Bed Linen: Emotional Comfort

I was tidying some piles of paper (something I have been doing on weekly basis) and I came across to the solution to my lonely nights!

People, 2 years ago the linen makers Kameo Corp ,which are based in Fukuoka, introduced THE "Boy-friend's Arm Pillow". It consists of a headless torso (scary), a stuffed arm which curls around you when you sleep (sounds more like a python) and wears a shirt. The company claims that this pillow not only provides emotional comfort for the needy, but it also keeps the body balanced by providing support from both sides.

Obviously the company is aware that ladies have different preferences, and naturally men come in different sizes. So, Kameo is working to come up with different sized and shaped boy-friend pillows to satisfy all tastes. Examples include: Muscular pillows for the ladies who like beefy men and slender pillows for the ones who are after a sensitive (sissy) man.

Men do not despair, as the company is prototyping a Girl-friend pillow! which will be shaped like a woman's lap but with a 'skirt' cover.

So, blogg-edette this is cash worth spent, just for $80 ( just under 30 KD) you can purchase a comforting man who does not nag you when you want to sleep. I think this is the perfect Christmas/New year/Eid present you can get yourself..

Men...beware

late night natter..

It is the start of a long weekend in Kuwait, and I am spending my first night at home doing nothing. I have zillion matters pending in my cerebral hemispheres, which is not the healthiest at this hour. Some of these issues are important and others are just very trivial..so, let me share the latter..

I have noticed that I do not read newspapers. The only thing I do with the daily paper is a quick flick and then a close glance at the last page and voila! I am done. I have reasons for not wanting to read Kuwaiti local papers, as I consider them very biased and full of a$$-lickers. I rarely get to read anything interesting in there and if anyone of you had noticed, I mainly comment on last-page columns on my blog. The whole point is I am comforted by the fact that I don't create unnecessary headache for myself, but sometimes I feel that I am a little silly for completely boycotting Kuwaiti papers from my life. The bizarre thing is that I read newspapers of the countries I travel to but not my owns!

Anyhow, maybe I should not worry about it too much as I do not think I am missing out..

What else? I fancy buying this new lipstick which I was planning to do today but I did not get the time. A co-worker was wearing it earlier this week and boy she looked so pretty. so I am going to purchase it hoping it will make me look a bit as pretty as she is..

I am used to doing pre-sleep chat with my sweetheart and I think he fell asleep early tonight. I feel odd as I am wide awake and trying to find something to do until I get drowsy. how come I forgot how to occupy myself when I had no one in my life? strange...

Behaviour is very much culture specific. Knowing how to mould and condition someone's behaviour depends on culture as well as universal concepts. One has to be familiar with both as with the great amalgamation of cultures we are witnessing these days we have to be open-minded to all tactics. I know it doesn't sound like rocket-science but applying it is not as easy as saying it...

Jingle bell Jingle bell...

Oh Silent night! It is that time of the year again, when it is 'supposed' to be cold and wet..(it is wet alright over here). Overcooking and over-eating is usually the highlight, and not to forget, over-spending. Clothes and decorations are green and red, everything twinkles and glitters. It is Christmas time everyone..

I miss Christmas in England..

I miss the ambiance

I miss the smell

I miss carol singers

I miss my tiny Christmas tree (fresh one may I add)

I miss my decorations

I miss buying passionata (which usually doesn't last for long with me)

I miss the ivy and the mistletoe

I miss buying M&S Christmas goodies

I miss the cards

I miss the festive feel

I miss the Christmas sales

Sigh....

And here is a clip I got from a dear friend of mine for everyone..it is ever so cute, just click the link http://bixbyrose.com/turkeyday.htm

I just wanted to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS

طق يا مطر طق

finally, some thirst quenching rain. It is nice for the sun to depart us for a couple of days and to allow cool wind to blow on this side of the world. Hope this will mean that Winter is on its way....

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Thumbs up go to د. ناجي سعود الزيد for his column today in Alqabas. The ever increasing piles of dirt on our streets have to be controlled somehow. The problem is that as long as the natives are too lazy to keep our streets clean, how do you expect the expatriates to behave?

