Hospitals Party Hearty?
I am telling you, as I tell my own family – if I am sick enough to go to a hospital, please, please, don’t come hang out with me in the hospital.
It happened to me once. I was suffering terribly, and I was very very dangerously ill. Suddenly, around my bed, were about 15 members of my family with deely-bobbers on their heads, in the emergency room, all coming to see how I was doing.
It was my Mom’s birthday then, too, and they had been celebrating, and felt sorry for me, and came so I wouldn’t feel left out.
I wasn’t feeling left out. I was in hideous pain. And the last thing on earth I wanted was to be polite to anyone, to be social. I was in PAIN.
But I also understand that other people feel differently. Some people like the support. Some hospitals – you really need to have an advocate watching out for you, so that you don’t get the wrong medications or the wrong treatment. No, I am not talking about Kuwait. It can happen anywhere, and it does!
And my dear friends in Qatar told me that if you go to visit a sick friend in a hospital ONE THOUSAND angels will pray for you, and while I don’t have that in writing, I like the idea.
So I have come to the conclusion, for myself, it is a good idea to have one very quiet trustworthy person at your bedside, someone who can read, and entertain him or herself, and will love you even at your very worst and not expect you to be polite.
How do you feel? What constitutes appropriate visiting in a hospital? How closely related do you want your visitors to be? Do you want a party atmosphere?
This is from today’s Kuwait Times.
KUWAIT: The medical care and hygiene in most of the public hospitals is dangerously below standard. Not only do nurses suffer from unfair treatment and low wages, but patients face a range of unpleasantness – none of it due to medical reasons – during their stays. Many patients and even nurses are complaining that hospitals have turned into restaurants, a party place and sometimes a garden or kids’ playground for the visiting families of patients.
Reda is a doctor in Sabah hospital who deals daily with the parties of visitors who come at all hours of the day, stay for long periods, bringing with them picnics and ice cream and toys for the kids. She says that visitors are selfish and forget the fact that they are in a hospital and that patients need quiet and time to rest. “These visitors don’t respect the visiting hours, they act as if they are in a hotel rather than a hospitals,” she noted.
An Egyptian patient in his early 50s currently hospitalized in Ibn Sina said “I can’t even sleep from the noise in the corridors. The room next to mine is always full of visitors all the time. The visitors bring their children along with them. The kids are very disturbing and they keep opening the door of my room and don’t let me rest.
You can read the rest of the article at this Kuwait Times link.
Stealing Kuwait’s Telephone Resources?
From the August 6 Arab Times:
(Once again, the government is getting tough on crime. The 23rd richest country in the world is worried about losing the revenue from poor Indians calling home and people using the internet to call their friends and family:)
KUWAIT CITY: Four government bodies — the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Communications, Kuwait Municipality and General Customs Department — have agreed to launch a joint inspection campaign against all illegal international call operators, reports Al-Jareeda daily. Reportedly, they obtained permission from the Public Prosecution to raid all suspected houses and shops conducting such illegal operations and arrest all those involved in the trade. They will also issue citations to people who illegally obtain a landline connection. According to sources, stealing international telephone lines amounts to stealing public funds and culprits will be suitably punished. A security committee too has been formed to follow-up and investigate all such thefts.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Communications is planning to engage international companies to study and find ways to overcome illegal calling through internet. Kuwait considers such internet facilities an infringement of its resources and intends to safeguard its rights. In another development, sources say Kuwait will become the first country to have fully installed the optic fiber communication network. Government had earmarked a budget of KD 36 million for the first phase and another KD 80 million for the second phase of the project. Also, telephone connections will be available by next year in three new areas — Ashbiliya, Sabah Al-Naser and Abdullah Al-Mubarak areas.
Meanwhile, Director General of General Customs Department Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Ghanim says his department has been foiling all attempts to smuggle equipments used for stealing telephone lines.
Reportedly, the Ministry of Communications earlier showed department officials the kind of equipment needed to steal telephone lines and “the department has been working hard to foil all smuggling attempts,” he added.
Washington State Ferries
The Washington State Ferries are part of the highway system – you drive your car on and off, and relax with a great cup of coffee as you cross the waters.
On the weekends, lines can back up and you might have to wait a couple hours for a ferry. There are coffee stands along the way to help pass the time.
And nice clean bathrooms, after you drink all that coffee!
There are ferries of all different sizes – this one has six rows of traffic on each of two levels going across to the Olympic Peninsula.
Those who watch Grey’s Anatomy will recall that Meredith almost died in a ferry boat accident. The reality is, thankfully, that the system is well maintained, and incidents are rare. Counter-terrorist teams patrol the ferry lines and suspicious cars are checked.
