Everyone knows the common saying, "time flies when you're having fun" but the truth is, it flies when your not having fun too. When you get older it just plain flies... perhaps that is why I have noticed that people just say "time flies" these days and leave off the latter part... most people aren't having fun most of the time.
In fact, during the time of life in which we have the most fun - when we are little children - time doesn't fly at all! Years took forever to pass by when I was small.
Anyway, now I am almost 38. The 7th will mark 38 years since my mother gave birth to her second child, who was supposed to be a boy (because my parents already had a girl) and for whom they already had a boy's name picked out. Luckily for my parents, three boys followed right on my heels, and I think that was more than enough for them so that when little girls 3 and 4 came along they were a relief from the constant mischief making.
The 7th will also mark 20 years to the day since that same girl, who was supposed to be a boy, was climbing Mt. Kenya and met the boy who would, 7 years later, become her husband and 10 years later break her heart and 16 years later disappear.
It will als mark 1 year, since what I thought was the first of many happier birthdays to come, when I received a gift that meant the world to me, and still does, only now it makes me sad to look at it because it embodies all of the hopes and dreams I had at that time, which have come to naught and reminds me of how alone and uncertain I feel again.
So, I'm not looking forward to my birthday. It is a yearly reminder of my failure - my failure to find love in particular, but all of my failures in general as well, since my poor track record in personal relationships has shaped the rest of my life.
Perhaps if I was home, it would be a different thing, I would have my family with me, and I could celebrate with my Grandfather, whose 93rd birthday was on the 3rd of October. Last year, he celebrated his 92nd with a big shin dig. This year they are throwing another big bash for him on the 9th - it will celebrate his birthday and mark the opening of the visitor's center at the urban wildlife refuge named after him. The park was named after him - and a statue of him erected in his honor - for an important environmental law he passed, 38 years ago. For him, his birthday is a yearly reminder of his accomplishments. He can look back with pride on what he has achieved over the years.
I called him for his birthday this year, and even though he is 93, he still is as sharp as ever. I am happy that with age, his mind has not gone, I think for someone like him that would be a great loss and tragedy. I hope I will see him again before his time comes. It makes me sad to realize that, having lived well beyond life expectancy for the average American man or woman, any day could be his last. I wonder how he feels when (if) he thinks of that. I wonder if he thinks about how time has flown and wonders where all the years have gone, since he was a handsome star pupil in his highschool in Portage Wisconsin.
He doesn't believe in God. I always wonder where he thinks he will go after he draws his last breath, and if he is scared. I wonder what God thinks of such a man, who in spite of not believing in Him, has lived a more moral and upright life than most, respecting His creation and fighting to preserve it, refusing to backdown on issues he knew were important and sometimes forgoing the power and wealth that would have accompanied doing what was expected in order to do what he knew was right. I hope God is understanding. I love my Grandfather.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Dishonest Mechanics and other random topics
Why are people needlessly dishonest? Is it really a good business practice as a mechanic to steal from your customers and do shitty job of fixing their cars so they never come back again? I mean can that really be good for business?
I got my car ( that was rear ended) back from the mechanic, only to discover that the light on the right wasn't fixed - and they had glue the glass / plastic covering for it back together instead of replacing it with a new one and that the back door doesn't open. I just don't get it... why would they do that? I mean, do they think I will EVER take my car back to them after they ripped me off like this? I wonder if I am allowed to put the name of the garage here... just to warn other people... "A" took his car there too, to be fixed for something, and they did a crap job on his as well, it started smoking so badly he had to abandon it in the parking lot of a mall somewhere in Dubai - he ended up having to replace the engine later - which might have been what it needed all along, and if they had just told him that and done a proper job of repairing it, then he would have saved money, but no instead they decided to do jack shit and take his money for it.
