"The New Iraq" - Treasure of Baghdad's Diary

Yesterday was one of the quietest days I ever had. No explosions reported, at least in Baghdad. I left home at 8:30 a.m. and arrived the office at 8:50 a.m. as the streets were empty being on Friday. I did not have much to do that morning which made me log into my Yahoo messenger and chat with some of my friends.

At 11:30 a.m., I went out for some work. When I finished, I told my friend who was driving that I want to buy a Hookah! We went to Mansur neighborhood and bought a nice one.

Usually, when I finish work at night, I visit my friends who gather everyday at the house of A.L., to have fun and forget about the tiring day we spend. My friends are a mixture of sects and cities, Sunnis and Shiites. All of them were born in Baghdad but originally are from other cities. Having friends from Kirkuk, Samarra, Falluja, Mosul, Najaf, and Baghdad, we call ourselves "The New Iraq". We never talk about our sects or religion when we meet each other. What we care about is how we share our happy times together. When we smoke Hookah, many subjects come in our discourse. We speak about the current situation in the country, our families, work, relationships, cell phones, internet, technology, and some other things. Our company eases all the hard time we are going through these days. S., one of my friends has a high sense of humor. He's the dynamic of the group. If we just look at his smiling face, we feel comfortable.

I returned back home at 10:30 p.m., took a shower, had some fruits and watched my favorite Arabic Show, Alhoor Alain, and then went to sleep.

Today, I went to a press conference by a group of politicians announcing their political alliance for the coming elections. The way to the office of the politician's office is newly paved and the sidewalks are decorated with different kinds of roses. What a tragedy! The streets of Baghdad are completely terrible, dusty, and full of garbage while the street of Mr. Politician is full of roses. I should congratulate myself for having such a man who cares about people.

When I returned back to the office, a breaking news on all News TV channels drew my attention. "Dozens killed and wounded in the Indian capital by four explosions targeted hotels," the breaking news bar read. Now, these deadly attacks targeted innocent people once again. This reminds me with an editorial headline in one of the Iraqi newspapers, "We Have Had Enough Mudslinging". I leave the comment on that for you.

Just now, dozens of Iraqi civilians killed and wounded by a suicide car bomb exploded in Baqubah, 40 miles, north of Baghdad at Iftar time.

Anyway. Also today, J1., my muse, returned back to the office. She brought me my favorite food Lasagna which I first tasted it with her in Amman last year.

Every Saturday I take a day off. This Saturday it did not. O asked me if he can take it instead of me and I take next Monday. O wanted to spend the day with one of his closest friends who has just came back from Dubai and will stay in Baghdad for few days only. I did not mind at all since I know how he misses his friend and how happy he became when he received a phone call from him announcing he is in Baghdad.