I had just started the fourth grade and I was excited about the new year. The fourth grade at my elementary school spelled the ultimate change from being a child to becoming an adult; you started having to wear the “abaya“, you started taking real classes, and you started being treated like an adult.

My favorite addition though was the 2 weekly hours on the day before the weekend called “Activities”, where you had a selection of out-of-curricula classes to choose from. Being an art-aficionado from an early age, I naturally picked art. The teacher was an Egyptian called Ms. Maha, very tall and rather big, with your quite-typical Saudi-school idea of what art is- a lot of tin carving, dry pasta pasting, burlap (kheish) bags, ceramic flowers, and yarn beads. But that was still a lot better than the mosques they had us draw in third grade, and I was excited for the new use of material.

During our first class, she sat us in the basement of the school and told us how we are going to do some gorgeous adult art. Our first project: bedouin-style necklaces made from Pringles can-tops, which we were going to carve with ballpoint pins and then glue colored beads on. Then she pointed to the stack of glue piled up on the table.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach when I realized that it was adult UHU superglue. The liquid type that my parents would never let me use at home. The liquid type that my dad would glue everything with. And I was finally adult enough to be able to use it.

I proudly stood in line behind my fellow classmates to put my hands on a tube all for myself, and spent the entire two hours carefully exploring the amazingness of UHU superglue, which was actually strong enough to stick the beads to the tin. Ahhh… even now, two decades on, I can clearly recall those hours. I glorified in its sweet caustic smell, which remains to this day one of my favorite scents in the world. I covered my hands with it and peeled it off carefully when it dried, making a mold of my tiny fingers. I learned how to put very small portions of it using hairpins. I glued the most random things ever, trying to test its limits, which seemed endless.

I went home in ecstasy that day, carrying my tube of half-finished UHU superglue proudly to show my mother. I was in love. I was an adult, and it was my savior.

From that day and for the next 10 years, UHU superglue was my best friend. I carried it around wherever I went, and actually kept that habit throughout college too. You never know when the circumstances call for some superglue here and there.

I developed the habit of gluing everything that needs to be fixed, as well as gluing anything I thought would look good somewhere where it wasn’t supposed to be.

I superglued my shoes together, I superglued the phone to my desk so no one would remove it, I superglued the door knobs to make them less slippery to open when my hands were wet, I superglued my dolls to my closets, I superglued my glasses together to make them more tight, I superglued my torn jeans, I superglued papers instead of stapling them, I superglued bookshelves and scraps of fallen paint, I superglued my Barbie-furniture to the dollhouse, I superglued photographs to the door, I superglued my backpack, I superglued the wheels of my bed, I superglued my hands together when I was bored, I even superglued broken furniture.

I remember when my dad was moving our furniture to Jordan, he called me up and told me with amusement that he had discovered that most of my drawer-panels were glued together with superglue. I told him I knew that. He asked me why didn’t I just tell him and he would have nailed them back together. I shrugged and told him that he taught me to love superglue. He shrugged and told me that he had had them fixed at a furniture store properly.

And that, Manal, was my first crush. I still go doe-eyed when I see a tube of brand new UHU superglue.

This video, done in early February, was supposed to be cut into segments and posted consecutively on Wednesdays, but the stream of life continued and not much nagging was done. In May, the issue that Wednesday nagging revolved around came to a much anticipated end.

Today, when I look at this video, I just smile. It’s amazing how the days always manage to pass, no matter how slowly, no matter how quickly. They always pass. There’s always something else to wait for.

(click to read)

With the help of the Queen of Ditz, Yasmeen.

As you can see, I’ve been putting my degree to good use.

Anyone knows where we can find Caran D’ache brand oil pastels in Amman?

(photo by Russy)

So after what seems like the longest-taking graduation project in history of the world (seriously, at the end, people I would meet randomly would roll their eyes after I would say that I’ve been busy working on the darn project), I’m finally done :)

My project was about establishing a recycling initiative in Jordan, “Ta Talateh”, which stands for “the three Ta’s” of recycling; tadweer (recycling), tawfeer (reducing), and tajdeed (reusing).  It included branding, creating awareness booklets about the three ta’s, some interactive packages to facilitate the process aimed at school-age children, advertisements, and a website. It was actually a lot of work, and I, with the guidance of my amazing adviser Tarik El-Khateeb, went crazy trying to get all the work done. It took month after month of trashed Illustrator files, piles of sketches tossed away, a lot of scolding by Tarik, and tons of weekends spent staring at the laptop screen.