Anyway... now my registration is up, but my car still isn't fixed so I can't renew the registration ...not sure what the hell I am going to do... :(
I have a new housemate. Which is good, because every bit helps when it comes to paying the bills. She is American too and works for the same company I do and is being dicked around by the management too. So we have a lot in common. She is really nice. I realize I like having other people around me. For some reason I have been isolating myself ever since my Sudanese friend moved away and my Egyptian friend just stopped talking to me for no reason after she found cooler, younger friends who liked to go out to bars with her - I'm a teetotaler, so I guess I wasn't much fun. I have no clue why she did it. Funnily enough, my Sudanese friend told me the Egyptian one would do this to me, but I didn't believe her. Anyway, now I have someone to talk to again - the only problem is that we end up gabbing so much we forget the time and then I suddenly realize it is way past my bed time. And that is probably why I suddenly get so sleepy at 3 PM on the dot every day. Today, I actually fell asleep at work in the middle of editing a newsletter article - I was literally typing in my sleep. When I jerked out of it, I saw I had typed a few words of complete nonsense. "Akkdrwn dfak"
This used to happen to me back in my University days. I fell asleep in Chemistry class every blessed day, no matter what I did, I couldn't stay awake. I tried everything, eating before class so my blood sugar would be up, still fell asleep. Not eating so I was really hungry, hoping that the hunger pangs would keep me awake, no such luck. I tried dressing warmly, so I didn't feel too cold and I tried dressing lightly so I was a bit too cold for comfort. But no matter what I did, I fell asleep. My notes for that class were absolutely useless. Sometimes as I wobbled in and out of consciousness, I continued writing notes. I am sure if I saw them now they would be pretty hilarious looking, but I remember going to study for my exams and looking in dismay at the notes that after a few words tapered off into complete nonsense and then just a line sliding off the page.
Another reason why I am falling asleep at work these days is that they have moved the whole marketing section, and now I am in an office with two guys who are graphic artists who don't make a noise all day. It is so quiet in there that I feel like I am making a huge ruckus when I move a piece of paper and the sound of my shoes when I get up to get a glass of water or use the rest room is like I am stomping all over the place. Sometimes the wife of one of the guys comes in, (she works in the company too) during her break, but he doesn't talk much to her either, so she has taken to pulling a chair up to my desk and talking to me. It's not that he is rude though, in fact he is quite nice and calm. It's just that he is one of the most mellow people I have ever met. Oh and he makes yummy, homemade, caramel fudge, which he shares with us.
The good thing about my new office though is that it is on the 2nd floor and the elevator is so slow; so being incredibly impatient, I am taking the stairs a lot and that hopefully will have a postive effect on my back side. It is also good because it is far far away from my former boss - if I am lucky, I will never have to see him again. The other day I was walking between buildings and he pulled up into the parking and started honking at me and I pretended I didn't see him and kept walking so he had to drive after me and roll down his window and shout to me :) - he couldn't remember the name of some hotel he had stayed in before in Switzerland and wanted me to tell his new PA. Why can't she just look in the god damned contacts file that I made in outlook. Its not like I had anyone helping me out. Oh yeah, that's right, she is a computer 'tard. Yesterday she sent me invoices from the travel agent asking me to verify if they were accurate - again, if she knew how to use her outlook properly this wouldn't be necessary since I filed all of his old emails regarding his trips in one folder there. He also told her to ask me for some CDs that someone had sent and she came and told me that she was looking for some CDs from Austria and I was like 'what the hell? Austria?" because we had no dealings with Austria while i was there. So she went and told him that I don't know and then he summoned me and when I got there he asked me where the CD's from Prague are - so it seems she needs a little geography lesson along with a basic computer packages class.
My 38th birthday is coming up next week, and I'm kind of depressed about that. My mom said she sent me a package, I am hoping there is some nice outfit or something in there, so I can get a little excited. I haven't bought new clothes in so long, sometimes I suspect people are snickering at my out-of-date style. If it weren't for the Christmas and birthday packages from back home, I think I would be a total fashion disaster. Speaking of new clothes... Fatema's big wedding is finally coming up next weekend, and I don't have a THING to wear! I dug out some old dresses that I bought quite some time back, and by Arab standards, they are just plain dull - they also seem way too low cut, and I don't remember them being like that and I cringe with embarrassment at the thought that I actually wore them - Lord Help me, I am getting really old and turning into quite a fuddy duddy.
