May you rest in peace

I hope that Sheikh Jaber had departed this life to a better place.

May he rests in peace and انا لله و انا اليه راجعون

My sincerest condolences go to Alsabah's for their loss

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On another note: I find it sick that some people immediately started cashing in the Emir's death by initiating these circulating text messages that have prayers. I think this forwarding craze should stop..

Early birds of 2006..

I know it is way too early to be up on the first day of the year, but believe it or not I have paper work to do!!!!! appalling..

With it being the new year, I have been trying to change my template, not really sure what to pick. I can't find a template which reflects my character yet...

Any suggestions?

Happy New Year Bloggers!

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.