I hate the site of a person who publicly gets out of his car and so casually disposes of all his/her rubbish on the tarmac and walks off, or even chucks it out of his/her window while driving. I thought that النظافة من الايمان.

Bushy-Brow Week

I am a brow person and I consider eyebrows the gateway to beauty and the makeup for the face. Unfortunately, God gifted me with peculiar eyebrows which need some air-brushing before facing the big bad 'cruel' Kuwaiti world.

My funky brows gone very thin over the year simply because every time I went to the Indian brow-lady she just fancied making them thin as she considered it the fashion. So, after realising that I will one day end up with no brow hair (like my mum), I thought I should salvage the situation and find myself another lady who appreciates brows the way I do. So I did! and now for the past 2 months I am in the process of thickening them again.

The thickening process involves enduring days or even weeks of unattractiveness. such that I have to scare the general public, including my sweetheart, with the site of my unruly brows so that I can achieve the ultimate result. It is good to announce that I am almost there, and the effects are already visible (that is they are looking denser and thicker now). So here is to the end of another bushy brow week!

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That picture was taken by me and edited by mistletoe (whispers 'thank you babe') I hope it is to your liking people..

Bad habits

I recently have discovered a number of bad habits which are deeply rooted in my character. I am very much aware of them but I have a damn hard time kicking them...the list goes:

• I don't know how to say NO to someone needing help, even when it means I have to go through a learning process just to be able to help them ( I hope this makes sense).
• I cannot and I mean I REALLY cannot shut my mouth when I see something wrong (which gets me in trouble most of the time)
• I always bite more than what I can chew (hence I am struggling with the work load these days)
• I am too emotional (you can imagine how bad it gets when it is the time of the month) Good luck mistle
• I do not know how to relax.
• I do not enjoy going out or socialising during working days.
• I find it difficult to understand that not everybody can take a liking to you and it really gets me down when I realise I am not favoured by somebody.

Hope you all are having a good week...mine has been a bit of a funny one

To drive or to be driven away..

When I moved back to Kuwait I made a conscious decision that I will take whatever shit the road throws at me lightheartedly. Babbler is very fond driving on the motorway listening to music. To her driving and music marry very seductively and it always takes her to a different dimension.

However, driving in Kuwait possesses a serious health risk, as on daily basis one can feel the impeding heart attack. Our beautiful nation considers our vast and wide roads a battle field where your only weapon is your car. Obviously cars vary in their sizes and shapes, but the greater tendency is to enlarge what is already large...ending up with a thing that resembles an ugly army tank with tyres as wide as the hips of an Arab lady. Usually, the over-sized cars are to be wary off, as the bits which stick out of them tend to nudge you while they slip away harmless. The smaller variety tends to be camouflaged in a frightening way, such that the headlights can flicker in your eyes as if they are of a UFO resulting in extreme blinding at night time.

Our law-abiding drivers will surprise you in their ability to signal when taking turns, sticking to maximum speed restrictions (except when on the phone) and to never terrorise other drivers/motorists. If you ever dare to over-take one of their vehicles, you will suffer extreme degrees of courtesy. What will happen to you is a thing you only witness in a Stallone movie performed by a stunt double. You will simply hear a constant honking of the horn, frightening proximity of the other car, and then a swift take over and sudden brakes ahead of you. In addition to middle-fingers and big fat fists thrown about in the air.

So, I have reached a point now where I am seriously concerned for my well-being and my road mannerism in this country.

Holy Matrimony

The day was Monday 5th of December 2005, I was on the edge of the bed early in the morning brushing my teeth. I had, as usual, the BBC on to quickly get an update on the world. Then I hear, as of that day, England grants homosexual couples their civil rights...

I was genuinely happy, not that I will exploit this right for I am a heterosexual who lives far and beyond in Kuwait. but I was happy for the couples who shared a life together for years and were not able to have simple rights like: next of kin or paternity leave for the ones who decide to have children through IVF. There was an interview in that bulletin about a couple who waited for this day to tie the knot in a civil ceremony. What I found a little over-the-top was their wish to have a religious ceremony one day. I am not meaning to be rude, I just cannot see a religion accepting a homosexual union as such act is deemed inappropriate and a 'sin'. This by no means represent my view, as to me a religious marriage will not serve any extra advantage as it does not give you civil rights on its own.

