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Saturday, 23 Dec 2006
Today the Sandmonkey blog turns 2 years old. 2 years. It's been 2 years. God damn.
I am not going to go into any introspective rants or ones that details how things have changed or how I've grown or whatever. I am just thinking that I have written something almost every day for 2 years. That's a lot of writing. Where do I come up with this stuff? The Sandmonkey has lived for more than I ever anticipated. Hell, this blog lasted longer than any relationship I've been in, which makes it very special in a very pathetic way.
Anyway, no thinking. Let's just have a quiet blogversery and also celebrate the arrival of my Weblog awards winner tag. The best gift you can give a blog really, which was provided by you. Thank you for it again. I still appreciate it.
Now let's give this old boy his birthday gift.
Happy Birthday Sandmonkey!
December 23rd, 2006 at 2:23 pm
Happy Bday and keep that BS flowing ;D
December 23rd, 2006 at 2:43 pm
Two years? It seems like you have always been around.
Anyway, it has been great reading your rants. Keep going.
And best wishes for a Happy Christmas to all the keen shoppers out there.
December 23rd, 2006 at 2:53 pm
==
!!~ Congratulations & Happy Birthday ~!!
==
December 23rd, 2006 at 3:56 pm
Congrats ya 3ajeeeb!!
December 23rd, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Congrats and Happy Birthday to your blog.
December 23rd, 2006 at 5:23 pm
Thank God for giving us the intelligence to create the internet. We live thousands of miles apart, yet I can be part of your world.
Congrats on 2 years, and keep up the good work.
Oh, seems like a stupid thing to have to say, but there are idiots out there. The first two words of my comment…I know SM is a Muslim. God is the English word for Allah. It’s the same deity! In fact, I’ll wish you a Merry Christmas. And I’ll wager you’re not offended.
You’ve made me laugh so many times, and brought so much joy. I wish my best to you and yours,
Brian
December 23rd, 2006 at 5:30 pm
My first entry
Posted on Thursday 23 December 2004
So, how do I start this blog?
I guess by telling all y’all a lil something about me.
I was born and raised and lived most of my life in Egypt, which makes me a sandmonkey for the most part. I have spent the past 5 years of my life in Boston, Massachusetts, where I got my undergraduate degree in Finance/MIS and my MBA and MSA , yet I still rely on spellcheck to get the name of that damn state right and I only lose my “R’s” when I am really drunk for some reason. Or is Retahded a better way to put it? Hmmm
I am the son of a retired Businessman that the socialist nature of the country almost brought him to bankruptcy and my Mother is a University professor and a big shot politician among other things. I have only been back to Egypt for a couple of months and I am still suffering from the reverse culture shock that everyone kept telling me about. I knew adjusting back would be somewhat difficult, but I apparently forgot how dysfunctional everything in the egyptain society really is.
Now, what would make me so special that you would take the time to check my rantings out? Well, hmm, I am cute? I am occasionally funny? I do promise to give you people a daily dose of snark? Not enough?
Well if you really want a reason, there are the obvious ones: I offer you a view that very few people can give you: The view of a politically-connected, young, well-off, only slightly sociopathic, egyptian political junkie on everything from egyptian & middleeast politics to well, anything that captures my fancy. I promise you that you won’t be bored. Maybe slightly disturbed, but never bored.
As for the less obvious reasons, well, there is the fact that I am Pro US & Israel. I actually support the current Bush middle-east policies not because they re so smart, but because they are putting the fear of god in unelected Arab dictators who got too comfortable in their seats of power and never really give a damn about their people, democracy or any kind of reforms. I am not big on his domestic U.S. policies since I am a free-market libertarian and I am kinda disturbed by his handling of the economy, the deficit, government expansion or the gay marriage thing.
I am also pro (or at least not anti) Israel because let’s face it: after how more then 50 years and like 5 wars they earned their right to be here. A lot of them are second or third generation born in that land and they are not going anywhere. Not to mention I am not the biggest fan of the palestinians for a slew of reasons that I will probably delve into in future posts, the least of which are Yasser Arafat and Hammas.
But that’s it for now, cause I am actually doing this instead of doing work and I am not sure the Bossman will appreciate me slacking over here.
Oh well….
The Sandmonkey @ 4:46 am
Filed under: Uncategorized
December 23rd, 2006 at 5:31 pm
Don Cox, Sorry, I skimmed through the comments too quickly
.
“Two years? It seems like you have always been around.”
I know! My first reaction was, “Only two years?”
December 23rd, 2006 at 5:41 pm
Suzanne,
His first post! I’d never read that. That’s so cool!
December 23rd, 2006 at 6:54 pm
@9 this was the first time for me as well. I’d entered this blog during the cartoon “crisis”
December 23rd, 2006 at 8:25 pm
congrats, well deserved
December 23rd, 2006 at 9:09 pm
Congratulations! And thanks.
December 23rd, 2006 at 9:59 pm
Happy B-Day!