I got my car ( that was rear ended) back from the mechanic, only to discover that the light on the right wasn't fixed - and they had glue the glass / plastic covering for it back together instead of replacing it with a new one and that the back door doesn't open. I just don't get it... why would they do that? I mean, do they think I will EVER take my car back to them after they ripped me off like this? I wonder if I am allowed to put the name of the garage here... just to warn other people... "A" took his car there too, to be fixed for something, and they did a crap job on his as well, it started smoking so badly he had to abandon it in the parking lot of a mall somewhere in Dubai - he ended up having to replace the engine later - which might have been what it needed all along, and if they had just told him that and done a proper job of repairing it, then he would have saved money, but no instead they decided to do jack shit and take his money for it.
Anyway... now my registration is up, but my car still isn't fixed so I can't renew the registration ...not sure what the hell I am going to do... :(
I have a new housemate. Which is good, because every bit helps when it comes to paying the bills. She is American too and works for the same company I do and is being dicked around by the management too. So we have a lot in common. She is really nice. I realize I like having other people around me. For some reason I have been isolating myself ever since my Sudanese friend moved away and my Egyptian friend just stopped talking to me for no reason after she found cooler, younger friends who liked to go out to bars with her - I'm a teetotaler, so I guess I wasn't much fun. I have no clue why she did it. Funnily enough, my Sudanese friend told me the Egyptian one would do this to me, but I didn't believe her. Anyway, now I have someone to talk to again - the only problem is that we end up gabbing so much we forget the time and then I suddenly realize it is way past my bed time. And that is probably why I suddenly get so sleepy at 3 PM on the dot every day. Today, I actually fell asleep at work in the middle of editing a newsletter article - I was literally typing in my sleep. When I jerked out of it, I saw I had typed a few words of complete nonsense. "Akkdrwn dfak"
This used to happen to me back in my University days. I fell asleep in Chemistry class every blessed day, no matter what I did, I couldn't stay awake. I tried everything, eating before class so my blood sugar would be up, still fell asleep. Not eating so I was really hungry, hoping that the hunger pangs would keep me awake, no such luck. I tried dressing warmly, so I didn't feel too cold and I tried dressing lightly so I was a bit too cold for comfort. But no matter what I did, I fell asleep. My notes for that class were absolutely useless. Sometimes as I wobbled in and out of consciousness, I continued writing notes. I am sure if I saw them now they would be pretty hilarious looking, but I remember going to study for my exams and looking in dismay at the notes that after a few words tapered off into complete nonsense and then just a line sliding off the page.
Another reason why I am falling asleep at work these days is that they have moved the whole marketing section, and now I am in an office with two guys who are graphic artists who don't make a noise all day. It is so quiet in there that I feel like I am making a huge ruckus when I move a piece of paper and the sound of my shoes when I get up to get a glass of water or use the rest room is like I am stomping all over the place. Sometimes the wife of one of the guys comes in, (she works in the company too) during her break, but he doesn't talk much to her either, so she has taken to pulling a chair up to my desk and talking to me. It's not that he is rude though, in fact he is quite nice and calm. It's just that he is one of the most mellow people I have ever met. Oh and he makes yummy, homemade, caramel fudge, which he shares with us.
The good thing about my new office though is that it is on the 2nd floor and the elevator is so slow; so being incredibly impatient, I am taking the stairs a lot and that hopefully will have a postive effect on my back side. It is also good because it is far far away from my former boss - if I am lucky, I will never have to see him again. The other day I was walking between buildings and he pulled up into the parking and started honking at me and I pretended I didn't see him and kept walking so he had to drive after me and roll down his window and shout to me :) - he couldn't remember the name of some hotel he had stayed in before in Switzerland and wanted me to tell his new PA. Why can't she just look in the god damned contacts file that I made in outlook. Its not like I had anyone helping me out. Oh yeah, that's right, she is a computer 'tard. Yesterday she sent me invoices from the travel agent asking me to verify if they were accurate - again, if she knew how to use her outlook properly this wouldn't be necessary since I filed all of his old emails regarding his trips in one folder there. He also told her to ask me for some CDs that someone had sent and she came and told me that she was looking for some CDs from Austria and I was like 'what the hell? Austria?" because we had no dealings with Austria while i was there. So she went and told him that I don't know and then he summoned me and when I got there he asked me where the CD's from Prague are - so it seems she needs a little geography lesson along with a basic computer packages class.
