Child’s Play at the Mall
I love these playthings! There was a whole crowd of children in the mall this morning, playing on Mt. Rainier, an octopus, and a couple whales. My very favorite is the big ferry boat:
Upholstery Class
About ten years ago, I was in school and didn’t like what I was studying very much, so I took a class in upholstering furniture. I loved it.
First you take the old furniture and your have to undo all the nails and take all the worn and dirty upholstery off, until you get the furniture down to the bones. Trust me, it is very hard work, and it is dirty. You can work at it all day, and your muscles ache at the end of the day.
If there are exposed wood surfaces, you have to strip them and sand them down and refinish them. That is very painstaking work. Then you have to re-foam and re-pad the seating and back surfaces. Finally, at the very last – you get to put on the new fabric.
Why am I telling you all this? Because that new fabric makes all the difference. I saw some new fabric today, and I have nothing to re-upholster. I love this fabric! I could see it on dining room chairs, I could see it on a sleek couch in my bedroom! It is so bright, so cheerful, so upbeat!
I am not sure AdventureMan would like that fabric at all. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t buy that fabric!
10,000 Steps Continued
As you know, I began an exercise program a few weeks ago called 10,000 Steps – you can find out more about it here: 10,000 Steps. I don’t have very good luck with gyms . . . it’s just a waste of money for me; I sign up all enthusiastic, and by the second day at the gym I am already trying to find ways to get out of it. I get bored. Exercise is BORING!
But I love walking. Actually I love water aerobics, too, when there aren’t a bunch of googly-eyed guys watching, and when I have a gaggle of girlfriends to laugh and pass the time with while we exercise and I just don’t have that opportunity in Kuwait.
So I got sick and tired of myself NOT exercising and decided to work on 10,000 steps. I’ve been doing pretty well, too, worked up to running 6,000 steps before I left, and it only takes me about 35 minutes.
The other day I bought a pedometer. Today I put it on for the first time.
You have to understand, when I come back to Seattle, I have THE LIST with me. The list is all the things that are hard to get or impossible to get in Kuwait, or just annoying to have to track down. Occasionally, like this time, I also have things to get for friends. . . just a little thing here and there, but it all goes on THE LIST.
Around noon I called my Mom and said I would be by in about an hour with lunch. When I got there, I remembered I had my pedometer on, and I checked it – I was already at 9,081 steps! By the time I got back to my hotel, it had started over.
I love it. I am tired at the end of each day from running around, my legs even ache and my feet hurt and I love it. Even the hot days – there were two of them, and now it is cloudy and it is going to rain and they just don’t get it at all that I LOVE the rain – the hot days weren’t that bad.
I am going to be in PAIN when I get back to Kuwait and face days of 115°F again! It is 70°F / 21° C in Seattle today.
Girl’s Night Out
Sorry AdventureMan, I have had my first Mexican meal, and it was wonderful. You could have come! You could have come to wedding with me! You could have had Ivar’s seafood, and you could have had Las Brisas wonderful Mexican food.
My Mom insisted my sister try my new camera and take some photos of me. Of course, we got the giggles and every shot she took of me was worse than the one before. She said the photo gene skipped her, and – Sparkle – I agree. Those were some pretty awful photos. Of course, being hit by that great train jet lag didn’t help me to be a great subject.
Mom had the Camarones al Diablo, her long time favorite, and Sparkle and I had Chicken Mole. It was good, and we are looking forward to some time in California, with non-dumbed-down Mexican food, spicy!
The camarones (shrimp):
The chicken mole:
Wish I could bring you some, AdventureMan!
Old Time Kuwait
Last night, driving around our area, we saw something new, something I love. In place of the now-departed semi-permanent constructed diwaniyyas with their comforts and air conditioning, we saw a return of the old diwaniyya benches, with cushions, and traditionally dressed men lounging, conversing, solving the problems of Kuwait and the world out in the relative cool of evening in Kuwait.
It looked like the old days. It could have been ten years ago.
I wonder if there isn’t a new feeling, with a change of venue? I wonder if the absence of walls and modernity will bring a new openness in diwaniyya attendance? At one diwaniyya, I even saw coffee being brewed in the old pots, over coals, in a brass brazier.
Poor AdventureMan. He knows I always have my camera with me. He is terrified I will embarass him by stopping and asking if I can take photos. Rest easy, AdventureMan, I don’t have that much courage. 🙂
AdventureMan wants to know: In Qatar, gatherings are called Majlis, the room is called a majlis. How does majlis differ from diwaniyya?
109° F / 43° C
My eyes just popped out of my head. As I was checking the blog, I saw that the current temperature has hit 109° F.
Hello??? This is May, not even mid-May. Holy Smokes, if this is what May looks like, I can hardly wait to see summer (said with tongue in cheek.)
Many many thanks to the hard working volunteers at Safat who got a whole bunch of us back in the aggregate. I don’t know what happened, but I know you guys don’t get paid and that you do this out of the goodness of your hearts, as a public service to the Kuwait community. God bless the work of your hands. Thank you.
AdventureMan said the highways were empty this morning as he headed in to work. What does this mourning period do to the elections in Kuwait, scheduled for this Saturday? Will they be postponed?
How We See Things in Kuwait
AdventureMan and I have an ongoing discussion over the cell phone ban while driving in Kuwait. I see people pulled over to the side of the road, at traffic circles, along the major north/south routes, pulled over in complicated neighborhoods. I love to see them – many are using their hands to help understand the directions, waving left, then straight, then left again – it warms my heart.
