Here There and Everywhere

Day of Miracles

When I woke up yesterday, I didn’t even want to get out of bed. I was overwhelmed. There was so much to do, so many things I didn’t know how to do, where to start. But AdventureMan is up and out the door and I need to get started. I didn’t even unpack suitcases the night before – after we got Pete settled, AdventureMan took me grocery shopping.

Big mistake. What was the date? Yep, June FIRST. Also known as pay-day. The grocery store was mobbed, the parking lot was pure anarchy. I got out and started shopping, AdventureMan found a parking spot and then found me. About one third of the way through my list I just looked at him and said “I can’t do this. I am exhausted.”

By the grace of God, as we approached the check out lanes – there are about 30 – I saw one lane that was kind of invisible, no customers there, and we were checked out in a flash. AdventureMan had picked up a roasted chicken and some flat bread, so we went home, put away the cold stuff and I left all the rest for the next day. We were in bed by 9 and I think we were asleep 30 seconds later.

So here is what I faced – unpacking five suitcases, checking what was in the kitchen, figuring out where I wanted things to be, putting away last night’s groceries and re-arranging the furniture the way we liked it.

If you could see me work, you would laugh. I don’t work in a straight line. I would unpack a little, hang up some clothes, carry some things downstairs, check out a cupboard or two, rearrange, check the expiration dates on food left behind and throw out what was left behind.

I have lived in this very villa before, I know it well. The curtains are all screwed up, so as I go from room to room, I fix them the way they are supposed to be. It may sound irrelevant to you, but it matters to me!

Every now and then, overwhelmed, I would take a break and try to hook up the internet, or lie down for a few minutes with Pete, who still needed some cuddle-time to get him over his travel traumas. No luck with the internet.

Around two in the afternoon, I had all the suitcases unpacked and put away, the kitchen re-arranged, I had a great visit with my dear friend and neighbor – who is packing out, just as I move back in – and I was ready to collapse. I fixed myself a sandwich, and sat down.

The doorbell rang.

It is Ranjanthan, the maintenance man, and he has a fistfull of work orders placed by the company. Thank GOD I had been all over the house. “Yes” “Yes” “No” “Yes” “No” “No” (Yes, this needed fixing, no, the curtains are actually working, no, I don’t want this, yes, please fix this . . . )

One thing was to fix a dressing table, affix the mirror, but the dressing table had the wide-screen tv on it, and it was in the bedroom (horrors), and I wanted the TV in the upstairs family living room, etc. He did everything! He called in an assistant, and they moved all my furniture around to where I wanted it, they changed the TV, they hauled away an unsightly piece of furniture left behind, and a barbecue we didn’t want. He said he would send a man who could connect the additional cable box, maybe two – three days.

AdventureMan walked in just as the maintenance team were leaving, and his eyes popped out. When he had left me that morning, I had been straggling out of bed and I was afraid I might have an infection and need to go to the clinic. Poor AdventureMan, starting his new job, the house phone isn’t working, my cell phone isn’t working, and what if I am sick? He walks in, and our house is just the way we wanted it to be, all the projects are complete, and, in addition, I am not sick, I am just fine.

In another hour, the air conditioning men arrive and clean out all the filters and make sure everything is working. We were just about to leave for dinner, when the door bell rings, and it is the guy who is going to handle transferring the additional cable to the new TV location. He can’t do it until Friday, because it will be complicated, but . . . meanwhile, he gets our phone working, our internet working AND the VOIP phone – all working.

My friends, God is good. These workers – they are angels. How often do you get all these house-things settled in less than 24 hours on the ground? We were just totally blown away, our hearts so full of gratitude. Even our delayed arrival was a blessing in disguise, a protection for Pete.

After that, AdventureMan takes me to Biella’s. When we first got to Kuwait, I knew everything was going to be all right because there was a Biella’s at the Marina Mall. What a pity, it didn’t have enough inside space for the long hot months, and went away. Thank God, there is still a Biella’s in Doha, and we had a great meal, our first real relaxation.

Money in Qatar is just the opposite of money in Kuwait. In Kuwait, the Dinar is worth about 3.65 dollars, so you eat modest meal and your bill comes to like 8 – 11 KD, which sounds small, because we think in dollars, but it is $29 – $40. In Qatar, a dollar buys around 3.6 Qatari riyals, so when the bill arrives, it is 184 QR, which can be a sort of stunning number if you are thinking in dollars, but it is $51. (we had the fancy fruit cocktail drinks, starters, and panini. We don’t normally have the cocktails, so our bill was higher than normal, but the prices are actually pretty close between Kuwait and Qatar.) Sorry, no photos this time, just too tired! We had a nice, relaxing dinner, drove home and then – exhausted – were in bed before ten, sound asleep!

June 3, 2009 - Posted by intlxpatr | Uncategorized