Draft Law: No Car Talk
From August 4th Kuwait Times (yep, they are back online)
Note: Before arriving in Seattle, my oldest friend warned me that in Seattle you now get TWO tickets if you are seen talking on a mobile phone while driving, one for talking on a phone, and one for reckless endangerment. Each ticket is $101. Ouch! I don’t see anyone here talking while they are driving anymore.
Drive, don’t talk…Big Brother is ‘watching’
Published Date: August 04, 2007
By Nancy Oteifa, Staff writer
KUWAIT: A draft law criminalizing motorists for using mobile phones while driving that was announced recently, has suddenly become a cause for concern among several residents in Kuwait. Officials at the Traffic General Department are said to be taking the issue into serious consideration and seem adamant in penalizing all those who use their mobile phones while driving, claiming that it’s one of the major causes of accidents in Kuwait. The draft law of course has not been finalized yet, and officials claim that it has also not been ascertained whether there would be traffic fines to be paid or jail sentences or even both.
Although it is also not confirmed if this law would be enforced or not many people seem to be against its enforcement, while some others were in agreement – with the hope that this might reduce the increasing number of accidents occurring in the country every day. This Kuwait Times reporter spoke to people on the issue where they expressed different opinions and comments.
You can read the rest of the article HERE.
Cost Cutter
The store I was going to wasn’t open, and I knew we needed a couple groceries, so I headed across the parking lot to the Cost Cutter (yep, it’s raining):
As soon as I got inside, I knew this was not just any old grocery store. The cashiers, the manager and the butchers all looked Mexican! And when I got to the deli section, the specialities were things like Dulce de Leche, all packaged up for people who eat a LOT of dulce de leche:
To my delight, there was an aisle labled Middle East foods, with tabbouleh, canned hummus and muttabel, foul, and Lebanese olive oil:
And a huge aisle with East European foods (I am not sure what East European foods are!)
And, while most stores hide their beer selection in some dark corner of the store, Cost Cutter has a huge aisle down the center of the store, with all kinds of neon signage – it looks very festive:
Stores like Cost Cutter, that serve the large and varied population of immigrants are one of the reasons I love Seattle.
Ivar’s Acres of Clams
In Seattle, there are three restaurants, Ivar’s Acres of Clams (the original, established in 1938), Ivar’s Salmon House and Ivar’s Landing in Mukilteo, and several smaller, more casual, fast-food kind of Ivars, famous for fish and chips.
This was one very smart man. The first Ivar’s Acre of Clams was built next to the ferry terminal in Seattle and provided both oceanfront dining and a quick place to grab some fish and chips coming to and from the ferries. It was a Seattle landmark; everyone knew Ivar’s Acres of Clams.
He also did a lot of promotions, appearing on TV in his own ads, often singing. The ads were very very bad, so bad that everyone remembered them, so in fact . . . they were so bad that they were good.
(Photo courtesy Paul Dorpat from the HistoryLink.org collection of Pacific Northwest History.)
(Kuwait needs this Wikipedia kind of historical page, gathering data and stories before the old Kuwaitis are all gone, and their stories with them. This would be a great thesis program, getting this set up and running.)
Some of my earliest memories are meals at Ivar’s. As a child, visiting from Alaska, the whole of my father’s clan, aunts, uncles, cousins, would all gather at Ivar’s for a grand dinner. Later, as a starving college student, from time to time a kind aunt would invite us to dinner or lunch there, taking us out of the university environment. As a young married, it was the restaurant where my husband-to-be met my extended family for the first time. Ivar’s is full of memories, as well as good food!
To this day, I often meet my old friends at Ivar’s. The food standards remain high – good Pacific Northwest Seafood, prepared so that their flavors come through. Dungeness crab Louis, salmon and chips, prawns and chips, halibut and chips – even plain old fish and chips, fresh out of the deep fryer. Even Ivar’s fast food is delicious, and as well as the fish and chips you can get their great clam chowder, also smoked salmon chowder, and a salmon ceasar salad, or a shrimp or crab cocktail – at the fast food Ivars. Great quality food, not the supersize me kind of food.
These are photos of the original Ivar’s Acre of Clams:
This is what their seafood cocktails look like (YUMMMMMMM!)
This is one of their dine-in fast food places; there is a long line of people ordering!:
This is the Ivar’s motto:
The Mukilteo Landing Ivars suffered so much damage in a recent storm that they were closed for over a year as they remodeled to be able to seat more people:
This big fish is part of the interior:
You sit in this beautiful restaurant, inside or outside, and watch the Mukilteo ferry come in and out of the dock. The restaurant is right next to the dock, and also has a fast-food Ivars outside to sell fish and chips or chowder to all the people in line waiting for the next ferry.
