My name is Bassam Hajj. But I am more known by as BISS… Which means a male cat in Arabic… And so depending if you like cats or not, we might become good friends, or not!! Naaaaa, it’s ok, even if you don’t like cats we can still be good friends, I am so open-minded :)
Now I was always trying to trace back when did this nickname stick to me, and why?? Basically, I loved cats and loved drinking milk, and I did not eat well when I was a kid, so dad used to call me for dinner the same way we would call a cat… Hence BISS… Not really sure this is the exact origin, but I gave it my best shot :)
I was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on October 13th 1976, and no, it was not a Friday, it was a Wednesday, though I would have loved it to be a Friday 13th… Nonetheless, 13 is my lucky number…
I lived most of my life in Saudi Arabia and then Lebanon… Lived for a few years in Dubai, Egypt, and the US… Visited several countries like Germany, Holland, Britain, South Africa, India, Cyprus, Syria, Egypt, the Czech Republic… And now live in Montreal, QC, Canada, hopefully for a long time because I love it here :)
Nationality and belonging has always been a big puzzle in my life, where do I belong really?? What place do I really like the most?? Where is my attachment really?? Which place really means to me?? What is my real Nationality?? And I will be talking about this in some of my blogs… But for now, I am a Lebanese Palestinian…
I lost my dad when I was 18, one month before entering the university for my undergraduate studies, and that was a big turning point in my life, leaving the family house and moving to university, changing my career goals, changing my view of families, religion, and values, and most importantly, losing my mentor and guide and inspiration… Ever since my life was and still is in continuous flux, everlasting change, more than a normal change, some good change, and some bad change… And that is a big blog subject as well…
My mom lives in Lebanon, my younger brother lives in Dallas, TX, and my little sister lives in London, UK. My bigger family is scattered all over the globe as well, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Germany, the US, Libya… So it’s a long-distance family relationship mostly :) Thanks to the phone and the internet, we are in contact from time to time… It could be better, but we are doing OK… Although I always get attacked by one of my uncles, saying I am not contacting him enough… Sorry uncle, will give it some more effort…
I got married in 2003 to my long-time neighbor and friend, Lucine... And on the 20th of Feb 2008 our lovely daughter KINDA was born, the most precious thing in my life… Probably the only good thing in my life right now… And she will of course have a big share of my blog…
Career, friends, religion, morals, traditions, causes, relationships, love, marriage, and divorce, these have always been hot topics in my life, and had seen drastic changes over the years… But probably my failed first marriage stands out from the rest of my problems, it is the second turning point in my life, where I went on a free fall afterward, losing my wife, my family, my friends, my second wife, Nermin, and eventually losing myself…
I succeeded and failed a lot, made a lot of people happy, but also hurt a lot, hurt myself as well as the people around me, I solved problems and issues at work and in my friends’ lives, but still, I managed to complicate a lot of other things, I opened new doors and opportunities, also hit dead ends and got lost in space… I shined so brightly, and then disappeared in total darkness… I had major highs, then had major lows, sometimes so fast and consecutive… All this pushed me to start writing those blogs, where I share with you my ups and downs, my insights and notes and thoughts from this long rough journey…
Right now, I am trying to discover a new meaning and a new purpose for my journey, trying to find answers, trying to make it up for my old mistakes, trying to clean my life, stand on my feet, and move forward… In style :)
One last thing, I am passionate about movies, I can watch movies for long long hours, over and over and over, I never get bored of movies, and I always thought I should have had a career in the movies industry!! I get really touched and inspired by those great movies, I learn a lot from movies… Hence you will see a lot of the titles of my blogs are actually titles of some of my favorite movies…
I hope for us to become friends who share their thoughts and opinions about life and work topics, after all, you are now my big virtual family… See you around…
BISS
Now I was always trying to trace back when did this nickname stick to me, and why?? Basically, I loved cats and loved drinking milk, and I did not eat well when I was a kid, so dad used to call me for dinner the same way we would call a cat… Hence BISS… Not really sure this is the exact origin, but I gave it my best shot :)I was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on October 13th 1976, and no, it was not a Friday, it was a Wednesday, though I would have loved it to be a Friday 13th… Nonetheless, 13 is my lucky number…
I lived most of my life in Saudi Arabia and then Lebanon… Lived for a few years in Dubai, Egypt, and the US… Visited several countries like Germany, Holland, Britain, South Africa, India, Cyprus, Syria, Egypt, the Czech Republic… And now live in Montreal, QC, Canada, hopefully for a long time because I love it here :)
I lost my dad when I was 18, one month before entering the university for my undergraduate studies, and that was a big turning point in my life, leaving the family house and moving to university, changing my career goals, changing my view of families, religion, and values, and most importantly, losing my mentor and guide and inspiration… Ever since my life was and still is in continuous flux, everlasting change, more than a normal change, some good change, and some bad change… And that is a big blog subject as well…My mom lives in Lebanon, my younger brother lives in Dallas, TX, and my little sister lives in London, UK. My bigger family is scattered all over the globe as well, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Germany, the US, Libya… So it’s a long-distance family relationship mostly :) Thanks to the phone and the internet, we are in contact from time to time… It could be better, but we are doing OK… Although I always get attacked by one of my uncles, saying I am not contacting him enough… Sorry uncle, will give it some more effort…
I succeeded and failed a lot, made a lot of people happy, but also hurt a lot, hurt myself as well as the people around me, I solved problems and issues at work and in my friends’ lives, but still, I managed to complicate a lot of other things, I opened new doors and opportunities, also hit dead ends and got lost in space… I shined so brightly, and then disappeared in total darkness… I had major highs, then had major lows, sometimes so fast and consecutive… All this pushed me to start writing those blogs, where I share with you my ups and downs, my insights and notes and thoughts from this long rough journey…
One last thing, I am passionate about movies, I can watch movies for long long hours, over and over and over, I never get bored of movies, and I always thought I should have had a career in the movies industry!! I get really touched and inspired by those great movies, I learn a lot from movies… Hence you will see a lot of the titles of my blogs are actually titles of some of my favorite movies…
BISS