As I’m playing around with a new design, this blog may look weird. I hope to finish this as soon as possible. There will be some changes in here. In addition to the usual comments and observations posts, there will be a couple of short notes and links every other day or so. Have fun, enjoy, and download this wallpaper.

Cameraphones are not banned anymore. Earlier this week, the government allowed cameraphones. Since then, Axium and Masha’el Al-Khaleej began some kind of “ads wars.” Both companies published big fat large ads in every newspaper claiming they are providing the best Nokia cameraphones at the right prices. However, buying the same phones from Dubai will save you some riyals.

The final match of the Gulf Cup ended few minutes ago. Qatar won the cup, but I think we all should pay respect for the great team of Oman. They played the best football in the tournament, and they needed just a bit of luck to win it. Finally, we must thank Qatar for such a great organization. Both grounds were great, and the media coverage was exceptional. As some people expected earlier, this tournament was the best Gulf Cup ever.

Some men here will be happy to have a working wife, unless she is working in the health care section. A man told Asharq Al-Awsat that women working in the health care section will be OK only if there was “no mixing” with men. I can’t believe these people! Are they looking for some female-only hospitals? If this happened, I would quit studying pharmacy and start studying psychology. I will be happy to help curing some cases like that.

As our final exams start this week, I and three pals decided to go out tonight. We first stopped at Megastar Records, where I bought Robbie Williams‘ Greatest Hits and the first album of Maroon5. Next, we went to the Golden Palace Chinese Restaurant (I forgot the coupon, Yasmin!), one of the favorite places to eat Chinese in Riyadh. Finally, we went to Starbucks to have something hot to drink, except for someone who preferred to have a cold drink. However, my friend Ali failed to connect his laptop to the WiFi connection at the coffee house.

Sawsan Al-Abtah: Our children do not read. The schools, parents and publishers are responsible for that.