Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,600 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 60 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

May this year bring us happiness and good tidings.

May it be the start of many wonderful years to come.

May it heal all the past wounds.

May it hold the best memories.

May we laugh everyday.

May there be no tears to shed.

May no harm touch our loved ones.

May God bless our every day and us all.

Happy New Year :)

I thought nothing could top 2010 when it came to the roller coaster my feelings went through. I believed 2011 would be different, happier and less complex… little did I know.

Few minutes into 2011 and the mourning started. It showed it’s true colors as soon as it started, we just didn’t pay much attention.

2011 has truly been a wild ride, one of the longest and busiest years. I went through every single emotion possible and witnessed moments I shall never forget.

I can’t get over how I felt on 11th Feb and I don’t want to ever forget. The feeling I had that day that we finally toppled a tyrant is what keeps me believing that we shall do the same with the rest of his allies. We will take down the regime. We must.

But most importantly, and despite the countless martyrs we lost, 2011 shall be the year one of my dreams came true; Egyptians realized their power, they realized how much they love their country, they reclaimed their dignity and they refuse to ever lose it again, they realized they were played and vowed they shall never be once more, they learned that freedom is not easy and that they mustn’t give up. Egyptians have claimed their position, and even if it takes years, what some did in Jan25 2011, younger generations have witnessed and shall carry it on. It’s what we teach our children that makes up their adulthood and future.

The kingdom of injustice may live for a while but it shall never survive.

2012 … I expect nothing from you, surprise me, after all you can’t possibly top 2011, … can you!?

I have a small notepad for all my nonsense, but seems that I’ve misplaced it. I’ve decided to find a natural solution for those irritating spots on my face, and needed to jot down a remedy recipe. I wanted my nonsense notepad. Instead I found an old organizer of mine. Yeah, I used to have an organizer as a teenager. I remembered that I had a bunch of papers that I’d added to my organizer for lists and notes. So I thought to myself, that would do.

As I open the organizer memories come rushing back. There was a poem hidden somewhere between those pages. A poem that I didn’t write. Home phone numbers of all my school friends are there. Remember, land lines? Yeah. My parents’ business cards. My favorite stickers. Bits and pieces of newspaper articles that I found interesting. A couple of facts about Ancient Egypt.

All that I remember. But it seems like I forgot one very important thing.

As a kid, those autograph books were so in, along with colored pens. We’d get a book and make all our friends and teachers write something. I got myself a tiny autograph book. It had Goofy on the cover, in 3D and all, I had to have it. However the papers started falling out, one after the other, till none were left. The sad part was, I lost them all. Or so I thought.

In one of the organizer pockets, a tiny paper was peeking out. As I pulled it out, my heart skipped a beat. I had forgotten all about it. I don’t even know how I did.

“إلى ابنتي الحبيبة منة. أحبك يا ابنتي في الله. بارك الله فيك وأسعد أيامك. ميس إيمان.”

I owe this woman a lot. My Qu’ran and Fiqh teacher for years. My sound of wisdom as a rebel teen. She never stopped smiling. Her eyes were always filled with joy and kindness. You’d feel her love and warmth as soon as she looks at you. She was an angel. She truly cared about us all. We were her daughters. She had two boys and always wanted a girl. She considered us all her daughters. She would treat us that way, and advice us accordingly.

Miss Iman was the highlight of my week. I always wanted her to be proud of me.

At the end of our summer camp, and when it was time for the final Qu’ran contest, she’d be even more nervous than us. She’d sit with us before the exam and help us revise. She wouldn’t lift her eyes off us as we recited to the judges. If during the reciting one forgets and looks at her in a panic, she’d comfort them with just a smile and nod. At the end of each day, she’d give us a hug and kiss; she loved us as her own.

When my aunt passed away I went to talk to her. I was 13 or 14 at the time. Grown-ups around me kept talking about her funeral, and how light she felt as they carried her despite her heavy weight. How everything went so smoothly and all other sorts of things. I heard everything they said, but didn’t understand much. I told her everything I heard. I wanted to understand. She looked at me, and smiled, comforted me and reassured me how my aunt was definitely in a better place, insha’Allah.

