Here There and Everywhere

Expat wanderer

First Things First

“I have some WONDERFUL news for you!” I gushed to AdventureMan when he picked up the call, “I found a third of the last fruitcake in the refrigerator!” I knew he thought he has finished off the fruit cake and that we didn’t have any more.

Pause. Pause. Pause.

“Hello? Hello? Are you there, AdventureMan.”

AdventureMan comes on, his work-a-day brisk, official self.

“When you start a conversation with ‘I have some wonderful news for you'” he says, “the next words out of your mouth really need to be that I am a grandfather.”

LLLLLLOOOOOLLLLLL.

I can’t make that happen any faster than it is going to happen. Baby grandson is now almost a week overdue, and we are waiting, waiting, waiting for him to show up. This is an eagerly awaited arrival.

I guess he is also happy about the fruitcake, but he really wants a grandson! 🙂

February 3, 2010 Posted by | Aging, Biography, Character, Communication, Community, Cultural, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Florida, Generational, Interconnected, Living Conditions, Marriage, Relationships | 3 Comments

Qatteri Cat – ReVisit

So all the way home, I am thinking “I have to be fair.”

It’s one thing to write a post when you are all hurt or annoyed by something, and then another to have to go back and give an update which is more . . . ummm. . .. . balanced.

The Qatteri Cat went back to the vet today for a re-check. He is fine. He didn’t want to go, and told me so all the way there.

The “mean” animal handler was there when I came in. She asked who was coming, and I told her, and she came over and called him a “sweetie,” and was genuinely nice to him, and caring.

When it came time to visit the vet, the QC stepped out of his cage all by himself, and behaved himself like a perfect gentleman. . . err, gentlecat.

I can tell you it is a lot harder to write a post about nothing happening and everyone being nice, than it is to write an emotional post. All the way home, I had to think about what I was going to write, and what came to me was that while I was making excuses for the Qatteri Cat being foul tempered (hungry, hurting, scared) I wasn’t making any allowances for the humans, who have to deal with sick, hungry, hurting, scared animals every day, who have to watch them suffer, and die, and who might be hungry, or tired, or in physical or emotional pain themselves. So . . . for all my own crabbiness, I apologize.

Today was a new day. QC is a well cat, and AdventureMan and I are still waiting for the magic phone call.

February 3, 2010 Posted by | Character, Charity, Civility, Community, Doha, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Interconnected, Living Conditions, Pets, Qatar, Qatteri Cat, Relationships, Work Related Issues | 7 Comments

AdventureMan Gets Busted

“Sir, do you have a minute?” she asked.

“Yeh, c’mon in,” replied AdventureMan, a little surprised that she closed the door as she came in.

“I think I know who you are,” she said. “I think you are AdventureMan.”

AdventureMan (who is calling me to tell me the story) tells me he didn’t bat an eye, but said “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“It sounded so familiar,” she said, “when you told me you had a little problem with the vet last week. I went back to the blog. I think your cat is the Qatteri Cat. So no, I don’t believe you don’t know what I am talking about.”

If you know AdventureMan, you will know he can’t keep a straight face for very long, and she handled the situation exactly right for busting him good. I am sure he started grinning, and once he starts grinning, he is totally lost.

Like one other really smart woman we know, she went back and explored the blog, reading through several entries until she was sure. Fully armed with all the information, she attacked. And won. Once you get him laughing, he can’t lie any longer. Well done! 🙂 You know who you are! 🙂

February 2, 2010 Posted by | Adventure, Biography, Community, Cultural, Doha, ExPat Life, Friends & Friendship, Humor, Living Conditions, Qatar, Qatteri Cat, Work Related Issues | 8 Comments

FHA Numbers Indicate Foreclosures Will Rise

From AOL Daily Finance: Real Estate News

The percentage of mortgages backed by the FHA that are in default has risen by a third over the last year. According to a report in The Washington Post, “About 9.1 percent of FHA borrowers had missed at least three payments as of December, up from 6.5 percent a year ago, the agency’s figures show.”

Many of the troubled mortgages were granted in 2007 and 2008. Mortgages that are two to three years old apparently carry especially high risks of default because of the high number of loans made during those years to people with extremely low credit scores.