AdventureMan, on the other hand, he who loves the efficiency of being able to do two things at the same time, drive and do business or talk to me, says he sees people all the time using their cell phones while they are driving.
So I think we are seeing what we want to see.
He kids me, as I track diwaniyyas, where they used to be, those still being dismantled. Friends are telling me that they can now see around dangerous corners where someone had built an illegal little cabin for their driver to sleep in, trees and foliage have been cut back, neighborhoods have a new look. I find it exciting – obeying the law can be tough, it can be inconvenient, and the temptation in all of us is to say “it’s a great law for them, but it doesn’t apply to me.”
AdventureMan scowls when he has to obey a law that he doesn’t think should apply to him. I say scowling is OK, as long as you do it. There are times I am tempted to skirt the law, but this blog keeps me honest – how does it look if I’m always talking about law and order, and then I choose to break the law, too? Having a child keeps you honest – when you face temptation, you know those little eyes are watching you, and it gives you that little extra boost to make the right choice.
Pearls mentioned she thinks people are sticking closer to the speed limits with the new fines in force, and that the roads are much more enjoyable these days. I agree, with one exception, and that is when traffic slows on the major north/south roads, there are still those idiots who use the emergency lanes to get to the front of the line. We need some BIG fines for those guys.
Last but not least, my Co-op seems to be enforcing the no parking in the handicapped section once again, thanks be to God. The poor manager, I keep going in and telling him that “big strong men” should not be using those spots. He keeps thinking I want the spot and I laugh and say no, I am a strong woman and I can walk, but what about the heavily pregnant woman with her five children, or the old man with his walker or cane, or the one with emphysema.
Finally, I suggested that he have grocery packers assigned to watch, and to run out and insist on assisting anyone who parks there, a special service for the handicapped. Sometimes you can accomplish with kindness what you can’t hope to accomplish with signs and harsh words. Whatever he has chosen to do, it appears to be working, people are not parking in the handicapped spots. 🙂
No Release, No Travel, reports Darwish
In today’s Kuwait Times, Badria Darwish informs us that:
“the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) has decided to ask all expatriates before exiting the country – whether on holiday or permanently – to obtain a certificate of clearance from the ministry. The certificate is only valid for one month. If the expat doesn’t have it, he will be returning from the airport the same day . . . “
On page 2, a news article confirms her report.
“The Ministry of Electricity and Water announced it is in the process of issuing a legislation. It said it instructed the Assistant Undersecretary Jassim Al-Linqawi, in charge of consumer affairs at the ministry, to coordinate with the Interior Ministry to enforce the legislation. The legislation, it added, will mandate all expatriates planning to proceed on vacation to obtain a clearance document from the Ministry of Electricity and Water that they are clear of all pending bills. All expatriates having arrears will not be permitted to travel either through the airport or the various surface borders around the country. The legislation is expected to be enforced soon . . .
The Ministry of Electricity also instructed the Interior Ministry to empower their employees, who collect electricity dues, to force their way into the residences of all those residences of al those residents who refuse to let them check the electricity meters. . . . “
Oh! Those pesky expats, running red lights and neglecting to pay their electricity and water bills. Yeh. Right.
This does present the bureaucracy with a fascinating challenge. First, to immediately construct a way in which all consumers can receive bills, like through a postal system. Second, to collect the accurate information for each customer, making sure that “no one is above the law.” Third, to bill consumers in a way that they know that they have been billed, and to have a follow up procedure – you know, like warnings, and a way to turn off the service? Fourth, a way to follow all this by computer – accurately. Oh, yes, and co-ordinating between the MEW and the MOI. And have it ready to be enforced “soon.”
Money Magazine’s Advice to Indiana Jones
I could hear AdventureMan chuckling in the living room and I called out “what’s so funny?” He came into the kitchen and read me a small tongue-in-cheek article from Money Magazine discussing financial and career advice for fictional character Indiana Jones (the new movie will open May 22, WOO HOOOO!)
Unsolicited Advice for a Mid-Career Adventurer
After nearly two decades away, the big screen’s most adventureous archaeologist will once again be dodging bullets and laughing in the face of danter when Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opens on May 22. It’s more fun than the average middle-aged guy gets on the job. Bit in returning to the jungle himself, career coach Cynthis Shapiro says, Indy isn’t exactly being whip-smart. An entrepreneur his age ought to think about taking on more of a management role.
° Be the Boss
Jones ought to delegate the dirty work and manage other treasure hunters for a cut of the take. That leverages his experience and gets him out of the snake pit.
° Choose a Successor
In this flick he gains a young sidekick (Shia LeBeouf) a protege whom he can train to head field ops one day. Meanwhile, he has plenty of contacts in exotic locales to hire as staff.
° Make the case
So clients don’t balk, Jones should play up his staff’s experience and the fact that local help lowers expenses. If he plays it right, profits rise and risk falls. That’s the holy grail. (Kate Ashford)
I always thought Jones was a university professor, so I figured he was funded by grants. And archaeologists – isn’t that what they do for fun, get their hands dirty? Go to the field? We got a good laugh from the Money magazine perspective, and we also think that not all success is to be measured in terms of money and moving up the ladder. Indiana Jones might experience a lot of job satisfaction by being the hands-on guy in the field!
Sunrise Mother’s Day, May 11, 2008
The Qatteri Cat is not celebrating Mother’s Day. He was awake, on and off, all night, miowing miowing and making a total pest of himself.
What I think is that he couldn’t find his baby. He made the sounds me makes when he is looking for his baby. I got up and looked, couldn’t find the baby.
I found it this morning; it was on our bed. We might have thrown the covers back over it, I don’t know.
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