where the action's at

hey if anybody pops over to this blog anymore. there are a couple of things worth checking out:

in this blog:
my exploits in egypt, of which there are many
reviews of some awesome books

in my other blogs:
Sunset: my first vampire novel and serious attempt at writing
Blood of a Marionette: my second vampire novel. if for some reason you are turned off by Sunset, give this one a try. I think the writing is a little better, and it is a slightly different style.

thanks for stopping by, best in luck in life

On/Off Jekyll and Hide

Check out Mike Attebery’s new work On/Off A Jekyll and Hyde Story! It’s available for purchase at his site. There is also a free online novel Untitled Thriller (soon to have a title).
On/Off sounds like a promising read about a boy who undergoes a new medical operation and ends up with a different cure (most likely more violent) than intended, while Untitled Thriller is an action filled story about terrorist group’s machinations to obtain a deadly new weapon. Check them out and support Cryptic Bindings!
I plan on writing reviews of both when I finish, so stick around for them. You can read my early review of Untitled Thriller here.

New Vamp show!

called True Blood

on now on HBO

September 11

check out all that happened:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11

nom! nom! nom!

check out this cool design for a t-shirt by the guy who brought you the jewelry work in an earlier post!

some really spectacular news about sunset

one the podiocast greats J.C. Hutchins has posted a link to my story on his site! thank you so much. if you haven't heard of his books the 7th son trilogy, then you should really check it out. they are for the action thriller set, are incredibly well written, and keep you on the edge of your seat.

don't know what i am talking about?
go to his website
check out my review of his first book

being here

i have been finding it difficult to actually get on the internet since being home and it's not for the lack of internet. i think i got out of the habit of actually getting online since i didn't have internet at my apartment nor a computer (for the last two weeks). i am surprised i got out of the habit so quickly. needless to say my blogging has suffered.

if you piece together the last couple of infrequent posts you can see that i have suffered very little culture shock (thankfully) going over i had enough of it. i am back to normal and back to not sleeping again (getting up and being busy).

the one thing that is new to me is having more people read my vampire story. it is pretty exciting that the numbers are increasing.

sorry for the boring post. don't really have a lot to blog about

hey i'm home

coming back to america was great. i have realized how great this country is and how lucky we all are to live hear.

some of the few things that have shocked me is the quietness and orderliness of the streets, the few number of homeless cats, dogs, and people (at least in my neighberhood), and the amount of skin that people show. this has probably been the biggest thing. i actually felt uncomfortable going out in my bathing suit to the pool. and sometimes seeing girls with shorts and tank tops is startling. one other big shock was going to the grocery store. it was a little overwhelming to be in such a big building surrounded by so much food. thankfully my reverse culture shock is significantly less than my culture shock from when i went over there.

overall its good to be home.

i'm back

for all those who read this-

i have returned to the us safely. it never felt so good to be home, to hug my family, and to sleep in my own bed. i will miss egypt and never forget what i learned about the world or myself while i was over there. thank you for all the support that i received through these past six months. i will continue to blog as soon as the dust settles.

the story

lots of big new announcements about the story.

i got a link on a online serial link site by jennifer l. armstrong. mucho thanks.
http://www.free-online-novels.com/

i will hopefully be starting a new story by the end of the summer. it's called feed. keep checking in...
http://www.feedtheneed.wordpress.com

getting ready to leave...

today i am excited. there is only one day left. yesterday with two days left, it felt unreal. the day before, i got unabashedly stared at by some girl probably between 12-16. it made me uncomfortable.

can't wait to be home. on the money clock. gotta go.

noor

i have watched this show. its pretty sweet from what I can understand. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/28/DDUT120FDE.DTL&hw=noor&sn=001&sc=1000

memories of recent past.2

one of my first meals, i believe it was my first dinner, was at the cairo khan restaurant on the top floor. the food was nothing to write home about (although this is sort of what i am doing now) but it was significant because it was my first dinner, and i ate it by myself (another first).

i got a chicken sandwhich some french fries and some guava juice. the bill was 25 pounds or around there. which when i got there was nothing but now to me that is a lot of money as i know where to eat a better meal for 5 pounds or less.

one of the biggest things though was eating by myself. now that i look back on it, that showed a pattern that would stay with me throughout the next six months. i felt weird eating by myself in a restaurant as the only time you ever see people doing that is in the movies when they are really depressed or have been stood up by their significant other.

now however i can eat by myself just fine though i don't know how i would do in a restaurant proper as i never repeated that experience here. i still think it would be weird. but living here on my own has made me even more self reliant and independent, if for nothing else than just sheer necessity. it is a different experience but not really a better one. i am really looking forward to dinner with my family again.

4 days and counting

the other side of the fence

so as many egyptians do here, i've started staring at the big tour buses as they drive slowly by on the streets through the really thick traffic. it is weird and good being on the other side with the roles reversed as i can as easily remember being in that bus looking down at all those staring at me as i can be egyptian and stare back up at them in their air conditioned mini fortresses. just a little thought i've had today.

cats

i had the distinct listening pleasure of the chorus of cats from hell last night. all i could think about while lying there at three am was the garfield comic strips where he gets shoes and tomatoes thrown at him while he is singing on the fence. too bad i didn't have any spare shoes or tomatoes.

Losing Latitude by Cory Cramer

so working on another online serial. this one has been published as a paperback and is now being put online. it is called Losing Latitude by Cory Cramer. i've just finished part one and when i am not tired will write a review for it. but for now take my word that is it pretty well written with good action. there is a hint of supernatural which intrigues so i shall keep reading. cramer says that if you are fans of buffy or indiana jones you will like this novel. i agree.

memories of recent past

lately as my time here draws to a close, i have been reflecting on when i first arrived in cairo.

the first arabic that i distinctly remember speaking was trying and failing to ask the bellhop at my hotel how the weather was. the first arabic i distinctly remember being spoken to me was the next morning when i went to breakfast. standing uncertainly in the doorway of the small dining area the women working said khosh which means enter. i didnt know that at the time but have since learned to love that word.

the peoples are gone

at last all the people who have come and visited me have safely come and gone, from my brother to my cousin to my friends in Germany. as exhausting as all their visits are i wouldn't change any of the total 25 days that they were here.

with all these people, i am glad they came to cairo. not only did i get to see them but i got to share with them a different side of my life but also a side of what they are not used to seeing. we have all been changed by meeting here in cairo and i believe all for the better. more eyes are open and realtionships are stronger, whether family or friend, and this is something they and no other can stake a claim to.

fortune smiled upon all of us invovled and i hope it will continue to do so in the future for all parties concerned. thank you for coming and enriching my life abroad, i hope i was able to do the same.

Jewelry Work to Contest

Hey everybody.

My friend producer over at ponoko.com got his two of his pieces into the final competition.  There are ten days to vote and his pieces are perforated band rotating earrings.  Take a look at the others and vote on the ones you like (especially my friend producer).  

http://blog.ponoko.com/2008/07/15/10-day-design-challenge-finalists-announced-and-the-voting-starts

Voting closes August 3rd so be sure to check it out.

women

women are one of God's gifts to men but are enternally bound to confund them until the day we die