Together We Can
This one gave me shivers – the good kind. Together we can – take the pledge:
Frequent Traveller
“We’ll be checking in late,” explains AdventureMan, “and we want to be sure you will hold the room for us.”
Pause.
Pause.
Pause. (you can hear frantic clicking in the background)
“Sir, what is your name again?”
“AdventureMan! (He actually gives his real name) A – D – V – E – N – T – U – R – E – M – A – N!” He spells it out.
Pause
Pause
More Pause
“Uh, sir, we can’t find your reservation! When did you make it?”
“The office made it.”
Pause
Pause
Pause
This is not looking good.
“Sir, we do not have a reservation for you. I am so sorry sir!”
“But I am sure the office made a reservation! I have the confirmation number! And, I am one of (your hotel name) SPECIAL CLUB MEMBERS!”
“Uh, yes sir, but this is (a totally different hotel)”
LLLOOOLLL, Adventureman.
“I am SO sorry.” He hangs up. He calls the right hotel, and he is assured they have our room ready for us.
AdventureMan looks at me and we both start giggling.
“I would have hung up,” he begins, but we are both convulsing with laughter.”I would have hung up, but I gave them my NAME!” and we are both dying laughing. He does stay at this other hotel from time to time.
“Next time I call, I will have to identify myself as STUPID-MAN!” he barks, and we are weak and helpless, we are laughing so hard.
Why I Love A-Word-A-Day
This is today’s entry from Anu Garg’s A Word A Day.
Wordsmith.org The Magic of Words
This week’s theme
Words from Obama
This week’s words
cohere
with Anu Garg
Tomorrow Barack Obama will become president of the US, and not a moment too soon. This week we’ll feature words from Obama, words from his books, speeches, and interviews.
Unlike most politicians, who hire ghostwriters, Obama writes his own books. He’s a gifted writer. Reading his words you can see his thought process. He’s not one who sees the globe in black and white. He has lived outside the US and has been exposed to other cultures. He realizes that just because someone has a different set of beliefs, just because someone looks different, doesn’t mean he’s wrong — sometimes there can be two ways to do something and both can be right.
Obama is to be commended for his accomplishments. We’ve come a long way in this country. But we still have far to go before we can call ourselves truly unbiased. Real progress will be when any capable person can have a fair chance at winning the highest office, even someone who happens to be, say, a black gay vegan atheist woman.
Anything is possible… but don’t hold your breath.
cohere
PRONUNCIATION:
(ko-HEER)
MEANING:
verb intr.: To be united; to work or hold together.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin cohaerere, from co- (together) + haerere (to stick).
USAGE:
“I learned to slip back and forth between my black and white worlds, understanding that each possessed its own language and customs and structures of meaning, convinced that with a bit of translation on my part the two worlds would eventually cohere.”
Barack Obama; Dreams From My Father; Times Books; 1995.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. -Martin Luther King, Jr., civil-rights leader (1929-1968)
Here is what Anu Garg isn’t saying, and my guess is he hasn’t thought twice about it. He is an American. He was not born in America, he immigrated to America – as most of us did, meaning our forefathers and mothers came from Europe, from Africa, from Asia and from India and the Middle East and – and – and. As an immigrant, as an American, he is free to say what he wants. Free to be happy Obama is president, and at the same time free to say that the system is not yet free enough.
I also totally love it that his quote for today is from Martin Luther King, who we are celebrating in America, on this national holiday.
We don’t have to agree. I love it that he is passionate about his beliefs, and that he provides A-Word-A-Day as a public service, entirely free, every day sending a new word, defined and used in context, to subscribers in every nation in the world. I admire people like him, like the Rajab family here in Kuwait, like Andrew Carnegie who started most of the small town libraries in the United States, people who use what they have been given to give back to the world-at-large.
