Brgr.Co

Don’t you just love those restaurants that serve only a few things on their menu, but serve them well?  No, no… I mean serve them extremely well?!

Well Brgr.Co is one of those places.  On their menu you have a choice of a 4 oz, 6 oz, or 8 oz patty with the classic toppings that include lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and onions, and the option of with or with out cheese; in addition to a few other sides, deserts, and beverages. 

Simple and Yummy

The burger reminded me of those real BBQ burgers I used to have in Canada on a Sunday afternoon in summer in the backyard.  The 100% pure Angus beef patty, grilled to your liking, on a fresh bun, topped with fresh produce, with a side of “Darn Good” fries.  Mmm! Even the Hot Dog is to die for!

As you might have read in my other blogs, I’ve become a décor freak, and this place gave me the feeling that I’m in the “Cheers” bar.  The brick walls, the wooden chairs, table, and bar stools, the leather couches, the rusted mirrors (done by my fiancé <3), even the entrance all give a cozy yet rustic atmosphere.

Burger places seem to be popping up here and there, but this one has something about it that makes you want to tell your friends “You’ve got to try it!”

Top 10 most hated phrases…

These past few weeks (months…but I’m trying not to be a drama queen) have been very stressful.  With our apartment’s remodeling that is taking longer that we had planned, all the wedding preparations, and a little stress at work have been more than enough to take me off the handle.  All that, and the little things in life that pass everyday, sometimes unnoticed, but still eat at you like gangrene.   

The nerve wrecking phrases that have been resonating around me are listed as follows in order of annoyance:

1.       Battery is too low for Radio Connection

When my BB battery turns red and an X appears where the connection bars should be, then my life is compromised into a quest for the nearest charger. Ahhhhh!

2.       FUEL LEVEL LOW

Doesn’t that just make you want to crash?

3.       Let’s sit on this for 10 minutes (when its 4:55 pm)

Umm… Let’s not! We had 9.5 hours to sit on it; in 10 minutes I have to be on my way home!

4.       When will you be home?

When I arrive, then I’ll be home… Seriously, you’d think after 23 years and a marriage they’d give up… Nooo!!!

5.       This price doesn’t include taxes

Oh Please, I’m either enjoying my meal or in the midst of a shopping spree, so save me the calculations and give me the final price already!

6.       I’m going to be a little late

If you know you are going to be late, leave earlier. Duuhhh!!

7.       You have reached 80% of your 100MB Blackberry bundle.

Thank you for reminding me that I’m paying 40$ for a ridiculous service!

8.       The doctor will be with you shortly. (Shortly turns into an hour or so)

Kindly refer to the “I Hate Doctors” blog on the link below:

http://byserene.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-hate-doctors.html

9.       You have 10 minutes to submit this project.

“10 minutes” is the key phrase to make you lose all concentration.  How supportive!

10.   I’m sorry; we are fully booked for the evening.

Ok, I can’t blame them for having such a great restaurant.

I Hate Doctors

Practicing medicine is one of the world’s most difficult, highly paid, highly respected profession.  Doctors go through a lot before being able to get that prestigious title.  School grades must be sky high, extra curricular activities must revolve around science, and university applications must be to die for.  They have to go though course after course of agonizing material, serve endless laboratory and internship hours, and prepare a sleep depriving doctorate that makes them Xanax dependent.

I don’t give a flying f***!! 

All I care about is when I visit your clinic, treat me properly, thoroughly, and accurately, give me the time I need, answer my questions, ease my concerns, and finally, give me my money’s worth of care.  Oh and by the way, try not to prescribe medicine that is impossible to find or isn’t available in pharmacies all together.

Lately I’ve been having an allergic reaction to “something”; it could be my shampoo, my cosmetics, my nail polish, or just dust and pollution.  “Something” was the term my dermatologist chose to diagnose the reason(s) for the rash I have under my eye.  After one glance at my face, she began to jot down a list of creams, cleansers, and an ointment to treat it with a handwriting that requires a cryptographer to decipher it.  Naturally, I couldn’t find the mystical ointment anywhere!  And people blame me for avoiding Doctors for as much as I can.

I Hate Doctors!

Visa V/s. Passport

One doesn’t know the value of a passport, and I mean a European, Canadian, or American Passport, until drowned in the whirlpool that is embassies, applications, paperwork, and visas.

The only thing I worry about before I travel is booking a flight at the right date and right ticket price, all thanks to my precious Canadian Passport.  It has saved my the trouble of calling embassies, making appointments for interviews, filling applications, running all over town getting stacks of paper work done than getting them translated by a certified translator, waiting for hours in line at embassies, sitting for interviews, dreading a rejection, trying all over again if rejected, or making multiple visits to the embassy to pick up the visa if accepted.

Phew!!

After being involved with my friend’s struggle for getting the American Visa to visit her family in New York, and working to help my fiancé get the Schengen Visa to Europe for our honeymoon, I have truly learned to appreciate the little navy booklet I have.