December 23rd, 2006 at 11:34 pm
[...] What I would love to get for Christmas: 1. An Extreme Home Makeover, but not have to be on teevee–or at a more realistic level, for someone to completely organize all the stuff in my house and make it spotlessly clean. Seriously. A maid to come once or twice a week would be nice. 2. I want my car to work. I’m not even asking for a new car (although I’d love one); I just want my car to STOP being a problem. 3. Good health and happiness: for my daughter and all those I love, for my friends, and for those who serve in uniform. (Good health for me would be nice, too.) (If I have to pick material things: a new gun, a digital SLR camera, or money.) What I DO NOT want for Christmas: 1. More car trouble. 2. A tumor/cancer. 3. Violence against Americans and our friends at home and abroad. (Material things again? I guess something I already have. Otherwise, it’s the thought that counts.) OK, five people that won’t kill me for tagging them: Martin (haha!), Vinnie (who will probably kill me anyway, but I don’t care ’cause his will be funny), Merri, Chrissie, and…Jody (so she’ll post something on her blog!). OK, since Martin will be off snarking on celebritards in South Beach and might not get to it…Sandmonkey, ’cause it’s his blog-birthday! (So what if he’s not a Christian?) Happy blog-day, Sandmonkey! By the way, go thank a mailman for all his hard work lately. I know I’ve put my mailman through some back-straining work lately, since I did ALL my shopping online. [...]
December 23rd, 2006 at 11:42 pm
“I’d entered this blog during the cartoon “crisis” ”
Same here.
December 23rd, 2006 at 11:49 pm
Happy blog-day, my friend! I’m proud to say I knew you before the whole world did, and I feel blessed for it!
Here’s to your blog becoming SO successful that you are “forced” to give up blogging for a paid writing job at a major pro-freedom publication! Sandmonkey for President of Egypt!
I guess you can see from the ping above, I tagged you with a Christmas meme, even though you’re not a Christian (religion is irrelevant in this one). Call it a New Year’s meme, if you want!
December 23rd, 2006 at 11:50 pm
And of course, CONGRATULATIONS on the blog award! This has TOTALLY been YOUR year in the blogosphere! You absolutely deserved it, no contest!
December 24th, 2006 at 12:48 am
I love your blog. Keep it up!
December 24th, 2006 at 5:45 am
Congratulations on reaching two years, Sandmonkey.
And congratulations also on your award for best Middle Eastern blog…I responded to your good natured pandering with my vote…you definitely have a certain shameless salesmanship that is endearing…I voted for you (though I secretly felt I should vote for IraqtheModel because it’s more serious).
For the Sandmonkey is a jolly good fellow!
December 24th, 2006 at 9:06 am
Happy birthday Blog!! Sam it seems I can’t remember a time that I haven’t been coming by and reading your words from the funny to the frustrating, the enlightening to the lightning-rod. I am so grateful that you’ve kept it up for the past two years –now here’s to many more!!
December 24th, 2006 at 9:08 am
Congrats, Sandmonkey, and keep the posts coming.
December 24th, 2006 at 1:48 pm
Happy B day with a Change of Heart!
READY? Shit, here goes NOTHING!
Although I could always relate to your blogs got a sense & a feel of where you were coming from, with Egypt being this totally messed up place socially, politically & what not.
I started out absolutely despising your blogs with it’s parsimonious praise of Egypt and inimical critique of Islam and your country, since you claimed to be an Egyptian.
I remember thinking to myself that you must have been hired by the state department [seriously] and were something along the lines of a sub set to the e.g. $15 million approved by congress to spread democracy in Iran alone. Only difference being I never heard about it.
Reason being you came off as a little insensitive & pro-Israeli and didn’t seem to give two shit’s about little Arab babies being slaughtered bla bla, I automatically branded you a traitor in my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I went to school with a few Israel’s through out primary & high school and still have Israeli friends till the day they get drafted into the military immediately after high school & then never seem to hear from them again.
I log onto your blog daily to see what new preposterous things you were ranting about next. I started getting addicted in a way because I could really relate to the stuff you were spitting out at 100 mph, such as the dictatorship, the retarded system & backwards way of life and so on. However this is what makes Egypt so unique & what it is today. No infra structure, total disregard to rules etc yet everything still manages to carry on.
I went from hating you to having this love hate relationship with your blog and then started appreciating and getting pretty familiar with your stuff.
Just keep in mind dude this is the nation that nourishes and provides for us, take it easy on Egypt, this is your country dude & no matter how corrupt it is. I mean ask yourself whatever happened to “God & Country?”
It turns out that you and I have more than a few things in common, my mom is a full fledged senior professor at Cairo’s biggest university as well as my dad being a foreign diplomat, I kinda got the best of both world’s. Plus my boss comes in a lot when I am perusing your blogs, but I con him into believing that I’m doing research.
Yet my question still remains, When is too much humor & ridicule, too much?
I have been raised, part of my life here in Egypt and the better part on both coasts from D.C. to the Bay, having dual citizenship, I am more pro-American than you could ever fathom. However I am still Egyptian and no matter how much I detest that fact, it will not go away. Believe me I went to denounce my Egyptian citizenship a few times and it didn’t really work because my folks intervened. The fact remains I couldn’t be as synical as you about Egypt because it would hurt me too know that I am putting down all those poor people. Plus I am pretty chicken shit to risk getting a stick up my ars in some local police station & end up all over the net for two weeks. Can you y a feel me?
I have sensed that recently upon approaching the final days to the blog awards you have toned down your ridicule a bit and hence I decided to actually say something that might make a difference and tell you that, although I thought I hated ya at first, your work has made a difference & it may have taken a while but I have finally come to terms with your blogging and I give you Props dude.
The Sand Monkey you either love or love to hate and I am happy to say it doesn’t offend me anymore.
“This is the G”
December 25th, 2006 at 2:01 am
Congratulations… It’s a Blog:)
December 25th, 2006 at 4:55 am
Rock on, SM!! Keep blogging and we’ll still be here for another two years.
December 25th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
OH MY GOD!! you started your blog the same day I did.. not only that it is my birthday!!
January 8th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
congratulations and very nicely done, sm. happy new year. alf mabrouk.