The report adds to the confusion about the direction that the housing market is heading in 2010. RealtyTrac recently reported that forecloses this year may hit 3 million, up from 2.8 million last year. When the company released December 2009 data on January 13th, James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac said, “In the long term a massive supply of delinquent loans continues to loom over the housing market, and many of those delinquencies will end up in the foreclosure process in 2010 and beyond as lenders gradually work their way through the backlog.”

Government data showed that home starts fell 4% in December, but building permits rose. The choppy federal data, which can change direction month by month, has been a hard set of indicators to use to forecast the real estate market in terms of sales and home prices.

The housing market’s future will continue to be plagued by unemployment and over-leveraged consumers, and pressure will also be put on home prices by owners who have underwater mortgages. Some of these mortgage holders may believe that there will never be any equity value in their homes and that they are better off turning their house keys over to the bank. In addition, a wave of $47 billion in interest only loans will reset to full payments this year, according to credit agency Fitch. A portion of these home buyers will not be able to make their new, higher monthly payments.

The FHA news only adds to the probability that 2010 will not be any better for the housing market than 2009 was.

February 2, 2010 Posted by | Community, Family Issues, Financial Issues, Interconnected | Leave a comment

Breast Cancer Support Group Forms in Qatar

Breast cancer support group launched in Doha
By Ourouba Hussein

From today’s Gulf Times

The first breast cancer support group in Qatar was launched yesterday with 25 survivors as members.

Qatar National Cancer Society (QNCS) chairman Sheikh Khalid bin Jabor al-Thani said at a press conference that the organisation has been working for the last 10 years to set up the group, which would provide support to patients “who are newly diagnosed with the disease”.
He explained that the 25- member support group included Qatari and non-Qatari survivors or those who are still under treatment.

Sheikh Khalid said that QNCS was preparing to host a scientific conference on cancer control in April.

“The organisation will also launch a campaign to combat cancer in women and increase awareness to promote prevention and treatment of this disease,” he said.

Wife of the US ambassador Ellie LeBaron, a leading supporter of the cause, observed that the group included women who had suffered breast cancer, in addition to a member of their families.

“The Cancer Survivors’ Group aims to raise awareness of the importance of early detection, which has a great impact on the success of treatment, as well as telling the newly diagnosed that they can fight it and succeed”, she said.

“Many of the women with breast cancer are looking for answers to questions about chemotherapy and radiation treatment, as well as the chances of recovery,” she said.
Breast cancer survivors in the group, spoke about their experiences with the disease and treatment and emphasised that the mental support they received played a major role in their healing process.

January 31, 2010 Posted by | Civility, Community, Cross Cultural, Doha, ExPat Life, Health Issues, Interconnected, Living Conditions, Qatar, Women's Issues | 3 Comments

Abraham bargains with God

When I hear people say God never changes his mind, I think of this story. From today’s reading in the Lectionary, Abraham, Father of the Jews, the Christians and the Moslems, bargains with God not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah:

Genesis 18:16-33

16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked towards Sodom; and Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17The Lord said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?* 19No, for I have chosen* him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; so that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.’ 20Then the Lord said, ‘How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! 21I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.’

22 So the men turned from there, and went towards Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.* 23Then Abraham came near and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?’ 26And the Lord said, ‘If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.’ 27Abraham answered, ‘Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?’ And he said, ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.’ 29Again he spoke to him, ‘Suppose forty are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of forty I will not do it.’ 30Then he said, ‘Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.’ He answered, ‘I will not do it, if I find thirty there.’ 31He said, ‘Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.’ 32Then he said, ‘Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.’ 33And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

January 31, 2010 Posted by | Relationships, Spiritual | 2 Comments

Qatar’s ‘Manly Women’

Thank you, Little Diamond, who sent this article from The Economist as an update to blog entry on cross dressing based on a tiny article in the Gulf Times

CROSS-DRESSING is on the rise among young Qataris. The local press says that more tradition-minded locals are upset by the growing number of young women affecting a masculine style of dress, baggy trousers, short hair and deep voices. These women, who call themselves boyat, which translates as both tomboy and transsexual (and is derived from the English word boy), are being seen in schools and on university campuses where some are said to harass their straiter-laced sisters.