“O Canada!”

I never thought that there was so much work and stress involved in taking a vacation outside Lebanon.  Now I know what people meant when they said, “Oh, you have a passport; don’t worry, you future is set.”   It makes me laugh now thinking back at all the people I met who joked about me marrying them just for the passport.

Lebanon’s “Luxury” Redefined Resort

After a long and painstaking week, there is nothing like hitting one of Lebanon’s high end beach resorts for a little sun, water, and pampering.  I spoke too soon.

At first I though I was the odd one out, and didn’t want to mention any names, but then I came across this blog:

http://www.bloggingbeirut.com/archives/1152-Pretentious-Redefined-Sipping-Rose-in-the-Pool-Summer-of-2007.html

and thus got a green light to trash the place.

Orchid, one of Lebanon’s posh beach resorts is located in the Jiyeh area slightly south of Beirut.  It is an exclusive resort that sticks to a strict door policy of 18 and above and requires previous reservations, especially on weekends.  With magnificent landscaping, different leveled structures, private areas that include huts and Jacuzzis, and a white finish that gives off peaceful vibes, Orchid is a must visit for anyone in Lebanon; seriously! 

Even though my first experience at Orchid was exceptional, this time, there was no justice in comparing.  Beach beds are laid so close to each other that you find yourself rubbing elbows, and a little more, with a total stranger, the pool – only pool – would run as a private pool for some villa, but instead its used to accommodate a couple hundred guests, and the service is so bad that you have to change your drink three times before you get a bug-free glass, the right amount of cranberry, and the complementary nuts and carrots.

Then comes the notion of Premium V/s Luxury.

I’m a person who doesn’t mind paying a premium price for premium products, and services.  In fact, I prefer paying extra to ensure that the place I'm visiting, product I’m buying, or serving I’m getting is at a high standard.  But I refuse to be “sheeped*” and pay a premium price for a name that claims to be luxury when it is just a reputation from smoke.

Being in a swimsuit is already uncomfortable; a feeling that is maximized when you are being watched by perverted eagle eyes.  People around you who claim to be wearing sunglasses to shield the sun, are really wearing them to hide were their eyes looking.  That applies for both guys and girls. 

And again, wedgies are normal, Speedo’s are the “It” fashion for men, and making out in the pool is everyone’s favorite pass-time.

I just hate the sleazy, sex-oriented, see and be seen, showy, braggy attitude most of this Lebanese generation is at.

BLEKHHH!!  

*Sheeped: It’s a word translated from the casual Lebanese jargon that means being cheated, schemed on, and treated like a dumb barn animal; the sheep.

Now and till Forever

Fairy tales, movies, poetry, horoscope readings… the connotation of “The One” is almost everywhere you look.  But do people really stop to contemplate its meaning? What is it? What is finding “The One”?

Is it being happy with someone? Is it falling in love? Is it marriage? Is it having a family? Is it settling down? Is it everyday life? Or is it a combination of both?

Some people pass through life never finding “The One”, and others think that every relationship they stumble into is with “The One” until they either grow out of it or get their hearts broken.  Some try to make it happen by hook or crook, even if it means erasing their own personalities and stepping on their dignity, and others avoid it out of fear or simply attachment to the single life.

No matter what the situation is, no one could understand how much of a blessing it is until they actually find “The One”. 

I once heard that if you want someone to suffer, wish them love. 

I’m still trying to make sense of that! Love is so many things, including suffering.  Its what makes us get out of bed on a cold and raining morning, yet also keeps us depressed; it is what makes us do things we never though possible, yet hinders us from others; its what brings out both the best and the worst in us… its so complex.

Excuse the philosophy Mr. Youssef, but I want to say it out loud:

I have found “The One” and he is you!

The 28^th of May, 2011 marked the first day of the rest of my life… our lives! 

Other days might have been important like the 27^th of June 2009 was the day I graduated from college, or even in the future that the 10^th of September, our scheduled wedding day or the day we have our first child.  However, I know that none will be like the 28^th of May.  It was the day we sealed our bond in front of society, law, our families and loved ones, and most importantly, in front of God.

The wedding party might be important, but our true marriage has begun.  I wish that the rest of your life will be long and filled with nothing but love, happiness, success, abundance, wealth, power, children, and satisfaction with me.

This is to Youssef Abdulmawla… my prince, my love, my husband!

London

Even though I’m a Lebanese Canadian, but there is no city in the world I love and miss more than London.  The reasons; there might be many or even none… I just love that city.

London had always been the fairy tale city with kings, queens, princes and princesses.  The city that nearly conquered the world, the city where Shakespeare wrote, the city where my closest aunt and uncle live...

My trip to London was on the 1^st of January 2011, and again in January 2012!

From the time that the plane was making a decent into Heathrow and I saw the green grounds and the mid century London houses I fell in love.   Each and every sight I saw was a gasp of culture, history, civilization, and authenticity. I was in tears when the plane took off, taking me back to Lebanon.