Here There and Everywhere

Expat wanderer

Anglican Christmas Services in Doha, Qatar

Children’s Service:
Crib and Christingle Thursday, 24 December 5 pm DESS

Family Services:
Christmas Day Service Friday, 25 December 10:30 am DESS

Christmas Evening Service Friday, 25 December 7:30 pm DESS

If you need additional information, you can email:
epiphany@qatar.net.qa

The church website is:
http://www.epiphany-qatar.org

December 21, 2009 Posted by | Christmas, Cultural, Events, ExPat Life, Living Conditions, Spiritual | Leave a comment

Me and the FBI

Got this e-mail today from the FBI (yeh, right.)

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Anti-Terrorist And Monitory Crime Division.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation.
J.Edgar.Hoover Building Washington Dc
http://www.fbi.gov/libref/directors/directmain.htm

Attn: Beneficiary,

This is to Officially inform you that it has come to our notice and we have
thoroughly Investigated with the help of our Intelligence Monitoring Network
System that you are having an illegal Transaction with Impostors claiming to be
Prof. Charles C. Soludo of the Central Bank Of Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Aziza, Mr
Frank Nweke, Dr. Philip Mogan, none officials of Oceanic Bank, Zenith Banks,
Barr. Derrick Smith, kelvin Young of HSBC, Ben of FedEx, Ibrahim Sule,Larry
Christopher, Dr. Usman Shamsuddeen, Dr. Philip Mogan, Paul Adim, Puppy Scammers are impostors claiming to be the Federal Bureau Of Investigation. During our Investigation, we noticed that the reason why you have not received your payment is because you have not fulfilled your Financial Obligation given to you in
respect of your Contract/Inheritance Payment.

Therefore, we have contacted the Federal Ministry Of Finance on your behalf and
they have brought a solution to your problem by coordinating your payment in
total USD$11,000.000.00 in an ATM CARD which you can use to withdraw money from any ATM MACHINE CENTER anywhere in the world with a maximum of $4000 to $5000 United States Dollars daily. You now have the lawful right to claim your fund in an ATM CARD.

Since the Federal Bureau of Investigation is involved in this transaction, you
have to be rest assured for this is 100% risk free it is our duty to protect the
American Citizens. All I want you to do is to contact the ATM CARD CENTER via
email for their requirements to proceed and procure your Approval Slip on your
behalf which will cost you $110.00 only and note that your Approval Slip which
contains details of the agent who will process your transaction.
CONTACT INFORMATION
NAME: Mr. Kelvin Williams
EMAIL: williamskelvin22@yahoo.cn
Telephone: +2348191213677

Do contact Mr Mr. Kelvin Williams of the ATM PAYMENT CENTER with your details:

FULL NAME:
HOME ADDRESS:
TELL:
CELL:
CURRENT OCCUPATION:
BANK NAME:
AGE:

So your files would be updated after which he will send the payment
information’s which you’ll use in making payment of $110.00 via Western Union
Money Transfer or Money Gram Transfer for the procurement of your Approval Slip
after which the delivery of your ATM CARD will be effected to your designated
home address without any further delay.We order you get back to this office
after you have contacted the ATM SWIFT CARD CENTER and we do await your response so we can move on with our Investigation and make sure your ATM SWIFT CARD gets to you.

Thanks and hope to read from you soon.

ROBERT S. MUELLER, III
DIRECTOR, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535
http://www.fbi.gov/libref/directors/directmain.htm

Note: Do disregard any email you get from any impostors or offices claiming to
be in possession of your ATM CARD, you are hereby advice only to be in contact
with Mr. Kelvin Williams of the ATM CARD CENTER who is the rightful person to
deal with in regards to your ATM CARD PAYMENT and forward any emails you get
from impostors to this office so we could act upon and commence investigation.

LLLOOOOOLLLLLL!

Bad grammar, bad word choices, gives you away every time, scammers!

December 21, 2009 Posted by | Counter-terrorism, Crime, Financial Issues, Law and Order | , , | 10 Comments

Ritz Carlton Doha Christmas Tree Disappearing Act

I love the Ritz at Christmas time. They decorate so beautifully, and I especially love the huge, tall Christmas tree in the main lobby as you enter – it’s always a great spot for photos with friends and family, before brunch or after afternoon tea.