Homosexuality is incomprehendable for many who live in the Middle East. However, there is a great proportion of individuals who turn out to have homosexual tendencies and they engage in such behaviours and practices in a Victorian fashion. The reason I am accepting of homosexuality is the fact that, apart from being an accepting and open-minded person, is sometimes gay people do not chose to be this way. I am not an expert in this topic, but science have found that there is an area in the brain which determines our sexual predilection. This part of the brain is called sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area. Work carried out on dissected brains revealed that this area in heterosexual individuals is large in males and small in females. On the other hand, the same area in homosexuals was neither large nor small, more like a medium-sized nucleus. Obviously more work is required in this area, but there are strong indicators for biological basis of homosexuality.

So, what will happen if such biology is definitely confirmed? will religion then accept homosexuals? I think not, simply because religion and science never go along..but who knows.

Finally, congratulations for who ever is getting married soon...

Fondue for beginners

Lately, my blogging slowed down a great deal. Many acquaintances filed complaints that I am not keeping everyone up-to-date. My sincere apologises go to them, I do have my reasons.

Since Eid, life was busy with work and family. As I had previously posted, since I relocated to this new work-place, driving the long distance tired me a little and it was just a matter of adjusting to change..hence I needed time. and then there is the matter of my long nails which prevent me from typing smoothly, I do not have the time to go to my favourite spot to get them done and shortened appropriately. In addition to the fact that a certain "someone" loves them long. I know to many of you that this is a bullshit reason, but I am trying to convince myself that it is a valid one.

On another note, we lost someone very dear to us in my family. It was hectic and it still is. Having to comfort those around you and yourself requires a lot of emotional and physical energy. my mister was wonderful and very comforting during this difficult time and he treated me at the end of the week to an orgasmic fondue au chocolat. This weekend was one of the most wonderful weekends I had in Kuwait since I moved back, I hope there will be many more to come.

Have a great start of the week you all..

Observations..

I find it peculiar how one finds it such a chore and an issue having to wake up 15 mins or even 30 mins earlier in a morning. If you try to relocate those 15 or 30 mins to any other part of the day they become so insignificant. Not only that, you can so easily waste them as if they were 5 mins!

So, the significance of time alters once it impinges on our convenience...

On another note..latest observation..

musicians always wear black..doctors always wear white

Eid Mubarak (aka عيد مبارك)

At last, Ramadan is over. Towards the end of the holy month, bodies grow weaker, minds fatigue and nostrils become extra sensitive to the scent of coffee beans. At that point, everyone awaits the announcement of Eid eagerly. When it becomes clear that Ramadan is of 30 days, fasting this extra day becomes such a chore.

I am not a great fan of the Eid rituals, by that I mean the excessive visitation you are obliged to do for the family. I enjoy getting back to the old routine of eating and drinking, I love grooming myself and looking like a glamour puss and not to forget handing over presents or 3eediyas.

So far, I am not having a great Eid for a number of reason which I do not wish to highlight here. Let's just say...I wish I'd gone away (The constant wish which never comes true).

So people, on this day I wish you all a عيد مبارك

Failed attempts at finding normality..

Having recovered from that horrible flu, I am trying to find my grounds again. The combination of extremely elevated temperature and fasting was not pleasant at all. I really did not want to break my fast (I know I am an idiot), but I did not fancy accumulating more days to make up later after Ramadan. I endured long hours of an intense believe that the white and grey matter of my brain was turning into a mush and I will lose all my memory (I wish), but this did not wean my determination to stick to abstaining from much needed liquids (barking mad..I know). I have to admit that I slept for hours and hours, obviously my body needed, but also I did not realise that the coughing syrup I was galloping 3 times after iftar time was making my limps ever so heavy. You see, because of the horrible cough I had, which made my abdominal muscles including my rib cage ache, I thought carrying on taking this bloody syrup will do me just GREAT. Until I read the bottle...I thought MoH have non-drowsy coughing syrup just like the UK!