Ivar Hagland isn’t alive anymore, but his restaurants live on, thriving, after all these years. The concept holds true – have a great product in a great location and the profits will follow. You can read more about his restaurants, and even look at their menus by clicking Ivar’s.
Against the Law?
From today’s Arab Times of course, because the Kuwait Times can’t find a way to get themselves back on line (!)
Woman in fireman’s outfit: Police are looking for an unidentified young woman who was reportedly seen dressed in a fireman’s outfit and driving a vehicle similar to the one used by firemen, reports Al-Watan daily. An unidentified person informed the police when he saw the woman parking her vehicle outside the Al-Sabah Maternity Hospital and walking inside the hospital. Police waited for the woman to return to the car but she did not show up. It has been reported this is not the first time the woman was seen riding the vehicle and wearing a fireman’s uniform.
I suppose it might be suspicious to be wearing fireman clothes and driving a vehicle that might appear to be an official fire vehicle . . . but a crime? I’m sorry, I can’t help it, I love stories like this and wish I knew the rest of the story!
A Room with a View
Kinan and I have been having an ongoing desultory conversation about views. He likes my view in Kuwait and he loves a good view in general.
I have challenged him to close his eyes, sit back and envision HIS perfect view.
And so I challenge you, my readers. Even if you have never commented before, yield to this temptation. Commenting is easy – you don’t even have to give your name, just choose any old pseudonym.
Close your eyes. Lean back in your chair. Think of what you would like to have outside your window, to look at day after day. And then – tell us about it.
(Window frame courtesy of castelli marble)
I will tell you, for me it has to do with water, and even better, water and mountains. I love my Kuwait view, and chose a smaller living space just to have the breathtaking view. I have never, not for a heartbeat, regretted that choice. The view out over the Arabian Gulf thrills my heart, and I can lose hours watching ships, watching beachcombers, even watching fish jumping out of the Gulf waters. A beautiful view is a precious gift to the soul.
For my husband, I am would guess it would be Zambia, looking out over a hippo pool, watching elephants cross, watching the lions come down to drink – or to feed.
What view would feed your soul? What would you love to look at day after day? Speak now!
McGuire’s for Steak
“I just have a yearning for a steak,” I said to my son’s wife, as we sat in the kitchen chatting and thinking about what to do for dinner. “I know you want to go for a run tonight, but maybe tomorrow night.”
Here is what I have loved about staying with them. Five minutes later she came back to me and said she had talked with her husband and they thought going out for steak tonight would be a very GOOD idea, and they could run tomorrow night.
And the best steaks, they both recommended, were at McGuire’s.
When we got there, the huge parking lot was already full. The street parking all around McGuire’s was full. We dropped off my son and his wife and I went to park in one of the few places they have heard cars are never towed from: Sammy’s Club for Gentlemen. It was still early, and we didn’t get towed.
Because it was their weekly fun-run night, we had to wait for a table. As we waited, runners finishing the run were running past us. Run six runs and you are eligible for the McGuire’s coveted green fun run shirt, with a shamrock on it. Woo hoooooo! I have heard there is a Hash House Harrier group in Kuwait that does something similar, but they change locations every run, whereas the McGuire sponsored runs all end up at – Maguire’s! They have free eats for the runners, who have to rehydrate in the McGuire’s bar.
There is another tradition at McGuires; customer write their name in felt pen on a dollar bill and staple it to the ceiling. The bar has an estimated $500,000 in dollar bills stapled to it’s ceilings, walls, pass throughs, etc. It is an amazing sight.
The steaks were magnificent. I had the peppercorn steak, and it was so big I took half of it home for the next day. It came with sides – your choice – garlic mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables, asparagas (my choice) and several others. The steaks were perfect, and the entire meal was worth every penny. They also have a good variety of seafood selections, and Irish selections, and a great selection of beer and wines.
Stormy Day in Pensacola
You know me. I see beauty just about everywhere I go. Pensacola has a lot of sunshine, but this time of year, also has powerful thunder and lightening storms. No one seems to really mind – Pensacola needs the rainfall, and the storms are powerful, awesomely beautiful. And Pensacola presents herself well in stormy weather.
I love the French Quarter style balconies, the Spanish style architecture – Pensacola has been colonized by the French, Spanish, Brits, and I think even a couple others! The influences on the architecture, both public and private, provide a rich variety of style.
And the natural wetlands, the bay, the bridges – it is at it’s most magical in stormy weather, in my opinion.
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