade in this experience (I know corny). Until next time (maybe someone else in the family will pick up the writing).
- Location:Paris, France
- Mood: relaxed