But when we went to the Ritz for brunch on Friday, Qatar National Day, the tree had disappeared! I guess it was too incongruous to have a huge, gorgeous Christmas tree inserted in all the special activities of Qatar National Day.

Here is what the tree looked like, LLLOOOOLLLLL!

December 20, 2009 Posted by | Arts & Handicrafts, Cultural, Doha, Entertainment, Events, ExPat Life, Humor, Living Conditions, Qatar | 11 Comments

Fewer Women Marrying in Qatar

This is not a phenomenon unique to Qatar. I remember reading almost the same exact story about black women in America, where black women get educated and black men go to jail. For the guys, being smart in school is a source of ridicule, rather than admiration.

There are similar stories coming out of many countries in the world.

So how do we encourage young men to strive for higher education?

There was a related story in the Peninsula Men, Not Religion, Block Saudi Women on Friday.

Fewer women getting married: Expert
Web posted at: 12/19/2009 2:32:58
Source ::: THE PENINSULA/ By ABDULLAH ABDUL RAHMAN


DOHA: Latest studies suggest that some 30 percent of young Qatari women remain unmarried and divorce in the local community is on an alarming rise, says a prominent Qatari psychologist.

The number of unmarried women is increasing basically due to the fact that more and more females want to pursue higher education and achieve financial independence, said Dr Mozah Al Malki (pictured).

There is a huge gap between Qatari men and women in terms of education. While most women pursue university education, men generally prefer to look for government jobs right after early or secondary education.

And the fact that women are increasingly becoming financially independent due to being highly educated also explains why the incidence of divorce in the community is high.

The other major factor that might be pushing the rate of divorce up is that earlier it was not easy for women in this region to seek divorce from their husbands although the law has always been there in keeping with the basic tenets of Islam which permits a woman to seek ‘khola’ (divorce) on genuine grounds.

“But now the law makes it easier for women to seek divorce,” Al Malki said in remarks to this newspaper yesterday.

Statistics suggest that the rate of divorce in the Qatari community is somewhere around 40 percent — a very high rate indeed, lamented the psychologist who made history when she filed nomination for Central Municipal Council (CMC) elections in March 1999.

Although she lost the poll, she became the first Qatari woman to enter politics which was until then an unchallenged domain of men in this part of the world.

Women remain busy pursuing education and then they land jobs. It, therefore, becomes difficult to get the right match, so most women remain unmarried, she said.

Obviously, a woman who has a PhD would not like to marry an undergraduate or even a simple graduate. This explains why as many as 30 percent young women are unmarried and their number could even go up.

Asked whether marrying educated Muslim expatriates could be an effective solution to this problem, she said: “But such marriages require permission from the interior ministry and it takes time.”

About the increasing rate of divorce, she said many factors were at play. Men picking more than one wife and not treating their wives equally could be one of the factors.

“Men tend to marry more than once simply for pleasure,” she said. Polygamous men do not take marriage and family seriously.

A kind of monotony sets in marriages that are 10 to 15 years old. Couples should think of innovative ways to break this monotony and make a fresh start in life.

“They should, for example, visit the same hotel they were in for honeymoon,” she said. “Such things prove effective in saving troubled marriages, and I have written extensively about it,” Al Malki said.

December 20, 2009 Posted by | Africa, Cultural, Doha, Education, Family Issues, Financial Issues, Living Conditions, Marriage, Mating Behavior, Middle East, Qatar, Relationships, Saudi Arabia, Social Issues, Values, Women's Issues, Work Related Issues | 10 Comments

Anti-Aging Brain Mix from RealAge.com

From the website Real Age.com to which I am totally addicted comes an Anti Aging Mix Recipe that actually sounds pretty good. If it doesn’t taste good, we won’t eat it, right?

Dr. Mao’s Anti-aging Brain Mix

Mix up a batch of the ingredients below and store it in an airtight container. That way, you’ll always have fresh brain food close at hand.
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup dried goji berries
• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries

December 19, 2009 Posted by | Food, Health Issues | 2 Comments

Defense: It’s The Cops Fault; He Was Chasing Me!