You can see A Word A Day leads my blogroll. You can subscribe by clicking on the blue type above. 🙂
Hala February Starts in January
From Al Watan
KUWAIT: The festival of Hala February for 2009 will be held from Jan. 29 until Feb. 24, said the festival”s high committee Sunday.
The committee”s general coordinator Waleed AlÙ€Jassem told the press that the event would coincide with the third year of reign for His Highnes the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlÙ€Ahmad AlÙ€Sabah, affirming that the festival would focus on highlighting the nationalistic values among citizens.
An opening carnival, which last for three days, would illuminate this year”s celebrations, he revealed.
Head of the committee”s media team Waleed AlÙ€Sagobi said that families could enjoy the festival due to the fact that the event coincide with the spring break for schools, affirming that the festival would be supported by a strong media campaign. Ù€KUNA
Among a whole lot of other things, as part of my job for a non-profit, I once wrote press releases. As I learned the ropes, I also learned that the newspapers will print almost anything you provide them, as long as you have proven your credibility, and the information is “print ready.” One TV station did a weekly news item on articles I would send – it wasn’t rocket science.
I am so sorry to say this, but if you are having an event, it is worth your while to take advantage of this. If you provide news sources with an event schedule, guess what? They will print it! If they print it, people will come.
If you print it in English, even more people will come! Isn’t Kuwait looking for tourism? Is there now a Hala February website, with an event schedule in English? Wouldn’t that have been a perfect opportunity, if not to publish the schedule of events (hey, having the schedule ready one month in advance is not that hard) AND a website to go to for event additions.
I really try not to be critical. I really try not to be sarcastic. Forgive me.
The Upside Down Day
Yesterday was a totally upside down day, where I never really knew what to expect. First, my husband was already up when I woke up, and when he heard me stirring, came into the bedroom with his great big smile and shining eyes and said “Let’s go to the Early Bird for breakfast!”
I laughed, and dropped my morning routine and plans to enjoy this delightful surprise. Quickly dressed, we were out the door well before seven, even well before sunrise. As we drove into Fehaheel, I managed to catch the sunrise, although I didn’t see it until this morning when I finally had time to sit down and organize myself. This is for you, Daggero, yesterday’s icy morning sunrise!
Believe me, that shot is a surprise – we were at a stoplight, briefly, and I shot it through the window, not the ideal way to shoot a sunrise. Lucky shot, beautiful day.
The Early Bird was closed! Closed through today! What to do!? AdventureMan remembered seeing a small place deep in the heart of Fehaheel, and we’re in Fehaheel, it is not yet seven ayem and the streets are empty. We drove to the “Arabic Early Bird” and miracle of miracle, on a street that teems with traffic day and night, at 0h-dark-thirty in the morning, it is open and there is a beautiful parking spot, a LEGAL spot, available. We take this as a sign that we are meant to have breakfast there.
Indeed, the cook is ready, and already has betinjan (eggplant) and felafel all fried up for us – YUM!
The waiter brings us all kinds of goodies, most of which are totally delicious. This is my first time eating tomato scrambled eggs, which Mishary wrote about in Some Contrast sorry I can’t find the original article, but he shows you how to cook them. I think he used 12 eggs! Some of the pickles are strange to our taste, but the food is hot and fresh and delicious, and washed down with hot tea.
More food that we could eat! When we got the bill, it was KD 1.750. What luxury! 🙂 What a great way to start the day, in every way not what we expected.
Hopeful Signs
You know me a little bit by now. You know what makes my heart sing. I believe things really can get better, if we all just commit to being a part of that process, and taking steps, even small steps, in the right direction.
So you will understand why this makes my heart sing:
Wooo HOOOO, Kuwait! Clean! Fresh! Visible! Woooo HOOOOOOOO!
And – just seconds later – THIS:
Light at night! Clear! Visible!
Wooo HOOOO, Kuwait!
Some bureaucrat somewhere made a decision, and followed through on that decision, to make sure it was carried out, this being Kuwait. That one seemingly small decision, that small step in the right direction, could save lives.