Naturally, I stopped taking the syrup. Then I realised what I got myself into.

Feeling energised again plus + nothing to do + extra energy because I slept a lot in the previous 10 days = sleepless, and restless babbler..

Thursday night during the last 10 days of Ramadan is not fun. You can hardly decide to drive to have a coffee somewhere in Salmiyah, let alone be in a quiet area with a book.

So, I was on my bed rolling all over until the early hours of the morning. I just could not sleep last night. I am feeling extremely frustrated, missing things I do not have any more and wanted to get away but not knowing where to..I wanted answers and I needed patience (something I have not mastered well yet)...

I Switched on the TV, movie channel and then ta-dah, heard some Irish natter, checked the title and it was 'Intermission'. I thought..let me watch it, I needed to connect to something close to my heart. I never heard of this movie, so it must have been a small budget movie or something. It was starring: Colin Farrell, Shirley Henderson, Cillian Murphy and Kelly Macdonald. It was such a fun movie to watch..I laughed out so much..it cracked me up. I found some photos on the net to post here, but the uploading mechanism is not working..so sorry for the technical failure. Please try to watch it, it is a good light-hearted comedy..I loved the bit when the TV crew realised the shadow was a moustache!

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I was once told that hope was my worst enemy. My hoping mechanism is failing. Whether I want to regain it again, I am not sure. I am just surprised how it does not operate in areas which are much needed...maybe I should engage into cognitive re-interpretation. This should be my next self assignment..

It's that time of year again...

People, I am down with a cold. oh boy, I hate it when it happens. For some reason, I always get cold & flus on weekends which for some of you, is a bonus, for for me it is not. I was absolutely okay on Wed, until night time when I developed this mild cough. Thursday morning involved a mild chest wheeze and a headache, until noon time when the wonderful flavour of cold hit my taste buds. The feeling was ' oh no, not now'.

I was in bed early, not happy with the aches and pains. I slept for long hours, but kept on waking up in the middle of the night a number of times. Friday, was more sleeping and stronger coughing..and now, I am getting sniffly..

Why do I always get ill during Ramadan? Last time I had a cold was last Ramadan too! I can find one reason, the unhealthy diet takes its toll on your immune system especially with the funny sleeping hours.

Looking at the brighter side of things, the weather is getting better! oh joy..I love winters and cold air, the thought of it just makes my heart flutter. Hopefully, by the time I rid myself of this cold, I will be enjoying this lovely weather to the fullest.

In the mean time, I will be reading blogs, watching telly, sleeping and doing work-related reading..

I have been tagged by mother courage

I am not sure who started this tagging business and what is the significance of it. Nevertheless, I have been tagged by the famous mother courage. So, here it goes...

Seven things I plan to do:

• Be more patient
• Become a specialist & world-renowned researcher
• Have my own place abroad
• Get a tattoo & a naval piercing
• Travel
• Weight-train to tone up my physique
• Take up black & white photography
  

Seven things I can do:

• Talk for hours
• Keep things tidy
• Writing
• Throwing a good surprise
• Make others happy (well, I think I do)
• Be independent
• Treat myself

Seven things I cannot do:

• Stay up all night..
• Be dishonest
• Live without my mobile
• Live without my caffeine fix (Obliged to do during Ramadan)
• Keep quiet when I see something wrong
• Keep my opinion to myself
• Sit idle

Seven things I say most often:

• Well..
• No way!
• Anyways..
• ..o bas..
• Put your seat-belt on please
• Oh my God!
• In my experience…

Seven people I want to pass this tag to:
The first seven who read this post

hot hot politics

HH Sheikh Salem's revelations two days ago created havoc in peaceful Kuwait. The Sabah's, together with the current parliament, are gearing up to face any uprising problems which might occur in consequence. Sheikh Salem's accusations, if we are to call them that, of corruption are true. However, one cannot put all the blame on a leader who had faced a lot during his ruling period. One also cannot blame a government which is plagued by tribal thought. One also must not forget that Sheikh Salem is trying to gain power by supposedly logical way, but in an authentic tribal manner..