My 38th birthday is coming up next week, and I'm kind of depressed about that. My mom said she sent me a package, I am hoping there is some nice outfit or something in there, so I can get a little excited. I haven't bought new clothes in so long, sometimes I suspect people are snickering at my out-of-date style. If it weren't for the Christmas and birthday packages from back home, I think I would be a total fashion disaster. Speaking of new clothes... Fatema's big wedding is finally coming up next weekend, and I don't have a THING to wear! I dug out some old dresses that I bought quite some time back, and by Arab standards, they are just plain dull - they also seem way too low cut, and I don't remember them being like that and I cringe with embarrassment at the thought that I actually wore them - Lord Help me, I am getting really old and turning into quite a fuddy duddy.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
RAGE
I am just so full of rage and fury right now. I imagine that I feel the way postal workers must feel right before they .. well.. go postal.
They pay me so little now at work that I can't afford to send my kids to school. Nor can I afford the tutor who used to teach them at home. That means that I have to go home straight after work to teach them, but for some FUCKING reason the ASSHOLES at work think I should happily stay after for 4-5 hours extra like i used to for half the pay this time. I feel so mad I could literally kill someone. Especially since everyone in the company just got a bonus "for their hardwork and dedication in the past year" except for me. I can't tell you how hurt and angry and thoroughly enraged I feel about the way I have been treated. I try to ignore it, but I can feel it building up inside of me, and I feel like I am going to snap soon.
I don't know how to describe how I feel except that I am clenching my teeth as I write this because I want to so desperately smash and destroy everything within reach including my cell phone and this computer. I am so tired of people walking all over me and taking advantage of me, that I am afraid I will kill the next person who tries it.
They pay me so little now at work that I can't afford to send my kids to school. Nor can I afford the tutor who used to teach them at home. That means that I have to go home straight after work to teach them, but for some FUCKING reason the ASSHOLES at work think I should happily stay after for 4-5 hours extra like i used to for half the pay this time. I feel so mad I could literally kill someone. Especially since everyone in the company just got a bonus "for their hardwork and dedication in the past year" except for me. I can't tell you how hurt and angry and thoroughly enraged I feel about the way I have been treated. I try to ignore it, but I can feel it building up inside of me, and I feel like I am going to snap soon.
I don't know how to describe how I feel except that I am clenching my teeth as I write this because I want to so desperately smash and destroy everything within reach including my cell phone and this computer. I am so tired of people walking all over me and taking advantage of me, that I am afraid I will kill the next person who tries it.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
What's up with that???
I spend a lot of time wondering What's up with that? about a lot of things that happen around me here. Things like....
1. The lady who replaced me is from South Africa and is a Muslim - a convert obviously, since she is from an Afrikaaner background. I don't have any problem with that part; acutally, I don't have a problem with her at all. But what I find weird is the way she dresses. I mean, she just wears regular western clothes - including shirts with very short sleeves, sometimes made of kind of sheerish blouse material so you can kind of see her bra through it. Sometimes they are low enough you can even see a peek of cleavage too. She also wears trousers that aren't super tight (she is about 50 after all) but definitely show her shape. Her hair is cut really short too, and she doesn't wear hijab, so you can see her whole neck and ears and all that. Considering that I am always freezing in the arctic climate we have in the office and thus wear long sleeves with sweaters over them most of the time, I usually am dressed more modestly than she is. She is fasting during Ramadhan, but she is still dressing this way. So every time I see her, I wonder what's up with that?
If she was born into a Muslim family, I wouldn't wonder as much, because people don't always buy everything they are taught by their parents. That is why you find a lot of nominal followers of various religions. They say "I am Christian" or "I am Muslim" or whatever for the sake of family or culture but they haven't really taken the time to believe it and love it for themselves. But converts are usually very fervent and very strict. And I guess, especially in the case of a religion like Islam, which doesn't just lay down what you should believe but also seems to have a lot of lifestyle rules for dress, diet, etc. that are religious mandates, I alway assume that people who have chosen that religion would follow everything. Anyway, I just find it odd... and I'm incredibly nosy so I really want to know what her reasoning is there...