Court asks motorcycle rider to pay blood money
Web posted at: 12/19/2009 2:30:29
Source ::: THE PENINSULA

DOHA: A young man who rode a motorcycle and killed a pedestrian in a bizarre crash has been asked by the court to pay QR200,000 as blood money to the family of the deceased.

The court fined the convict QR10,000 for violating traffic law. But how the man was caught by the law-enforcement agencies is quite interesting.

It so happened that the Police Patrol saw two men riding motorbikes with tremendous speed. They gave the duo a chase but in vain. They vanished in think air. But soon the police was informed that a pedestrian was hit by a speeding motorbike.

When a police party reached the spot of the crash it saw a motorbike lying near the body of the victim.

The cops were quick to realize that this was one of the two motorbikes they had given a chase sometime ago.

With help from its registration plate they zeroed in on the culprit and referred the matter to the court after investigation.

The defense lawyer argued in the court that the crash occurred because they motorbike was chased by the cops. The court, however, did not buy the argument and convicted the man.

QR 200,000 sounds like a fortune, but it is $55,000 for taking a man’s life. For a young man who was running from the cops and then tries to claim their chasing him as a defense! This case sounds like a perfect opportunity to give a community service penalty in addition to the blood money; expose this young man to the consequences of motorcycle accidents, and accident victims, allow him to see with his own eyes, and serve, the victims. It could change his life, and change his callous attitude.

December 19, 2009 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Character, Community, Crime, Cultural, Doha, Education, Financial Issues, Interconnected, Law and Order, Living Conditions, Qatar, Rants, Safety | 2 Comments

Qatar National Day Fireworks Video

So my friends, this is the very first video I have ever uploaded to YouTube, three minutes of the twenty minute spectacular fireworks display on the Corniche last night for Qatar National Day:

December 19, 2009 Posted by | Adventure, Arts & Handicrafts, Beauty, Community, Cultural, Doha, Events, ExPat Life, Living Conditions | , | 8 Comments

New Doha Details

Once I shot the skyline, that perfect morning last week, I had to drive down the Corniche and pick up some details. If Doha were more stop-friendly, there would be more. Sometimes, I am holding up the camera and shooting and not even able to see what exactly I am shooting because I am really focused on driving.

The good news is, for some reason, there isn’t a lot of traffic in the “business” section of Doha. Most buildings are still under construction, still unoccupied. But there are some spectacular buildings.

Some of the new buildings are breathtaking:

December 19, 2009 Posted by | Building, Doha, ExPat Life, Living Conditions, Photos | 8 Comments

Qatar National Day Fireworks Spectacular

The problem is, even with the most amazing situation in the world, my wonderful little hand held Lumix can’t begin to capture the awe-inspiring grandeur of the 20 minute Qatar National Day Fireworks spectacular.

Another amazing thing – the fireworks started ON TIME. Suddenly the entire length of the Corniche erupted in white waterfalls. The fireworks were kept relatively close to the ground, and compact, but spread along a couple miles – it was an amazing feat, and the timing was to the second.

Caught in traffic, we decided to try something different. Like the Robert Frost poem, we took a road less travelled by, and it made all the difference. We lucked into a fantastic vantage point.

I have to add a special thanks here to AdventureMan. He knows how much I love fireworks, and I knew he has to work tomorrow, and still, he took me to see the fireworks. We were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic until we took a chance, and by a miracle, found this fantastic, uncrowded vantage point. He love the fireworks as much as I did, but he did it for me, and my heart is full of gratitude. 🙂

December 18, 2009 Posted by | Adventure, Arts & Handicrafts, Beauty, Community, Cultural, Doha, Events, ExPat Life, Living Conditions, Marriage, Qatar, Relationships | , | 14 Comments

Beautiful Day for a Parade

Friday morning, the sleep-in morning, but not today. It is a sweet, beautiful, morning and a perfect day for a parade:

I have my Qatar flags displayed in front of my house for Qatar National Day:

I used to fly Kuwait flags on Kuwait National Day, but the wind was so strong, they sometimes blew away!

There is a lot going on today – the parade, children’s activities, displays of all the military equipment, heritage sites – it’s a grand day to be in Qatar, especially – the fireworks tonight!

December 18, 2009 Posted by | Adventure, Cultural, Doha, Events, ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Qatar | 1 Comment

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