Political instability/(ies) is/are striking the country, and we have to be prepared for whatever is ahead. I tried to imagine:

• what will come of those Marina Mall strollers with rainbow coloured t-shirts and spiked up hair if a revolution happens? will they just carry on strolling aimlessly?
• What will happen to women rights?
• What is Sheikh Salem like? Do we know enough about him and his agendas to be able to resist any opposition?

There are many other important questions we should be thinking of at this critical time.

Just to end the post in a classic old-fashioned Kuwaiti way:

أمان يا كويت

Advantages of living in Kuwait: 2. Ramadan working hours

Listening to: Another lonely day by Ben Harper and Pearl Jam

As Ramadan was approaching, I made a conscious decision that I should take this month to relax. This of course was in gratitude to the fact that my 'governmental' working hours were so short. In addition to the fact that eating activities are deducted, hence more hours to spare. I thought the equation which I am facing at present is:

Late start + 4 official working hours + no work-related activities in the afternoon + guilt-free siesta + night life (not the wild type) = time to SLEEP & RELAX

So, day one of the fasting month started and thankfully enough I stuck to my relaxation vows. I started my long walks again, continued reading my lovely novel and also managed to refresh my memory with information I had to read for work. I love it when I come back from work and go straight to bed sleeping for as long as I want and not to have to worry about how it will affect my sleep at night.

I paid hard for the years I spent fasting in the UK. I had to be at University from early mornings until past If6ar time. So, having such luxury just handed over to me is overwhelming. At work, so many were complaining that we should get the whole month as a holiday. I say, some people just take things for granted. At least those 4 hours or so at work make the day go faster and only help you to sleep more in the afternoon.

Again, thank you lazy government officials for allowing us a free and paid relaxation month.

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I realised what was wrong with my template. It was all down to my browser which decided to play up. It is too complex and long to put down here. I am just happy that things are all back to normal again..

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Reasoning with someone who sees the glass half empty torments you

Ramadhan and plenty of spare time

First things first...مبارك عليكم الشهر

It is most strange that the activity on the blog-o-sphere has been suboptimal during the last month. I predict it will continue during Ramadhan too, especially with the extreme change of sleeping and munching routines.


If any of you had noticed, I changed the template of my blog. Something happened to my html settings in the last template, and I thought by trying to change the template, things will go back to normal. Obviously it did not. For some reason, my sidebar had decided to take a different location or the main body of the template...not sure which one went wrong. Anyhow, with the spare hungry hours I have, I tried over and over again to play around with the html settings. So far, I have not noticed much change. Then I thought maybe if I post something new, it will go back to normal...so I am keeping my fingers crossed this time.

If any of you know how to solve this problem, please let me know as it is getting on my nerves.

any html geniuses out there?

The Doha Debate

Today, on BBC world there was a program titled ' The Doha Debate', which as the name stated was located in Doha (Qatar). As I was flicking through the channels I decided to stop and watch it for a little while. I would like to share a part which angered me a little..

Ms. Ghada Karmi, enthusiastically defending the Palestinian cause, was accusing the Arab countries for relying on the Americans politically a little too much, hence their hands are tied when it comes to dealing with Israelis. She further explains, that the Arab countries are taking too many favours from the American government, therefore they have to support the Americans in whatever they do. Since Israel is backed up the Americans, the Arabs are too lenient towards the Israeli presence on Palestinian soils. Ms Karmi added, that the Arab countries should stop accepting those American favours and stand by the Palestinians so they are a stronger front against the Israelis...

So, a lady stood up and asked her: But aren't you asking for too much from the Arab countries?

Ms Karmi kindly said: No...(now I forgot what else she said here)

All I would like to say to Ms Karmi:

• Has she forgotten how the Palestinians stabbed us (Kuwait and the Kuwaitis) during the Iraqi invasion when we used to be their no. 1 supporters?
• Wasn't it for the Americans who helped us to get our country and homes back?

I am very sorry Ms Karmi, with all due respect for many, The Palestinians do not have a good track record...