Speaking of her. I went up to her the other day to ask her how it's going - I actually meant Ramadhan and all that - but she thought I was talking about the job. She confessed (after only one month in that position) that she is beginning to regret taking it or wonder why the hell she left teaching. I didn't realize she was a teacher before, when she told me, I said "you must be nuts, if I had the teaching certfication, I wouldn't even consider this kind of job." So - again - what's up with that?! I mean who in their right mind would leave working with children and having nice hours and the whole summer off, to working for corporate @#%&@s?
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2. I have road rage, I really shouldn't drive. The traffic isn't even bad here, but I still am impatient and angry when driving. Of course, it is largely due to the inordinate number of idiot drivers on the road. No one here drives normally, it either has to be way too fast or so slow that the driver could literally get there just as fast walking. There was this car going around the round about in front of me and it was literally going around it so slowly that it was jumping around - like it would if you tap the gas and then braked immediately and then did it again repeatedly. Lord help that driver if he /she ever finds himself in Dubai at the Trade Center roundabout .
Of course my favorite two types of driving related idiocy are
1) when someone in the middle lane manages to hog all three lanes at once. He wavers back and forth between them, not allowing anyone to get around him because they can't anticipate which direction he will meander next.
2) when you are in the fast lane and someone in the lane next to you is sooo desperate to get in front of you (though you are driving fast) and get around the slow poke in front of them that they gun it, quickly swerve in front of you but then immediately brake and proceed to drive as slowly as the person they were trying to get in front of, who is now driving exactly beside them in the other lane - thereby trapping you at their turtle speed. Or you are happily speeding down the open highway, no one in front of you, no one behind you, and a car waiting to turn onto the road, hits the gas really hard just so they can get out infront of you but then does not continue to accelerate - forcing you to brake really hard. Really, WHAT is up with THAT?! Why do they absolutely NEED to get infront of you only to slow down? Why if they think it is their god given right to drive at the speed of an inch worm on tranquilizers do they need to be in the fast lane, why couldn't they have let you pass first? Why can't they just pick a lane and stick with it?
***************
3. The Chairman - HH - walked up to my desk on Sunday and asked me "you, what's your name?" and I said "qadfjafkljaslfj" and he said "what?" and i repeated "qadfjafkljaslfj" and he said "not kadfjafkljaslfj?"(alternate pronunciation of my weird name) and I said "well you could say it either way" and then he just walked away. What is up with that? I've been paranoid ever since. Are they plotting something new against me? Not that I know that he he was in on anything that has happened to me, but who knows ... And I have been working here 15 months and he only thought to ask my name now? Today I found out that some staff have been invited to the Palace for Iftar, so another paranoid thought crossed my mind that maybe he had suggested that I be put on the list, but since I wasn't invited someone *cough CEO cough* chucked me off of it. But then I think, Why the hell would he care if I was put on the list or not? He didn't even know my name until this past Sunday.
1. The lady who replaced me is from South Africa and is a Muslim - a convert obviously, since she is from an Afrikaaner background. I don't have any problem with that part; acutally, I don't have a problem with her at all. But what I find weird is the way she dresses. I mean, she just wears regular western clothes - including shirts with very short sleeves, sometimes made of kind of sheerish blouse material so you can kind of see her bra through it. Sometimes they are low enough you can even see a peek of cleavage too. She also wears trousers that aren't super tight (she is about 50 after all) but definitely show her shape. Her hair is cut really short too, and she doesn't wear hijab, so you can see her whole neck and ears and all that. Considering that I am always freezing in the arctic climate we have in the office and thus wear long sleeves with sweaters over them most of the time, I usually am dressed more modestly than she is. She is fasting during Ramadhan, but she is still dressing this way. So every time I see her, I wonder what's up with that?
If she was born into a Muslim family, I wouldn't wonder as much, because people don't always buy everything they are taught by their parents. That is why you find a lot of nominal followers of various religions. They say "I am Christian" or "I am Muslim" or whatever for the sake of family or culture but they haven't really taken the time to believe it and love it for themselves. But converts are usually very fervent and very strict. And I guess, especially in the case of a religion like Islam, which doesn't just lay down what you should believe but also seems to have a lot of lifestyle rules for dress, diet, etc. that are religious mandates, I alway assume that people who have chosen that religion would follow everything. Anyway, I just find it odd... and I'm incredibly nosy so I really want to know what her reasoning is there...