Yet, I suppose you can say that on preliminary levels, the work didn’t amount to naught. I got an A for the project, and I now cement my world-class nerd standings by getting my BFA with what Jordan University would refer to as “imtiyaz” (which translates to excellence, ahem), and that is finishing up with a GPA of over 3.7.

I’ve actually been done for around a week now, but in true nerd fashion, I was waiting for the grades to go up before I celebrate.

The picture up top was taken during the project jury, which I actually enjoyed (I was one of three students that didn’t leave the jury crying), although of course there was the time when one of the juriests went off on how  the stink of bio-diesel cars in Germany is the very proof that recycling is bullshit (?).

Bullshit or not though, I will have to do the FM-style-”O7ebbo an ashkora al MBC li hatha il barnamej il 3atheem…”  thank yous. I wouldn’t have been able to pull the last week off if it weren’t for my family, from my parents, to my aunt Manar, to my brothers Hisham, Omar, and Gus, to my cousins, Abed and Basem, to even my grandmother (who sent me some of her knitting for my display); when the time came, they all put on their painting shoes and helped me in getting the exhibit ready. I loveeee youuu guys. More thanks go to Moose, who withstood my nagging over all those months, Noor and Sara for being awesome freaking-out companions, and of course, Tarik, who made me fall in love with design all over again. Ok, that seals that segment for the day. Sorry, but it was necessary.

So now that I’m done, the ever-famous question keeps arising, “What are you going to do now?” I have decided that I do not want to go back to school, at least for now, and I guess I have to find myself a real job. Or something.

I guess I will post more project pictures as well as ones from the exhibition in the next few days, but for now, I’m not in the mood to fiddle with Photoshop.

What College Major Are You/Should You Be?

It’s a tie! Your major should be part Computer Science. You like nothing more than spending long nights with friends in the computer lab… which is a good thing since that’s exactly how you’ll spend the next couple years. Your major should be part Art. You are sensitive, creative, and you don’t follow established rules. Unfortunately, you’ll have to follow some rules if you ever want that promotion at Starbucks.

That really reminds me of the conversations I’d have with people when I finished high school. People would ask the ever famous question, “What do you feel like majoring in?”
My answer was always; “Art.”
“Are you crazy? Why? You did very well at school.”
“I want to do art.”
“Why don’t you do medicine? You’ve got the grades for it.”
“I want to do art.”
“Why don’t you do computer science or something, you’re always sitting on that machine, you must be really good with it.”
“I want to do art.”
“Fine, then do architecture! That is art you know, it’s just art for smart people.”
“I want to do art.”

Ironically, none of my college applications were sent with “Art” as a major or minor. I had architecture, economics, and English.

In the end though, I ended up doing art anyway.

Ah, the gems of the World Wide Web. Where else would you find a whole website dedicated to helping you choose the right glue for your bonding requirements? They even have a Statement of Impartiality: “Our recommendations are totally impartial. We have advertisers but they don’t influence our selections at all. And they never will. We promise. “

Awesome. When I was finding my way around glue, I had to do it the hard way. I had to find out that UHU superglue burns acrylic, which has to be sort of “welded” together with some weird toxic chemical that I’ll never remember the name of. I had to learn that although we were taught that white glue is the best option for paper, spray contact glue is what works best. I came to these conclusions and many other similar ones after a hard and arduous journey, after a lot of arguments, and a lot of failed attempts.

The essay below was written during the peak of my journey to find the ultimate all-purpose glue. I probably wrote it when I was in the 9th or 10th grade, for my English writing class.

    Do you remember the first time you held that wide yellow stick with the waxy gummy substance inside of it? How about the white tube of liquid adhesive that so magically made things stick to each other? Oh, oh, and did you get to experience the heat of the gun that’s filled with melted plastic? Ah, sweet memories. Whoever discovered glue is just a complete sweetheart. Ok, so it’s simple- I’m obsessed with glue (I actually prefer scissors, but you won’t appreciate the fact that Ikea makes the sharpest ones and that House of Talents sells the prettiest, so I’ll spare you).