Deep down, I wish the Palestinians would get their rights back, but not on the expense of others..

and I agree with the lady, Ms Karmi was asking for too much.

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On another note: Bali got bombed again, shame on those extremists who are cowardly attacking the innocent when and where they cannot retaliate.

Can we be friends?

I had a wonderful weekend, I managed to spend two days with one of my closest friends. My consciousness was so absent from Kuwait to the extent that I felt that I was back in my flat (In England of course), in the cold weather with heavy rain knocking against my window and the central heating blasting in the background. I slept with this thought and a huge grin on my face...

I googled a friend of mine's name (I know it is sad). I found a link for a post on someone's blog for her, so I clicked and read it. Although I had heard the short version of what was there, I was shocked to read the fine details.

So, this is the

link

to the post, I really recommend you to read it. It will make you appreciate a lot of things in your life..

Happy reading..

Realities of "تكويت القمامين"

اليوم في القبس, السيد محمد مساعد الصالح ما قصر في مقاله "تكويت القمامين" حيث اقترح أن الكويت عليها التخلص من عمال القمامة البنغاليين و تكويت عمال النظافة. المقال ظريف جداً و شوية يشوبه بعض أحلام اليقظة. أنا بس عندي ملاحظات صغيرونة

احنا ما خلصنا من التفرقة بين "الأصيل" و "المو أصيل" و الطائفية و العنصرية علشان نعطي مجال جديد للتفرقة بين الأوادم في الديرة

أبو طلال بّرقع عملية تكويت القمامين و قال " فتح كلية خاصة في جامعة الكويت يدخلها الحائز على الشهادة المتوسطة و تكون الدراسة فيها سنتين يتخرج بعدها الطالب ليعمل قمامي". أنا بعرف يعني على باله اذا طرح موضوع الشهادة راح يغري الكويتيين اللي على بالهم ان كل واحد عنده شهادة صار شي. و بعدين تخيّل القمامي لمّن يتخرج و أبوه يشتري له سيارة مرسيدس

و بعدين شنو راح يصير في العيد لمّن القمامين الكويتيين يبون يعيدون؟ أنا أتوقع راح يصير عندهم نظام الخفارة مثل الدكاترة. بعد شنو, هم جامعيين

طبعاً بو طلال نسى نحاسة الكويتيين. فإذا قمّام كويتي يبي ينتقم من واحد راح يهمل خمام بيته لمن يخيسون الأهل

و من منو القمامين راح يتزوجون؟
I think there will be a serious gene-pooling problem within the garbage- families’ community

أنا عندي اقتراح أحسن: ليش ما يجنسون عمال النظافة البنغاليين و خلاص؟ بهذه الطريقة راح تتم عملية التكويت بدون اية مشاكل جذرية تعرقل مسار حياة المواطن الكويتي المخلص لوطنه

P.S. There was no need to waste half of the column talking aimlessly just to slip in the fact that you have a flat in central London!

Nobility doesn't reside in your nationality

I watched a brief report on Mobility India Charity organisation. It is an organisation based in India and aims to serve disabled people, mainly, who lost function of their legs due to Polio. Taking into consideration the level of poverty in that part of the world, this organisation came up with a cheap way to replace limbs of disabled people. That was done in such a way that those prosthetic limbs are functional as well as modifiable as the individual grows or changes in needs. One has to mention that the prosthesis are hardly sightly, however are functional. I was really taken by what the people who worked for this organisation did.

They work so hard to perfect the gift of independence..

You might think now, but why the picture with the African children? well, this charity have done so well that they are going to extend their services to Ethiopia where similar high trends of disability due to polio exist. It is beautiful to see such non-profitable 'business' extending far and wide with the sole benefit of making others happy..

It just amazed me how those noble 'Indians' have achieved so much with modest opportunities. Unfortunately, so many Kuwaitis think they are far superior than those Indians just because God decided they are Kuwaitis. We are nothing but couch-potatoes who are making no difference in our children, let alone in the rest of the world. I hope one day that Kuwaitis will realise that nobility doesn't reside in their nationality.