Speaking of her. I went up to her the other day to ask her how it's going - I actually meant Ramadhan and all that - but she thought I was talking about the job. She confessed (after only one month in that position) that she is beginning to regret taking it or wonder why the hell she left teaching. I didn't realize she was a teacher before, when she told me, I said "you must be nuts, if I had the teaching certfication, I wouldn't even consider this kind of job." So - again - what's up with that?! I mean who in their right mind would leave working with children and having nice hours and the whole summer off, to working for corporate @#%&@s?
**********************
2. I have road rage, I really shouldn't drive. The traffic isn't even bad here, but I still am impatient and angry when driving. Of course, it is largely due to the inordinate number of idiot drivers on the road. No one here drives normally, it either has to be way too fast or so slow that the driver could literally get there just as fast walking. There was this car going around the round about in front of me and it was literally going around it so slowly that it was jumping around - like it would if you tap the gas and then braked immediately and then did it again repeatedly. Lord help that driver if he /she ever finds himself in Dubai at the Trade Center roundabout .
Of course my favorite two types of driving related idiocy are
1) when someone in the middle lane manages to hog all three lanes at once. He wavers back and forth between them, not allowing anyone to get around him because they can't anticipate which direction he will meander next.
2) when you are in the fast lane and someone in the lane next to you is sooo desperate to get in front of you (though you are driving fast) and get around the slow poke in front of them that they gun it, quickly swerve in front of you but then immediately brake and proceed to drive as slowly as the person they were trying to get in front of, who is now driving exactly beside them in the other lane - thereby trapping you at their turtle speed. Or you are happily speeding down the open highway, no one in front of you, no one behind you, and a car waiting to turn onto the road, hits the gas really hard just so they can get out infront of you but then does not continue to accelerate - forcing you to brake really hard. Really, WHAT is up with THAT?! Why do they absolutely NEED to get infront of you only to slow down? Why if they think it is their god given right to drive at the speed of an inch worm on tranquilizers do they need to be in the fast lane, why couldn't they have let you pass first? Why can't they just pick a lane and stick with it?
***************
3. The Chairman - HH - walked up to my desk on Sunday and asked me "you, what's your name?" and I said "qadfjafkljaslfj" and he said "what?" and i repeated "qadfjafkljaslfj" and he said "not kadfjafkljaslfj?"(alternate pronunciation of my weird name) and I said "well you could say it either way" and then he just walked away. What is up with that? I've been paranoid ever since. Are they plotting something new against me? Not that I know that he he was in on anything that has happened to me, but who knows ... And I have been working here 15 months and he only thought to ask my name now? Today I found out that some staff have been invited to the Palace for Iftar, so another paranoid thought crossed my mind that maybe he had suggested that I be put on the list, but since I wasn't invited someone *cough CEO cough* chucked me off of it. But then I think, Why the hell would he care if I was put on the list or not? He didn't even know my name until this past Sunday.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Spunky and Sleepy - photos
Well the babies (kittens) are sleeping on my lap (see my previous post below) and here are some pictures of them
The cats here have such big ears - makes them look kind of like gremlins - but cute ones.
The cats here have such big ears - makes them look kind of like gremlins - but cute ones.
Spunky (the one behind) is a very adventurous little fellow. Earlier he was attacking my hair. After that, he started licking my arm and purring and he was kneading it with his feet, then i realized he was trying to nurse on it - it was so cute and sad. I think he thinks I am his mom now. When he wants a nap, he keeps coming to my lap.
I wonder what happened to their mother. I feel so sad about their little sibling who died and the other one who is lost and possibly starving to death out in the heat somewhere.
Sleepy is kind of feeble, but she does appear to be getting stronger, she doesn't roam around as much as her brother does - and yes Spunky is a boy - he has the tiny little minature parts to prove it.
They have been eating tiny bits of cat food and drinking rainbow milk diluted with water. I also gave them some egg yolk mixed with a wee bit of milk. Does anyone know what to feed kittens? There isn't any kitten food in the grocery near my home.
