Generations ago getting married at 16 or 18 was quite common, most of our grandmothers were married off at that age, and probably pregnant by 19...times have changed a little though, people have become more educated, and little boys and girls are now more independent...Or so it seems?

We're confused though as it looks like more and more people who get married during the summer wedding crazes, are evenly divided by those in their mid to late twenties and those in their early twenties...Don't get us wrong many think even mid twenties is still way to early to wed, you got to grow as a person and figure out who you are before you figure out who you guys are as a couple.

Unfortunately though it has become a known fact that many of these young couples who rush into marriage end up in divorce after a year or two (maybe even less)...We aren't experts in the matter, even though some of us have been married, divorced, or are bachelors running around; there are probably a lot of factors that play into why people are in such a hurry to get married, but that's for another day another story!

What sparked our interest in this subject was an article we read published in the U.S:

"Generations ago, 21 was a very common age to get married, but as times change, priorities shift, divorce rates grow, and people desire to play the field before settling down, the average age for marriage has increased to 26 years old for women and nearly 28 for men. These days, it seems more common for people to date for a longer period of time to make sure the relationship will last, if they even marry at all.Do you think a 21-year-old guy really knows what he wants and who he wants to be with for the rest of his life?"

We couldn't say it better, take your time get to know yourself better and what you want...before you rush off into the "ideal" marriage which may or may not play out as you want it to!

While Sky lounge was a little more relaxed than the night before since the Big Boys decided to make an appearance (Yaseen Mansour, Mr. Gammal). We wonder if they are impressed with this years organization? Reservations were limited on Friday night to make sure they were not bothered by the overcrowding. Andrea had it's usual crowd and vibe, nothing special.

Turns out Amr Diab's concert didn't just piss off the rest of sahel due to the traffic...but apparently the fans in the concert left quite upset with the singer himself!

Not only was he two hours late but when people from the crowd asked why he was late and requested a song, he answered something like "ana mesh shaghal 3andoko, el7amdolelah en ana geit aslan" - roughly translating to: "I don't work for you, you should thank God I even came" . umm...how rude?!

A lot of fans left the concert early due to his tardiness and rudeness - although many stayed and still had a great time.

Mr. Diab - don't get too cocky for sha3b el masry. Don't forget that their support made you what you are today.

It's a man's world...no literally in this country it is a Man's world...though we've noticed this plenty times before, but it seems to have stood out a lot more lately...

MEN OUT NUMBER WOMEN in the streets, at events, in cars...and the list goes on...

Very rarely do you see a unisex group walking around through the streets of Cairo, usually it's one big group of 15 guys all hanging out, the same is to be said with guys cruising around on their boats in Marina, or just plain chilling on the beach in Diplomacien.

Although in our society it is way more common to see guys and girls hanging out since most of us went to unisex schools, but generally our society as a whole believes in the segregation of the sexes..why is that?

Is it because women are expected to stay at home, while the men all run around and enjoy each others company...or is it just because these guys don't have any game and are not used to mingling with the opposite sex?

We really aren't sure about the phenomenon but its not such a pretty site to see hoards of guys walking around and harassing all those around them.

For all of you freaking out over swine flu (although most everyone seems to have calmed down lately...maybe it's the sahel effect?) there is good news!

CAIRO (AFP) – Egypt is to order five million doses of swine flu vaccine, Deputy Health Minister Nasser al-Sayyed told AFP on Friday, sufficient to immunise 2.5 million of Egypt's nearly 80 million population.

Egypt will buy five million doses as soon as the vaccine becomes available," Sayyed said, adding that the order could be increased to 10 million doses depending on the evolution of the (A)H1N1 virus over the winter."

As of last Thursday, there have been 329 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus with only one death.

Well we see this as something to be reassured about...at least we're preparing for the worst and like they say "it's better to be safe than sorry."

Everybody...well mostly the older generation has been commenting on a transformation that took place of our wonderful sahel since last year...the transformation to "Sahel party city".

Remember when sahel was the relaxing escape from Cairo where all you did was swim, eat, gather at friend's houses, shayesh, play cards, etc until the wee hours of the morning? Those were the days!

Now it's "are we going to marassi? did you make reservations? can we get into sky? will Rateb be tough tonight?" ...We seriously think it makes us stress out more than in Cairo!

We're not saying that it's not fun because then we'd by lying...so far so good, we've had a great time at many of the nightspots but the point is...if you don't WANT to go out, which a lot of us do especially on Thursday night after a long drive in - check this out - YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
It's not a MUST like everyone makes it out to seem. Just because it's the weekend and the itch begins for others doesn't mean you have to.

It's just that we've heard of a lot of people wish they were in bed while out at Sky or Marassi or Andrea and we wonder - well, why aren't you? Most groups of friends don't force each other out so if you're really in the mood to lay back and chill - go for it! ;)

While sitting on the beach relaxing, we've gotten used to seeing Redbull fighter jets, Hacienda Bay airplanes, Coca Cola jet skis, and a whole bunch of other alternative forms of advertising. Most of them are somewhat appealing to the eye...and then there's Sprite with their demon looking characters.

What is supposed to look like the Sprite characters water skiing behind a boat...actually look like two possessed M&Ms being dragged across the water. Why scare little children like that? WHY?

Although we must admit, the concept is quite creative...the execution is absolutely horrific.

Sorry Sprite...it was a nice attempt and a good idea...but for next time, focus more on the appearance of the campaign because the whole idea can be lost through bad execution. Nice try though!