Jeddah Bloggers' EB In Balad!

"If I am in this circle of intellectual minds gathered today, then I can stake my claim to a little slice of prestige among Jeddah bloggers? Wow!! I don't think I deserve to be counted in this 'community'! Ok, I'm about to coil now. But I already did haha!"

It started  months ago, long before the great Mr. Jebee Kenji Solis of Thoughtskoto shuttled from coast to coast - to yet another not-so-unfamiliar territory of Jeddah, when the EB of bloggers was conceived by the El Presidente of PEBA - the quintessential 'kuya' of Jeddah bloggers - the ever generous and gentle yet intellectual powerhouse  Mr. Nereus Jethro Abad of the famed Desert Aquaforce blog. Eighth of July when Jeddah bloggers gathered and exchanged pleasantries for the first time.  Five of us showed up brushing aside - say a drop in man-hours wasted (squeezed in from tight schedule) in tit-for-tat with fellow bloggers.

The mind behind Baul ni Noel, the at-first-glance shy type Noel Ablon - the runaway winner for punctuality nod was the first on the rendezvous. [The guy just walks down the elevator from his nearby office (I'm not sure of that Noel) haha!] If anything, I and Pepe Cabrera of (Camera Ni Cabrera and X-Spot) didn't screw up with time as we've thought earlier as we sped off from work headed straight to the 'event' :-) We could see a guy (in an office attire) standing in an uncomfy spot busy containing the grainy drops off his face in a serious demeanor. I really thought that's not Noel - could be someone else. After a brief stint of cooling down inside Corniche mall, we spotted the boss Mr. NJ already chatting with the guy - yes the guy was Mr. Noel Ablon!

The ever affable and a seemingly surprised Mr. NJ welcomed us as we joined the table ( understandably, we did not confirm our attendance earlier due to work constraint). Credit to Mr. NJ's Malaysian colleague Sani and another staff Zakir for giving him company from a distant and lonely journey from Al Laith to Jeddah.

In the meanwhile, came the great man - the brain behind OFW Kablogs and PEBA - Mr. thoughskoto himself Mr. Jebee Kenji Solis. [Pretend that I am acknowledging the entrance of the man respected in the blogosphere whose persona is larger than life- (forget that he is petite - yet an intellectual behemoth in his own right) bannering a smile and an inquisitive eye speaking in a subdued  tone]. If I am in this circle of intellectual minds (as The Pope chose to allude to in his FB comment) gathered today, then I can stake my claim to a little slice of  prestige among Jeddah bloggers? Wow!! I don't think I deserve to be counted in this 'community'! Ok, I'm about to coil now. But I already did haha!

Being an enterprising mind that he is (with no dull moments filled with exchanges of thoughts and ideas), Mr. Thoughtskoto grabbed the lull amid the de-clogged traffic of minds to present his agenda and his proposal for a better PEBA and its beneficiality. Everyone could only agree with what has been  proposed - and also thrilled, (not for the shared vision of PEBA)  but mind you - with the next EB, probably in a colder setting. (Mr. NJ what do you have to say? Hmmm.) Hey, not everything discussed in a meeting is for public consumption! So Jeddah bloggers you better be there next EB. (Hey Ron Dacz! Still busy exploring the Red Sea?  Share with us your snorkeling experience when you get down to the city!)

[I could only hope Isla De Nebz will be available but sadly he settles now in Kuwait - he is the man responsible for most of the journals at OFW Kablogs, and religiously lending  his genius into it. I became his ultimate fan on my first visit to his blog. Kudos to you Nebz!]  Don't take it against me please (haha!) A deserved praise is a great incentive! This is my site and I have control over anything I have to say :-) :-)

Well, you may never hear me bossing around as to which is the best restaurant in  town to cool down and relax - ever - but I will be there in tow - as always (kapal!) This is the last thing in my bucket list - not my forte, sort of. But wait, I can do the dishes and run errands too! ( In the restaurant? Chill!) So the group decided to settle for the nearest and most spacious restaurant - the famous and conspicuous Shawly restaurant. Everyone seemed to have pretended to have affinity with healthy living and so all settled for the appropriate - drop the carb-laden and high cholesterol menu - in this case halo-halo did the trick and for Mr. NJ who loathes sugary stuff - a vanilla ice cream did appease the carb-fueled temblors within. (sugar pa din :-))

Photos! Photos! And photos!  Nobody did imagine someone nearby is fighting for his life. Zakir, Mr. NJ's assistant rushed from outside and broke the news - a taxi driver in his parked car just died in his seat, obviously of cardiac arrest. As we rushed towards the view from on top, droves of people congregated around the car and we could see a slumping body wrapped in a foil or plastic sheet or something. The paramedics clearly did what was necessary. As everyone looked mystified by the turn of events, the enterprising Camera Ni Cabrera wasted no time capturing the moment with his lens. Yet the sad reality of life remains. One moment you're here, the next you're gone.

Then the bloggers took one another's contact number before dusk as Mr. NJ and company decided to head home to Al Laith - a couple of hours drive from Jeddah? And of course, the moment we've been waiting for - the freebies- 2 big boxes of big big frozen prawns from the world-renowned National Prawn Company where Mr. NJ is one of the big bosses. Mr. Thoughskoto did not partake the loot (haha!) as his freezer is still filled with them (also courtesy of Mr. NJ from their previous meeting ), or maybe he pitied us because we did not confirm our attendance and practically unexpected? Well, anyway thank you Mr. Solis! And thank you Mr. NJ! So  one went to us and another to Noel. Yehey!

If anyone has said I have an anger management issue in my posts? Well, I'm trying to make light of the one I'm writing now. I did attempt. And so I write nonsense. That's the result!