Just found this AMAZING article on Juicy Burger dating back to 1984. The article talks about how Juicy Burger started, the success they had and how they were growing and expanding even though there was a war taking place. I tried to find a logo or visual of Juicy Burger to attach to this post but couldn’t find anything so if anyone finds one please tell me.

But last year, amidst all the terrorist attacks, civil strife, assassinations and shellings, a new American-style fast-food burger and chicken chain called Juicy Burger not only managed to open three downtown restaurants but posted annualized average unit volumes in excess of $2 million.

And even though the situation in Beirut has deteriorated close to anarchy in recent weeks, Juicy Burger officials insist they will open at least one additional unit here this year, plus others in Egypt and Cyprus.

Juicy Burger units are staffed by local students and housewives. Restaurants have six service counter cashiers, two ice cream dippers and cashiers, and three cooks per shift. Two other workers handle food preparation: fresh chickens are purchased whole and cleaned and cut on the premises; roast beef is cooked at the unit level every day, and coleslaw and tartar sauce are made from scratch. Labor costs are about 13% of total sales.

Employees are required to have a working knowledge of English, Arabic and French, the three dominant languages in Beirut. A training unit is situated on Tripoli Highway which has facilities for classroom work and practical experience training.

You can read the full two page article [Here]

But for some reason I’m still hesitant…
Should I get the IPad or the new Samsung Galaxy tab?

I already have an IPhone and I’m not sure what an IPad could offer more what an IPhone is already offering. I checked it out this weekend at Khoury home as it has the exclusivity in selling the Galaxy Tab and got even more confused.

Pricewise, the IPad price is at $800 whereas the Galaxy is priced around $850, both 16 GB. However, you may use a sim card in the Galaxy Tab and can easily make phone calls or install GPS without needing a WIFI connection. You can also take pictures, film videos, do video chatting, Skype. You can insert a USB, view and edit documents.

Come think of it, I’m not even sure why the hell I’m still hesitant; I guess that this is going to be my Christmas gift from… MOI!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

A beautifully done online campaign to help the Lebanese autism society. Take a moment to write a wish, play the game, beat the scores, win a gift and help them build a Christmas Teddy bears tree. [Link]

Here is a link to their Facebook page as well.
Help spread the word. [Link]

Jal El Dib municipality put up a countdown timer on a small clock tower for the year 2000 back in 1999. The counter says “Avant An 2000″ (Before the year 2000). 10 years have passed since the year 2000 and the counter is still there… 10 YEARS! It’s not like they haven’t noticed it! There’s a picture of the late Pierre Gemayel right under it!

And the funny thing is that the clocks don’t indicate the right time, each side says something different.

[Source]

I just read the Big Christmas tree placed in the middle of Martyrs Square in Beirut caught fire today due to an electrical shock but the fire was contained in no time by the Beirut Fire Department.

Speaking of fires, the 125 Hot line has stopped functioning due to technical problems.

I spent Saturday afternoon Christmas-shopping at City Mall Nahr el Mot and found some weird stuff.

A very relaxed baby Jesus.

A Black Barbie.

And a small bowl in the middle of BHV due to a water leaking from the roof.

I was saying a few days back that i am not comfortable with the huge stars hanging above our heads as part of the Christmas decoration in Kaslik. Well let’s just thank God no one got hurt and pray that whomever did this decoration uses his/her brain next time.

I was passing by BHV at City Mall yesterday to pick up some Christmas accessories when i spotted a real Barbie posing in front of a small Barbie corner. There were more men taking pictures with her than children lol!

[YouTube]

A huge billboard fell and blocked the seaside road right at the entrance of marina.

The rest of these pics are random stuff I saw on the road

As i am posting right now, my laptop battery is dying and the UPS i use to keep my connection alive when the electricity cuts off will shut down any second. The generator that rips us off every month to give us backup electricity whenever we don’t have any (which is very often) is not working and EDL’s having a problem as well.

The EDL has a new hotline for complaints but no one is picking up.

Of course they will blame it on the storm tomorrow or not even care. I think i will go buy some candles and bring out the board games from the basement. We might be needing them.

I woke up at 5 am because of the thunder and lightning! For about an hour straight there was a lightning strike every couple of seconds! It was crazy!
I drove around a bit this morning, the roads are packed! Some roads are flooded completely in the Antelias area.

The worst part for me is that I have a flight to catch at 5PM!! It’s gonna be a bumpy ride!

Here are a couple of pics I took

Did you notice how everyone is talking about the upcoming storm as if it’s the second coming of Christ?

Israel scores again against Lebanon in the hummus war. An Israeli created an iPhone application called iHummus where the aim of the game is to wipe your hummus plate clean. Time for a Lebanese to create iTabbouleh… [Link]

Thanks Mark!