That’s the type of woman she was. She helped each and everyone of us whatever was on our minds. From trivial fights with friends, to how hard it was to make our parents understand us and even more.

I was in Dublin when I heard she had died. It was not a good day. I hadn’t seen her for almost 2 years. College took me away from those camps and lessons. I had stopped attending the Qu’ran lessons, but went to Mostafa Hosni’s lessons which where in the same mosque, my mosque. I’d sometimes run into her before the lesson, and would ask her if I could join her again. But I was too old, and had to move to the “grown-up” group. I wanted her.

And now she’s gone from this Earth, but lives with me everyday. Everyday I apply something she taught me. And every time I do, I pray for her.

This is what she always wanted, to forever be remembered by her teachings rather than anything else. That was her main goal, giving back what God had blessed her with.

عن أبي هريرة -رضي الله عنه- أن رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- قال: إذا مات ابن آدم انقطع عمله إلا من ثلاث: صدقة جارية، أو علم ينتفع به، أو ولد صالح يدعو له، رواه مسلم

اللهم انها كانت لكتابك تالية فشفع فيها القران وارحمها من النيران واجعلها يا رحمن تترقى فى الجنه الى اخر ايه قرأتها
واخر حرف تلته. اللهم احشرها مع اصحاب اليمين واجعل تحيتها سلام لك من اصحاب اليمين. اللهم اجرها عن الاحسان احسانا وعن الاساءة غفوا وغفرانا. اللهم ارحمها وإغفر لها وتجاوز عن سيئاتها وجازيها عنا خير يا رب.

Filed under: Uncategorized ]]> https://mennagamal.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/miss-iman-tammam/feed/ 1 Menna ♥ https://mennagamal.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/fix-you/ https://mennagamal.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/fix-you/#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:06:36 +0000 Menna Gamal http://mennagamal.wordpress.com/?p=1059 ]]>

When you try your best, but you don’t succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can’t sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can’t replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you’re too in love to let it go
But if you never try you’ll never know
Just what you’re worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down on your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down on your face
And I…

Tears stream down on your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down on your face
And I…

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you 

“Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”

“Chance (luck) favors the prepared mind.” – Louis Pasteur

The two quotes were used today in different presentations during Cairo Security Camp. And while they were put in a security context, my mind processed them differently.

Always be prepared. If you’re prepared for all possible scenarios, you’re most likely going to feel lucky when all said and done.

Also, from now on, those two quotes are forever gonna be my response to “you over think, analyze and plan”. WIN!

“You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She’s not perfect – you aren’t either, and the two of you may never be perfect together but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break – her heart. So don’t hurt her, don’t change her, don’t analyze and don’t expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she’s not there.”

“He’s not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect for more than he can give. Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you.”

Filed under: Feelings, Quotes, Relationships ]]> https://mennagamal.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/bob-marley/feed/ 2 Menna https://mennagamal.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/i-believe/ https://mennagamal.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/i-believe/#comments Sun, 25 Sep 2011 09:27:05 +0000 Menna Gamal http://mennagamal.wordpress.com/?p=1026 ]]> … treating people who are on different terms than yourself, the way you were brought up, reflects your manners and proper upbringing, it does not show weakness.

… you can change someone’s newly adopted opinion of you if you continue treating them the same way you always have.

… there is nothing easier than spreading a rumor, and fighting against it gives it more heat. The ones who believe it don’t know you and those who know you will never believe anything that does not fit the person they know.

… happiness is not a solo mission. You can’t be happy and have no one around, God did not create us loners. However, your happiness starts by you.

I believe, that people believe lots of things but don’t apply them in their daily life.

The way I see it is butterflies posses beautiful colors, spread joy as they flip their wings and fly all around, but when you look at them up close, they are just insects, just as ugly as any other insect.

So basically what you’re saying is that that person is beautiful right up to the moment you got close to them, only to realize they are just as plain and normal as any other person (insect).

Then again, that’s just me!

It’s all small things guiding you through your written path. So none of the above, or what may be similar, can be considered a mistake. There is no such thing as a mistake.