    I cannot recall the countless times that I spent experimenting with the different types of epoxy. I also cannot tell you about all the long debates my mother and I shared discussing which type of paste works the best. Oh, my mother. Although we have very similar ideas and although we share the same hobbies, we just have completely different views on glue. While I think that glueguns just rule, she believes that white-glue is the king. I also have met many similar people with this view, so my essay is directed towards those who don’t appreciate the power of heat, and if you’re one of them, then you’re included.

    I admit that white glue has its advantages. For example, you can’t see the leftovers that squeeze out of the papers. Also, its liquid nature makes it very easy to control, for you can effortlessly use a pin or a spoon to spread it over the widest and the smallest areas. Likewise, you can use it to make your creativity overflow. By simply dumping a bag of colored sand or glitter in a jar of liquid white-glue, you can invent a new dye-system (and make sure you try to make a collage of your dye-system if you try making some by plainly covering different areas with different colors). One better thing about this form of epoxy is that it’s very strong and very portable. You can put some of this magic in an old Kodak film-canister and keep it in your purse. Oops, broken heel? You just would never have to worry about that again.
   
    Sadly, with this great world of advantages come many disadvantages. The fluid constitutions of white-glue makes your paper all shriveled up and can even make cardboard twist into the graph of an x2 function (which is in the form of a parabola, thank you Mrs. Math Teacher). It also takes forever to dry, so you have to hold that heel to your stilettos for an hour to make sure it won’t break as soon as you step on the floor. And how can I forgive it for the time it spilled all over my favorite pair of jeans? Needless to say, it’s not washable (nor is it waterproof!).

    You really don’t need to panic yet; there still is the gluegun. (*Smile*) Glueguns, I experience pleasure in just telling you about them. They have most of white-glues advantages and none of its disadvantages. Plug in, pull the trigger, ta da… a permanently glued Anything. The melted plastic holds even broken desk panels together (hey, it works! I’ve tried it). You can also get a gluegun with changeable nozzles, which means you can use different nozzles depending on how big the area you want to glue is. In addition to that, you can just buy glitter gluegun refill or fluorescent purple ones, and make a dye-system collage in seconds. Glueguns likewise come in many different sizes and shapes, some battery powered ones as small as your lipstick, so you can just toss it into your make up bag. Broken heels anyone? Squeeze some glue out onto the surface, hold this surface onto your shoe for one second, and jump from the top of Eiffel Tower making sure you land on your feet (a perfect test for strength). And how can I not mention that its plastic nature doesn’t allow paper (or cardboard) to shrivel up on you like aqua-based glue would, or ruin your favorite pair of pants since it would immediately turn into plastic while it’s still in the process of spilling.
   
    Glueguns also have many other uses. It helps reduce stress level where you can just compress some of the hot mucilage onto your index finger and scream out all your worries and despairs. It provides entertainment if you’re ever bored in biology class by making all these pretty peelable patterns on the floor of the room. And it makes life easier. For example, if your doorknobs are too smooth, just squeeze out a line of glue on it and even wet hands will open your door (ha, I’ll beat you, you annoying bathroom door!). I correspondingly can’t resist but mention how we got rid of ants forever when my aunt plugged the holes leading to their dwellings with the plastic glue.

    Before you label me a freak of nature, let me make one thing clear. I’m not some nasty advertiser that wants to fool you into buying my product; I’m just a fan. Fifteen years worth of glue-related experience makes me fit to tell you what kind of adhesive would get your kiss of approval. Try it yourself. You know that ruined toy that used to belong to your sister 2 weeks ago? Fix it for her with the aid of your new best friend and watch her give you a big hug. What’s white glue to this at-your fingertips convenience? Long live the gluegun!

Today, I know that there is no such thing as the all-purpose glue. 

(33)

That’s me as an M&M! Do I make a hot one or what?

How would you look like as an M&M? Become an M&M using this cool little tool from the candy makers and post show us! (If you like, you can show us here by saving the image and then emailing it to me (roba.assi (at) gmail.com) , or by adding it in a comment by using the <img src=”url of image”> tag.)
 

P.S. Star Donuts sucks.