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Expat wanderer

Stop Means Stop!

From time to time, we can hear the police pulling people over outside our residence. It gives us a big grin. One of the things they say, in English, is:

“Hey Buddy! Pull over!”

And the other thing they say is:

“Stop means STOP!”

We hear these two phrases over and over, so it must be part of their training.
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January 22, 2008 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Community, Crime, Cross Cultural, ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Social Issues | 14 Comments

Stinni’s New Blog?

About twice a day for the last few days, I have seen new blog messages from Stinni. Stinni? you there? Hello?

What’s going on, Stinni? I am guessing you are trying some new formats, maybe working on moving your blog from one place to another?

We are waiting, Stinni! We are eager to see what you come up with! All these teasers are building up the suspense!

January 21, 2008 Posted by | Blogging, Community, Kuwait, Technical Issue | 8 Comments

270,000 KD for What?

I found this in today’s Kuwait Times. I think maybe I am out of touch . . . I haven’t heard of anyone sending or receiving a telegram for a long time. I don’t believe my husband’s office even uses a telex anymore? Am I missing something?

Kuwait Times: 20 January 2008

Telegram, Telex services
Kuwait: The Ministry of Communication is planning to create a new telegram and telex service system. The system will cost KD 270,000 and will be using modern equipment and up to date methods. A contract for creating the system was first given to a Bahraini company, but then the ministry decided to create the system themselves. The ministry will start working on creating the system two weeks from now.

Anyone? Anyone?

January 20, 2008 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Communication, Customer Service, Kuwait, Leadership, News, Political Issues, Technical Issue | 13 Comments

The Qatteri Cat Sleeps Through Winter

You’ve been asking about QC. There isn’t much to tell you. He decided it was too cold, and all he does is sleep. Occasionally, he will wake up, take a walk to the food bowl and water dish, make a visit to the kitty litter, but then it’s back to sleep – waiting for warmer weather.

Yesterday, as I was working, he was following me around, “miaow, miaow” which meant “please sit down and provide a warm place for me to fall asleep” so I made him a little bed in the work room, and it wasn’t his first choice, but he made do, keeping me company while he sleeps through winter.

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January 20, 2008 Posted by | ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Pets, Relationships, Weather | , , | 8 Comments

Scary Sunrise 20 January 2008

When I got up this morning, the sky was all pink, the water was all pink, it was a world of pink haze, very beautiful. Within moments, the light had shifted, the pink haze was gone and the sun began to rise, very dramatically, lighting up the clouds like you see on the ceilings of Renaissance chapels.

But wait! What is this? The sky is lit, the clouds are illuminated, but the brilliance of the sun is having a hard time breaking through the sludge hanging just over the horizon. I have a bad feeling, whatever it is that is strong and thick enough to block the sun, we are also breathing it.

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It’s about 5°C warmer at 0800 than the last few days, with forcast of clouds and possible rain through Wednesday.

January 20, 2008 Posted by | ExPat Life, Health Issues, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Lumix, Technical Issue, Weather | 7 Comments

Sunrise and Widget

I wasn’t sure there was going to be a sunrise this morning, when I woke up and the sky was full of clouds and DARK! At around sunrise (I can check on Weather Underground Kuwait when that is going to happen) I started clicking. When I looked at my results, it looked like two different mornings, but it is all today, Saturday, January 18th, 2008.

Will we really have a sunrise?
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I guess so! (5 minutes later)
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I hope you have all noticed the new weather widget on my closest right hand column, giving the current temperature in Fahrenheit and Centigrade. After more than a year of blogging, it occurs to me that other people using WordPress have widgets from outside WordPress, so there MIGHT be a way. (Yeh, I’m slow, but I’m slow.) Now that I have figured out how to do that, I am getting all excited about maybe changing format. (Maybe around June; I have a list of things to get done first. 😉 )

January 19, 2008 Posted by | Blogging, ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Weather, WordPress | , | 4 Comments

New Fatwa; Sabeeh set to survive

In today’s Friday Kuwait Times (it’s not online today, so I can’t reference it directly) is an article by B Izzak stating Sabeeh set to survive vote.

It’s a very interesting article, telling how some of the key players are lining up.

In paragraph five, we find this:

In a related development, MP Duaij Al-Shimmari, a member of the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM), or Muslim Brotherhood, yesterday distributed a Fatwa (or religious edict) which clearly supports women being appointed as ministers.

Duaij said he received te Fatwa from Sheikh Ajeel Al-Nashmi, a highly respected cleric, which said that a minister’s post is allowed by Islam for women and thus supporting the no-confidence vote against Sabeeh or opposing it should entirely depend on her replies and not on her being a woman.

Wooo Hooooooooo! Equality means just that – judge women, as men, on the issues and their performance. Hold them accountable – just as you would a man.

January 18, 2008 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Community, Cultural, Education, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Political Issues, Social Issues, Women's Issues | 5 Comments

Kuwait: Women Leading? Not Permitted!

In today’s (17 January 2007) Kuwait Times is an article entitled MPs still divided over no-confidence motion. You’d think this issue would be put to rest by Minister of Education Nouriya al-Sabeeh’s stellar presentation, meeting her “grillers” with calm dignity and restraint, and with facts and figures. After the grilling, her accusers admitted to newspapers that they didn’t have the votes for a no-confidence resolution, and many spoke of her in admiring tones.

In today’s paper, this issue once again rears its ugly head, and buried deep in the article (read it for yourself by clicking on the blue type above) is this paragraph:

“The Secretary General of the Thawabit Gathering Mohammad Hayef Al-Metairi asked Islamist MPs to support voting for a no-confidence motion because women MPs are not permitted to hold leading positions according to Islamic principals.

Women not leading is an Islamic principle?

January 17, 2008 Posted by | Kuwait, Leadership, Lies, Living Conditions, News, Political Issues, Relationships, Social Issues, Spiritual, Women's Issues | 8 Comments

Very Orange, Very Pink

Haven’t driven down the Gulf Road to Fehaheel for a while, so when I did I found two eye-shockers. The first one is in Fehaheel, not directly on Gulf Road, but visible from the stoplights headed north. Believe me, my friends, this photo does not do justice to the incredible Pepto-Bismo PINKNESS of this building. It is a shocker:

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Then, just across from the Hilton Hotel is this very very orange beauty. To emphasize the orangeness (and it is a very brilliant orangeness!) they are painting the white trim a very brilliant turquoise-blue. The effect is . . . amazing.

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Please. Take a drive. These photos are washed out compared to the utter brilliance of these colors.

January 17, 2008 Posted by | Arts & Handicrafts, Cultural, ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions | 15 Comments

Sunrise 17 January 2007

A few days ago, I was taking a photo of the sunrise and my best camera broke. It has one of those auto-focus lenses, and now it doesn’t whirrrrrr. . . . it goes click click click clunk and I get a message “system error.”

Luckily, I have a second camera, almost as good, but the truth is, I really love the best camera, so I’ve been a little off on taking photos for a few days as I mourn the demise of my favorite. I suspect it would cost me more to have it fixed than to buy a new one. It was expensive when I bought it, but cameras better, smarter and faster, with greater capacities have come out since then at lower cost.

Meanwhile, I will use the second best until I can get my hands on another BEST.

Sunrise in Kuwait, temperature 0° C. / 32° F, yes, folks, that is FREEZING, but the forecast for the coming week is warmer, and even (WOOOO HOOOOOO!) RAIN!
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January 17, 2008 Posted by | Arts & Handicrafts, ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Photos, Shopping, Weather | 11 Comments