When I started blogging two years ago I never thought I would come this far. I did not expect that I would keep on doing this for this long, because I’m such a moody person and I get bored quickly. Nevertheless, here we are, on the second anniversary of Saudi Jeans, and it just feels great. What started as a fun toy to play with has become an integral part of my life that I’m enjoying the most. Through this blog I’ve met some great people, and had some really interesting experiences.

I want to thank all readers, especially those who leave comments, and I apologize to them because I can’t find time to keep up with all comments. I wish I had more time. I wish I had more time for comments, more time to read, write, travel, and do many things, but oh… that’s another post.

On a related note, my 22nd birthday will be on May 30, and as much as I’d like to throw a part and invite all of you to celebrate, I won’t be able to do so because I need a break from blogging to focus more on my studies as my finals are coming soon (to the curious: I won’t be studying 24/7. The amount of studying won’t be increased that much, but I need to free myself from some stuff to get more time to relax). I’ll be back on the first week of June, with many posts on the World Cup, blogging, and a whole lotta things. See you later.

Relaunch: “I’m relaunching SaudiBlogs.org…”

During a recent tourism promotion expo in Dubai, Prince Sultan bin Salman, head of SCT, told the reporters that Saudi Arabia promises tourists a unique experience, with “lots of nightlife.” So, nightlife in Saudi Arabia, huh? Actually, it can be pretty exciting: you have to play hide and seek to enter a shopping mall, which can be fun and challenging. Then, you will be chased by the religious police, and that will raise your adrenaline to the maximum level. After the crazy chasing, you will probably be thirsty, so you can stop somewhere nearby to get your glass of Saudi Champagne. You see, it’s all good.

OK, I think I got a little bit carried away. The general secretary of SCT emphasized that the term ‘nightlife’ for Saudis tends to mean wholesome family activities — rather than what may be enjoyed after dark in the West. Damn! I was so close to make a toast to SCT, but I guess I will hold my glass for now. Just for the sake of argument: How many of you consider the boring family gathering a ‘nightlife’ activity?

I have read the Arabic version of the Reuters story, and the translation sucks. As I’ve said yesterday, the reporter published the story before receiving my answers, so everything about me in the story is actually derived from my earlier posts. Just to make things clear: OCSAB did not officially invite me to join them. I met with the founder, but I did not buy his argument. They did not link to my blog from their website, and they did not ask me for anything.

I can’t believe I still get crap over this OCSAB thing. I don’t want to go and deconstruct the whole thing because wallah I’m so sick of it. I want to ask though: are we now in the phase of personal attack? I can understand that this guy is attacking me because I’m Shiite, which is true and I’m so proud of at the moment, but attacking Farah and her upbringing is not acceptable.

Reuters has a story on blogging in Saudi Arabia. The story has quotes by Raed al-Saeed, Farooha, and me. The reporter contacted me for this story, but he published it before I was able to reply to him, so he used a part from one of my posts. The story says that the Religious Policeman did not comment on OCSAB, which is not true.

But for me, there are two things that I find interesting: a) OCSAB are seeking financial backing from the government, and b) what al-Saeed said on “that there is some ethics of blogging.” I don’t know how these guys are thinking, but to ask for money from the government? Really? That simply means you are not independent anymore. Who wants to sacrifice his independence and credibility for some riyals? And now to the ethics part, I have only one thing to say here: Seriously? Don’t let me get into that, because these guys are the last people to talk about ethics. Maybe they can use the money they will get from the government to buy some ethics.

UPDATE: Raed al-Saeed reacts to the story, and says the reporter has misquoted him. I wonder why, for some reason, people always fail to undertand these guys. I also wonder what kind of claims he is talking about.

Check out the latest episode of JameedKast. It is not hilarious, but funny enough to waste 20 minutes of your not-so-precious time. I liked it when they were messing with Roba, asking her what she thinks of some footballers and third-class singers, and she had no idea what they were talking about. (Arabic)