God bless the bureaucracy, God bless the people that make the effort to keep us safe, who take their jobs seriously. I don’t take this lightly, not in my own country, not in any country I live in. Public policy is created by US, making small steps for the greater good.
Ask the Builder
Those of you who have read this blog for any amount of time know that I love house stuff. When I am in my own house, I do a lot of my own painting, wall papering, and general fixing. I remember being a kid and wanting a tool box – I like doing things with my hands. I have reupholstered chairs, even a couch (the couch went well, not every project went well, however!) and I am always interested in how things are done – how do you tile a floor, how do you fix a gutter, etc.
When we were in Pensacola, I saw that I need to re-mortar some of the bricks in our yard – we have brick stairs and brick walls, and some of the mortar is beginning to crumble. So I went online, and found a whole bunch of sites, but the site I like the very best is Ask the Builder.
Now, I get a newsletter from him every now and then. There is a lot of stuff I get, ads from stores, people who want me to spend money – stuff that I delete most of the time, unless I have a specific need. But I never delete Ask the Builder. I read the newsletter from top to bottom, and some of the things I copy and save, because while I don’t need them now, I know I will need them later. His advice is down to earth, easy to read and just plain helpful.
You can subscribe to the newsletter by going to the above website. Happy puttering!
The Apple Store Christmas
Just before leaving, we make one last stop at the Apple store; AdventureMan needs a tune-up. All the Apple employees have on shirts with Christmas related sayings, very clever, wish I could remember a few to share with you.
In an instant, AdventureMan has an appointment, and with another instant, the glitch is fixed and we are on our way.
Love their display windows:
The other stores at the mall may look a little ghost-town-y, but not the Apple store (although this is NOT busy for the Apple store):
The air is crisp, to say the least, and no relief is in sight. Guess it’s time to get on back to Kuwait, where the temperatures are above zero F. 🙂
Books Behind the Counter
“Hey Mom, take a look” said Law and Order Man as we were about to walk out of the local Barnes and Noble. He was pointing to the selection of books by Chuck Palahniuk, all on shelves behind the counter.
I had noticed he has a collection of Chuck Palahniuk books, and I have read reviews by Kuwait bloggers, so I had asked him about the books, would he recommend them.
“You wouldn’t like them” he said. He knows me pretty well, and often recommends authors I might like. I do the same with him. If he says not to bother, I won’t bother.
“I asked the clerk why all the Chuck Palahniuk books were behind the counter, if people steal them,” my son went on, “and she wouldn’t exactly say that people walk off without paying for them, but she said that they are VERY popular books, so I assume that’s what she meant.”
Sand Relocation Program
As you are driving along, or stopped in the gridlock of school’s-out traffic, have you noticed the bags of something along the road?
AdventureMan was asking me what that was all about. I said I didn’t know, but I had seen a bunch in front of our place, too. I thought they were full of sand. In Seattle, it might be about getting ready for winter, like sand for when there is a freezing rain or heavy snowfall or something, but that is so not remotely possible in Kuwait.
AdventureMan thought they might be full of trash cleaned off the streets, but they are packed too solidly or it to be trash.
We finally figured it out – it is sand, sand and grit removed from the streets AND, more importantly, from the drains, so that when it rains, the drains will be clear and the water from the (Insh’allah) heavy rainfall will have a way to run back to the sea without puddling in lower areas, as it did several years ago when a couple people actually drowned in Kuwait.
Kudos for the ministry in charge, for anticipating the problem and getting the drains in top condition now, in case it rains. Which ministry, I wonder? Public Works? Highways?
AdventureMan speculated, as he is known to do – what do you think happens to these bags of sand? Are they used as sandbags somewhere? Are they dumped in the desert? What would happen if you could tag a grain of sand, the way you tag an animal, and you could track it through it’s lifetime, where would it take you?
He calls this the government Sand Relocation Project.
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