In an episode of a talk show on Qatari television, called Lakom al Karar (The Decision is Yours), a leading academic said that the “manly women” phenomenon was part of a “foreign trend” brought into Qatar and the Gulf by globalisation. Foreign teachers, the internet and satellite television have been blamed. So have foreign housemaids, for badly influencing children in their care.

The studio audience was divided over how to respond. Some called for the death penalty for cross-dressers, while others favoured medical treatment. A rehabilitation centre for Qatari boyat has been set up, but a local report says that as many as 70% of them refuse to give up their “abnormal behaviour”.

It is not just Qataris who are rattled. A year ago the ministry of social affairs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched a campaign against “masculine women”. The project, entitled “Excuse me, I’m a girl”, involved workshops, lectures and television programmes, stressing the virtues of femininity and raising awareness of the presumed dangers of women looking like men. An emirates’ foundation is helping to fund a research project on “gender identity disorder among Emirati youth”.

One official describes the “deviant behaviour” of the boyat as a “menace” to society. But others sound less fazed. An American university lecturer in the region says the short hair and gym shoes worn by these young women would look perfectly normal on an American campus. That is just what unnerves the traditionalists.

Why do you think these girls dress and act like men? Why would a girl do that?

I think girls do that – in any country – for a reason. If privileges and freedoms are heavily weighted in favor of males, perhaps there is no great mystery as to why some females would prefer to be males. It makes sense to me. Girls aren’t stupid. They can see who is getting all the goodies. My guess it is less a gender issue than a values issue.

On the other hand, when – and if – things are more equal, there is less motivation to be other than what we were created to be.

I had some young local friends who told me that they were taking Tai Kwan Do, but quit when a neighbor told their mother that it might threaten their virginity. It broke my heart. The martial arts give grace and confidence to young women. There are a lot of ways a hymen can be broken; I have never heard of it happening while training in Tai Kwan Do. These young, vibrant girls have fewer and fewer activities that they are encouraged to do, and end up staying home or strolling endlessly at the local malls. Aaarrgh!

Dads – teach your daughters to hunt! Teach them to fish! Teach them to swim, to throw a softball, to kick a football. Take them camping in the desert, and let them run freely. Teach them chess, and how to win. Give them the gift of physical and intellectual activity, give them the understanding that sports, employment and power are equally accessible for all sexes, and you won’t be having problems with girls who yearn for the freedoms and privileges of being male.

January 30, 2010 Posted by | Character, Cross Cultural, Doha, Education, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Generational, Living Conditions, Qatar, Social Issues, Values, Women's Issues | 12 Comments

Perfectly Beautiful Doha Skyline

Every now and then, the perfect night comes along. We weren’t the only ones out taking photos – it was that kind of night.


January 30, 2010 Posted by | Beauty, Doha, ExPat Life, Living Conditions, Lumix, Photos, Qatar, Weather | Leave a comment

Heart of Doha Progress – Karabaa

January 30, 2010 Posted by | Building, Doha, ExPat Life, Qatar | Leave a comment

Wolf Moon Over Doha

Like a PEARL in the newly opened exhibit, the Wolf Moon illuminates the Museum of Islamic Art

From AOL News, where you can read the rest of the article)

(Jan. 29) – Tonight’s full moon will be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. It offers anyone with clear skies an opportunity to identify easy-to-see features on the moon.

This being the first full moon of 2010, it is also known as the wolf moon, a moniker dating back to Native American culture and the notion that hungry wolves howled at the full moon on cold winter nights. Each month brings another full moon name.

But why will this moon be bigger than others? Here’s how the moon works:

The moon is, on average, 238,855 miles from Earth. The moon’s orbit around Earth – which causes it to go through all its phases once every 29.5 days – is not a perfect circle, but rather an ellipse. One side of the orbit is 31,070 miles closer than the other.

So in each orbit, the moon reaches this closest point to us, called perigee. Once or twice a year, perigee coincides with a full moon, as it will tonight, making the moon bigger and brighter than any other full moons during the year.

Tonight it will be about 14 percent wider and 30 percent brighter than lesser full moons of the year, according to Spaceweather.com.

As a bonus, Mars will be just to the left of the moon tonight. Look for the reddish, starlike object.

The weather is perfect. Go out tonight and enjoy this fabulous, bright moon.

January 30, 2010 Posted by | Doha, Entertainment, ExPat Life, Living Conditions, Qatar, Weather | 4 Comments

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