I've just realised that the domain of our forum, www.qatarblahblah.com is suspended for non payment, ROFL. Yeah well we have lives, people, we don't have the time to maintain domains!

Those who couldn't access the forum because they're silly enough not to bookmark the actual forum page - here is the link to Qatar Blah Blah forum.

Another piece of wisdom from your Middle East expert Cat - this time for those who are looking for jobs in the Middle East online:

Forget Bayt & Monster. Well, it doesn't hurt posting your CV there, but the chances that it will be seen are slim. Under no circumstances should you use AlJazeerajobs - not only it charges you (apparently it is for "translating your CV into Arabic"), but it is the least helpful site out of dozens available - employers can't search CVs and keep track on the applicants.

Try Gulf Talent instead. It offers employers great search options, and your CV will get better exposure. The site is free for job-seekers and extremely user-friendly. I have already hired 3 people through Gulf Talent, and lined up another 9 for interviews next week.

When posting your CV online, remember that prospective employers will not open and read your CV unless it contains the desired keywords. Therefore put as much relevant information in your CV as possible, and don't forget to write detailed job descriptions. It is always a good idea to list the equipment you worked on if you're an engineer, goods you sold if you are into sales, and so on. Also, don't make a mistake of stating desired salary. While it helps employers to figure out the seniority of your current position, you may lose out on potential interviews if they think your expectations are too high or too low. You are not obliged to disclose your last salary either. Let the employer make you an offer, then negotiate your way through.


=^..^=

You might have noticed that my RSS Calendar stopped working for unknown reason, and refuses to share my (busy) schedule with you.

Nevertheless, I guess I don't have to remind you that Valentine's day is upon us once again. So I am reintroducing my hugely successful Valentine day calculator again this year. All you have to do is click on the link, follow simple steps - and all your Valentine day dilemmas will be solved!

And even if you are not planning on giving a card this year, this might help you guess whether you will be getting one!

And it rocks. For the first time I don't have any extra work to catch up on over the weekend. But oh boy, will I be busy over the next couple of weeks? You bet.

My lip by now is all swollen and I look like a victim of domestic violence, LOL. For those who don't know what happened to me, it was an accident! Had to jump out of one car and into another at the traffic light, smashed the car door in my face while opening it in a hurry. Wonder how I didn't break a tooth or two. My teeth clanked against the car door through the lip! Ouch. Hurt like hell - still does, actually. And of course I had to go back to the office after that, and the entire office gathered around me to have a look. Some kind of a freak show, hehe. The boss invited me to his cabinet and said: "sit here for 10-15 minutes, I'll see how this develops, I bet it'll GET MASSIVE!". Thanks, but no thanks, it was mercifully late in the evening so I went home to see "how this develops".

The funniest thing is that when I was running towards that other car (a taxi), I looked perfectly normal, and had eye contact with the driver. He didn't know I injured myself while getting into the car. Then, 30 seconds into the ride, I turned to him with my lips and chin all bloodied up, and he panicked! Swerved to the curb across the traffic and went into shock. Took a lot of persuasion to convince him to actually drive me all the way to the office! LOL! I guess the fact that blood was dripping out of my mouth every time I said something didn't have a calming effect on him. The poor guy must have thought I was some kind of vampire, or a very, very sick woman.

So yeah, I'm only too happy it's a weekend, and I don't have to present myself in front of anybody for a couple of days, and hopefully it will look better come Sunday :P

I fell in love with Cairo.

That was unexpected, never liked it much before.

Will go back there in a few weeks time - anybody cares to recommend good Egyptian wine? That was the only drawback: they served Egyptian wine and nothing else everywhere I went, and since I am not an expert I tried a couple (not all that, to put it nicely) and then stuck to water. Beer is not an option for me.

:^)