FYI, for those who don't know, canned cat food smells A LOT better than dog food. If I was starving and had no choice but to eat either cat or dog food, I would opt for the cat food any day. The chicken in gravy actually smelled and looked like chicken in gravy.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Max the Cat Killer
Last night I was sitting in my nice black pleather easy chair, when I heard children's voices outside - it was kind of creepy, but I thought it was my little guy's voice carrying over from the other room or he was running around outside trying to stalk his older brother in one of his elaborate play fantasies. He had dashed by me several times before already with toy guns and swords of all shapes and sizes stashed in his underpants, which doubles as a weapon belt and stuck down the back of his shirt. So, I ignored the voices, until ping! something hit against the window glass behind my chair, and I heard a voice say ..."excuse me"
Anyway, I sent Salman outside to see who it was. There was an Arab woman of some sort and child or two outside our gate. I am not sure what Arab nationality they were, it was dark and I am no good at telling Arabic accents from each other - except sometimes I can tell someone is an Egyptian. Anyway, they said "cat - you have cat?"
I told them "No! I have a dog" then woman looked at me and laughed, "no" she said "you have cat! I put cat inside"
"what?" anyway, somehow she let me know that she put 4 kittens in my yard. I told her "why? i have a big dog, I don't want your kittens!"
After that, I tried to look around, but I couldn't hear or see any kittens - it was too dark in the yard. So I thought maybe they had escaped to another yard - like that of the cat lady behind me. In the morning, there was no sign of the kittens either, so I didn't think more of it. But in the afternoon, they suddenly emerged - and the maid spotted them, but not before Max saw them first. By the time I got out there, there was one dead kitten lying to one side of the yard and one wet, muddy and badly shaken one huddled against the wall. I banished Max to the kitchen (because it has doors on either side that can close him in) while I tried to think what to do with the live kitten. Then I remembered that the lady had said she put 4 kittens in my yard - got to love how selfish some people are... but there was no sign of 3 and 4, and the live one I had didn't seem OK.
I called Salman to come out, and he asked me where the dead kitten was. I pointed to the side of the yard, so he went over there; and that was when he spotted # 3 hiding behind some cement slabs heaped near the wall. We never did find / spot # 4. I hope he / she is OK. Meanwhile, we have two very tiny kittens - one of them very energetic and curious (#3) which we called Spunky and the other one that we have called Sleepy because she just lies there and a cat killing dog. Strangely enough, they are all the same color, Max and Spunky and Sleepy. However, this arrangement obviously can't go on for long or another one of the kittens will end up dead if they unwittingly cross paths with Max again. And I can't expect Max to be reasonable and understand that they are just babies, it is normal instinct for him.
They are adorable, and I am so mad at that woman for just dumping them in my yard without even checking if I could care for them or not - or if there was a dog in our household.
The cat lady behind me gave me a cat carrier box to borrow for a couple days to keep them safe while I try to figure out what to do with the, and as I write this, Spunky is sleeping on top of Sleepy (keeping warm I guess). Max looked very offended when he saw me bringing the carrier in with them inside, and he was sniffing it all over the place - though he didn't seem to be getting aggressive - his tail was still wagging while doing it.
If any one of you living in the UAE is interested in adopting a very tiny kitten or two, let me know. They are so small, they aren't quite sure yet how to chew and basically just lick up their food.
I was supposed to go for a manicure today, because I have an interview tomorrow evening, but I had to deal with this, so I guess I will be going with chipped uneven nails - great! Thanks so much cat dumping lady...
Anyway, I sent Salman outside to see who it was. There was an Arab woman of some sort and child or two outside our gate. I am not sure what Arab nationality they were, it was dark and I am no good at telling Arabic accents from each other - except sometimes I can tell someone is an Egyptian. Anyway, they said "cat - you have cat?"
I told them "No! I have a dog" then woman looked at me and laughed, "no" she said "you have cat! I put cat inside"
"what?" anyway, somehow she let me know that she put 4 kittens in my yard. I told her "why? i have a big dog, I don't want your kittens!"
After that, I tried to look around, but I couldn't hear or see any kittens - it was too dark in the yard. So I thought maybe they had escaped to another yard - like that of the cat lady behind me. In the morning, there was no sign of the kittens either, so I didn't think more of it. But in the afternoon, they suddenly emerged - and the maid spotted them, but not before Max saw them first. By the time I got out there, there was one dead kitten lying to one side of the yard and one wet, muddy and badly shaken one huddled against the wall. I banished Max to the kitchen (because it has doors on either side that can close him in) while I tried to think what to do with the live kitten. Then I remembered that the lady had said she put 4 kittens in my yard - got to love how selfish some people are... but there was no sign of 3 and 4, and the live one I had didn't seem OK.