Advantages of living in Kuwait: 1. Public holidays

As days go by, I slowly come to realise the advantages of living in Kuwait. So, I decided to run this series about the positives of the lifestyle in this part of the world.

Today, the highlight is Public holidays.

During the past 2 weeks, I was suffering from serious shortage of sleep to the extent I thought I had some sort of illness. Work was, and will be, hectic especially as people are returning back from holidays. I cannot afford taking some time off, nor I had money to go away again after the disaster I endured few weeks back. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Saturday is a holiday for the celebration of 'Isra & Me3raj'. I decided to do serious sleep. Thankfully, after 2 nights of semi-hibernation, all the illness-like symptoms have disappeared and I can say that I am officially functional again. Had I been in the UK, this sleep-shortage would have accumulated for days on end until I came down with a flu.

Therefore, I would like to submit special Thanks to the hard-working, ever-so-sweating ministry officials for allowing us to have free-lazy days....

Now, you must be wondering why on earth I have Alicia Keys on this post? Well, I was hung on this album for the duration of the waking hours of this weekend. I had 'if I ain't got you' on repeat most of the time. Although I am mainly into alternative music, but I love Alicia's voice.

Love, oh sweet love

I remember coming back home and finding your lengthy comment on one of my posts. It was then when I instantly fell in love with the way you write. Back then, I had only accumulated a modest number of posts, yet I was still looking forward to reading your comments either after work or evenings. Until the wedding night…

I cannot describe the heightened excitement I felt when I realised that you were online at the same time as I was. I was hesitant at the start of making the move of asking you to chat with me on MSN messenger, but I think my yearning for an intellectual talk did not deter me. Little did I know that being forward was going to set my foot on an emotional rollercoaster I thought I’ll never be up to.

When you asked me whether there are things I love about you, I was thinking to myself ‘how could he doubt it?’. My love, there are zillions of things I find and consider great about you. If I had thought that you lacked fundamental things in a person, I would not have fallen in LOVE with you.

Fat Free

Why are women more self conscious about their bodies than men? And why are men, no matter what shape and form they come in, always think that they are God’s gift to earth?. I suppose it all starts from the early days of Human kind, when God created Adam and then Eve. Men think they are the perfect sex because God made Adam first. But, unfortunately it did not occur to them that God perhaps thought that the man s/he created was not perfect enough, so Adam was modified a bit and Eve, the mother of all women, was made to be top notch of perfection.
I believe the issue of body image starts from the type of clothing a culture expects a person to wear. When you think of it, we are used to men wearing suits, they come in different colours and patterns but they stay suits, consisting of a jacket, shirt, tie and trousers. However, when it comes to women, there is a countless variety of different clothing that will unduly makes a woman think too much about the way she looks. This thing not only applies for the western society, but also to the majority of the world.

The society puts a lot of pressure on females, for example, when a man takes his girlfriend to meet his family for the first time, the female gets subjected to a length of criticism after the nerve-wrecking meeting starting from the way she looks, and especially her weight. Speaking from a personal experience, I always had a comment or two about my weight from friends’ parents. And to top it all, every time I went to visit their house over a dinner party or whatever, there was usually a flying comment about whether I lost or gained weight. When a female applies for a job, her appearance and body image is of prime importance for the majority of ‘female-required-jobs’.The media puts pressure on the female celebrities, the examples are plenty as one has to just watch the E! channel and observe the weight-relating reports.

And you know who else puts pressure on females? Females themselves!!!! Every time you walk aimlessly down town, the only gender that always stares back at you and eyes you from head to toe are FEMALES, its very rare that males do that in broad day light in a country like England unless they are under the influence of alcohol or some kind class A drugs! Another example is in the gym, females tend to look at each other and think to themselves ‘ I wish I had a bum like hers’ but men don’t do that! I even questioned some of my mates about whether they look at fellow athletes in the gym, and the answer was ‘ no’.

So, I wonder, who is to blame in this never-ending quest to form fat-free women?

Back from holidays (A bit of a late post)

Hello everyone, I am back!

