Rare Occurrence
Yesterday morning, on the way to the airport, I was taking a different route, a more travelled route, but early in the morning, so early, most of the routes are more lightly travelled.
There were none of the weaving wonders I normally experience.
I experienced a new phenomenon, very very slow drivers.
I don’t know why there were so many people driving really really slow on fast roads. They were all in the very far right lane. I wondered if they were falling asleep, they were so slow. And then I remembered . . . when I first came to Kuwait, the traffic terrified me. I would get up very very early and go out and drive, to try to learn the roads, but I always stayed in the right lane, and I was going pretty slow.
I don’t know if they were new drivers – there were a lot of slow drivers on the road. Maybe they were sleepy, or incapacitated in some other way. Or maybe they were new, terrified drivers like I used to be.
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.
Rainy Sunrise
Woooo HOOOOO, Kuwait! We have rain! We have rain! Not a heavy, Pacific Northwest kind of rain that will last the whole day – as you can see, the sun is even breaking through from time to time – but rain! Beautiful rain!
The roads will be slick today, my Kuwait friends. Be careful out there.
Wooo HOOO, ShoSho! The Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge
Watch out! Ya’ll have some serious competition! ShoSho sent these in, and she blew me out of the water. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wait till you see:
How does she do it? Look at those colors, look how saturated they are!
My friends, I remind you, the deadline in January 31st. You still have this one week to get your entries in.
I am heartened by the number of cameras I see down in the market – whether you enter or not, you are down there, taking photos and enjoying the sights and sounds and smells and tastes of a Kuwait national treasure.
Even the way the vegetables and fish are arranged shows artistry and an eye for beauty and composition. Look how ShoSho captures the colors and textures of the Sadu woven goods and carpets. Wow. Wow. Wow.
Send your photos to Intlxpatr@aol.com. If you send them, I will print them. 🙂
(ShoSho, you set a very high standard to beat!)
Warming Sunrise
I can always tell when the temperatures are going back up. The Qatteri cat is no longer sleeping all curled up in a tight little ball as close to me as he can sleep; he is stretched out, or sometimes even just at the bottom of the bed, not creeping between me and AdventureMan for every ounce of heat he can absorb.
Temperatures are warming, but still no significant rain.
The sunrise this morning is purely glorious, and I love the way it spills over into a little beach pool, as if it were a rainbow with a pot of gold at the end. Here, we have a pool of gold, well, golden in color, anyway.
There is no surf to speak of today, none, and there are patches of utterly flat, glassy water. Not a fishing boat in sight.
Have a great day, Kuwait!
Dancing in Qurtuba
Last night, leaving a dinner with special friends, as we exited, we stopped in our tracks. It was raining! It was a gentle rain; we hadn’t heard a thing.
It was a little wet; that wasn’t a clue, sometimes people wash down their garden areas. It was the smell – there is nothing, nothing like the smell of rain, especially in a dusty, dry country, rain has a magical effect on the dust, and a wonderful, clean smell. Rain on the trees, rain on the garden, rain on everything – we danced all the way to the car.
We’re up a little late, this Friday morning, getting ready for church, still smiling from all the fun we had last night, but I haven’t forgotten you. The sun is a little higher in the sky, but with the clouds – still a photo worth taking.
Have a great day, Kuwait!
Intlxpatr Has an NBK Account?
Also in my Intlxpatr mail this morning, LLLOOOLLL!
When I clicked on the “Update Now” type so that I could print their web address and encourage YOU to submit false data, their website did not even work.
Losers.
Beware. These scammers are out there. Some aren’t as stupid as these guys. Some can fool ya.
Dear valued Watani Online Bank member:
Due to concerns, for the safety and integrity of your Watani Online Bank
account we have issued this warning message.
It has come to our attention that your Watani account information needs to be
updated as part of our continuing
commitment to protect your account and to
reduce the instance of fraud on our website.
If you could please take 5-10 minutes
out of your online experience and update your personal records you will not run into
any future problems with the online service.
Once you have updated your account records your Watani account
service will not be interrupted
and will continue as normal.
To update your Online Banking records click on the following link:
Update Info
Thank You.
© Member FDIC Copyright 2008 Watani Financial Corporation1-800-Watani .
Kuwaiti Girl Raped and Abandoned in Desert
From the Arab Times
If YOU know anything about this, please tell someone. The young men who committed this crime must be stopped. What they did is unthinkable. They robbed a young woman of her privacy, and they robbed her of a future where she had never been raped.
Who could so such a thing? Who is not paying attention to what their sons are up to? Abducting women off the streets, even in front of their own homes – who brings up young men who would do this? Why so many at this time of the year?
Young Kuwaiti girl left in desert after gang rape, 10 men queried
KUWAIT CITY : In a shocking incident, a Kuwaiti girl in her 20s was raped and left unconscious in a desert area in Al-Jedaliyat near Doha.
Sources say a Kuwaiti man noticed the girl and called Operations Room which promptly dispatched securitymen and paramedics to the scene. She was then rushed to Intensive Care Unit of Sabah Hospital where doctors confirmed that she was raped.
Investigations revealed that the girl was a resident of Sabah Al-Salem area and a missing persons report was filed on her.
Securitymen combed the camping area where she was found and arrested tens of youths for investigation.
Sources suspect that the culprits are still out there. “Since no mobile phone was found near the girl and she is still unconscious, police don’t have any clue about the culprits,” they add.
Securitymen are keeping a watch in the area where she was found.
African Heads and Art
From this morning’s e-mails – I think this is a sincere one. If anyone wants to contact this artist, his e-mail is:
africanhead_art@yahoo.com
Good day sir\ma
it is a great pleasure of getting across to your wed site. Am Mr KOLA OWOLAWI JUNAID am muslim an artist am the founded of african heads art and cultural gallery african heads art gallery was base in lagos and osogbo osun state in nigeria
i participated in my first art exhibition at GENEVE COMITE INTERNATION committee of the red cross ICRC am one of the winner in the art competition i also exhibit at US Embassy in lagos ,IITA ibaban German cultural Center , British High Commission ,american international school,Britsih high school, National art council in Accra Ghana i received an award for up coming artist an many more
i will like to make an inquiry on if i could join the Qurain cultural festival or organizering a cultural art exhibition on Qurain words, painting adire ,batick ,tye and dye and other local fabric art work for up coming this year.i will ilke to know if it could be organizes and what was the general registration or inquiry is needed for the exhibition thanks you.
please if you ilke to see the samples of the art works i will be glad to show it
A New Dawn (and Glimpses from the Inauguration)
“Are you able to watch the inauguration from work?” I type an IM to my son.
“Nah, I’ll have to catch some of it later,” he types back. He has victims to interview and briefs to prepare – it’s a normal day, not a holiday in his state.
I am glued to the screen. AdventureMan comes home and joins me, just in time for the swearing in and Inaugural address. WOW. Our new President is inspirational. He doesn’t tell us it is going to be easy. He says we are all going to have to work hard to turn things around. He reminds us that together, united – we can do it. Wow.
AdventureMan said what was most exciting to him was that we are celebrating 200 years of peaceful transition of power. The pendulum has swung right and left and center, administrations have changed, and by the Grace of God, it has happened peacefully.
Taking the oath of office:
Crowds watching in Kenya:
Inaugural speech:
An estimated 1.4 million Americans stood hours to watch Obama become President in temperatures below freezing:
Singing the national anthem:
Signing his first documents as the US President:
What? You thought I forgot? Here is the new dawn in Kuwait – a pearly morning, another great day in Kuwait. Thanks for your patience. 🙂
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