Going back to my 2nd homeland had a different flavour to it this time. One of the major differences is that I am no longer a student and obviously this meant that i had a lot of dosh in my kitty. It was such a pleasure to be able to look at everything knowing I can afford it this time.

Luckily enough, the weather was splendid throughout my stay there and I had a blast getting everywhere on foot, something I do not get to enjoy in our scorching hot Kuwait. I pigged out on every junk there is in the UK, shopped til i dropped and stayed up so late (something I do not get to do much during working days).

You see, holidays are not complete until you you get shit forced down your throat. I was looking forward to getting back home to show off my new clothing items and to get back to my 'addictive' workaholic routine. So, I get to the airport and only 5 minutes away from my terminal, I hear on the news that bloody British Airways went on strike. I happily got stuck in the airport for 2 nights, and had to queue for up to 6 hours to get my flights re-routed to get back home. I managed to get to Kuwait after spending almost 24 hours travelling. and to top it all up, my luggage did not arrive with me, which made me ever so miserable.

Anyhow, I am safe and sound and that's what is important. For the first time in my life I did not suffer from post-holidays depression, and that is thanks to the BA strike! I hope I will be fully recovered for my next trip.....

Post-birthdays and holidays

I had a splendid birthday!

At work, I had a mini-birthday party which was nice and sweet of my colleagues. I received beautiful presents on that day and I felt like a little child getting excited all over them. I ended up my long day of gift-receiving by having dinner with my friends in Marina Crescent.

Unlike Fadibou (a fellow blogger) I did not get the disco-ball bash, but there is always my 30th-birthday in 4 years time.

Well my friends, I am going away on holiday for couple of weeks. Don't miss me too much...and I shall blog back once I am over my post-holiday blues...

See ya later

Krabi

This is a picture which I am very fond of. I took it in Thailand, in Krabi (pronounced gab-ee) and obviously on the beach.

What do you think it is of?

Holy Fridays

After being in Kuwait for almost a year now, Fridays have started to feel lazy for me. I successfully managed to switch over the Sunday feeling to the Friday feeling...
Despite having an important task to complete today, I decided to veg on my bed and watch telly all morning. So, it got a little boring....

What I wanted to share with you my friends today is a small talk about religious scholars. In the Alqabas today, on page 9, there is an interview with almufti Dr. Moahammed Raafat Othman. I must say this, following reading his ideas and thoughts I developed a lot of respect for the guy. Few points which I thought were interesting:

1. Breast enhancements, alfatwa = Makrooh:

I think the guy doesn't like women with large breast full stop

2. Face lifts, alfatwa = ja'ez:

The guy likes younger looking women

3. Cloning is acceptable between husband and wife:

Why do they need cloning when they can have sex?

4. It is ja'ez for a pregnant women to abort her baby in order to treat the husband with stem cells: controversial, but I think the fella expects this from his wife

I think our 6ab6abaee should learn a little from Dr. Moahmmed. This guy is well brave and very open-minded. I might not agree with some of his fatwas (What's new!? babs always has an opinion), but I think his ideas and views are a good step in the right direction. The sad point is that, those muftis usually end up being labelled as freaks, psychotic or demented. This I know for a fact, is because I once was sat with some religious fanatics who were discussing the 'Kuwaitis who converted to Christianity'. Those extremists, whom should be in a mental institution themselves, were claiming that every person in Kuwait who publicly went with his views, ideas or opinions about religion has a file in the Psychiatric hospital. It is sad that the Kuwaiti mentality, or more correctly the middle-eastern, is continuing to deteriorate. It is a misfortune to witness this wonderful part of the world going through the dark ages when the rest of the globe is at the tip of civilization and intellect.

Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS)

I get a kick out of learning new things. When I come across something new in my practice, I usually go home and immediately read about it. I am ever so grateful for the internet as it responds to me as fast as my impulses.

God, in his mysterious ways, allowed me to meet this jolly child with PWS. I never heard about it so I was very much eager to read up on it. So, for anyone who is interested, the link is provided.

UK website for the support group: http://pwsa.co.uk/

USA website for the support group: http://www.pwsausa.org/

(This post is dedicated for Abdulaziz, a happy 6-year old)