I called Salman to come out, and he asked me where the dead kitten was. I pointed to the side of the yard, so he went over there; and that was when he spotted # 3 hiding behind some cement slabs heaped near the wall. We never did find / spot # 4. I hope he / she is OK. Meanwhile, we have two very tiny kittens - one of them very energetic and curious (#3) which we called Spunky and the other one that we have called Sleepy because she just lies there and a cat killing dog. Strangely enough, they are all the same color, Max and Spunky and Sleepy. However, this arrangement obviously can't go on for long or another one of the kittens will end up dead if they unwittingly cross paths with Max again. And I can't expect Max to be reasonable and understand that they are just babies, it is normal instinct for him.
They are adorable, and I am so mad at that woman for just dumping them in my yard without even checking if I could care for them or not - or if there was a dog in our household.
The cat lady behind me gave me a cat carrier box to borrow for a couple days to keep them safe while I try to figure out what to do with the, and as I write this, Spunky is sleeping on top of Sleepy (keeping warm I guess). Max looked very offended when he saw me bringing the carrier in with them inside, and he was sniffing it all over the place - though he didn't seem to be getting aggressive - his tail was still wagging while doing it.
If any one of you living in the UAE is interested in adopting a very tiny kitten or two, let me know. They are so small, they aren't quite sure yet how to chew and basically just lick up their food.
I was supposed to go for a manicure today, because I have an interview tomorrow evening, but I had to deal with this, so I guess I will be going with chipped uneven nails - great! Thanks so much cat dumping lady...
Friday, August 14, 2009
Almost famous
I just took my boys to see GI Joe "The Rise of Cobra" - Name any super hero, action, kids movie that is rated PG or G and I have seen it. They are pretty much all I get to see as I don't have someone to go to other kinds of movies most of the time. This movie wasn't anything great - it didn't bore me, but I could have lived without seeing it. It was just there.
In the past couple of years, of this sort of movie my favorites have been the Batman Movie with Heath Ledger (because his joker was just awesome - really he totally overshadowed the guy who played Batman. I don't think they should even have the Joker in any other Batman movie because I really don't think anyone else can do it as well as he did) and Iron Man with Robert Downey Jr. He is another great actor - though a mess in real life if what you read in the tabloids is even half true. I guess like other kinds of artists actors are often emotionally unstable and tortured people - hence the messy lives and tragic deaths (like Heath's RIP).
Once they had a contest here in Dubai. There was supposed to be some kind of movie being filmed here starring Downey Jr, and they decided to cast the female lead locally. So a local paper sponsored a contest and called for women living in the UAE between the ages of 25 and 35, with dark hair and dark eyes, fluent English and "athletic" builds to send in their photos - head shot and full length shot. From those, they would pick some women to come in to audition. I remember my co-worker reading the article out loud in the office.
At that time, I was working for the Sheikh, and he was out of town, so things were a little slower in the office than usual - hence more time for gabbing. Anyway, we started joking around about sending in our photos. She told me that she and her friends were all going to send theirs and said "you have dark hair and eyes - you should just try it." I was like "yeah right.... they need someone with an athletic build." I still have no idea what an athletic build is supposed to be - when I hear it I Imagine some chick with really toned and kind of muscular looking arms. Anyway, as a lark, I ended up sending my photos in - the full length photo wasn't even a proper one - I was seated - but I didn't have any other photos, and it wasn't like I took the contest seriously enough to run out and get one taken.
Quite a bit of time passed, and we forgot all about the contest. The Sheikh returned, and we were right in the middle of a big event to which he had invited HH Sheikh Mohammed. I was checking my e-mail, and I got one that I almost overlooked because I thought it was junk mail. It was from the contest organizers telling me that my photos and initial self description had passed the first round of screening, and they would like me to come down and join other selected women for the first round of auditions. I just laughed. I showed my co-worker, and she tried to convince me to go. BUT the audition was on a work day, and the Sheikh - normally a really good natured guy - was more than a little tense; plus we were working way over time those days as it was to get the event off the ground, and as my luck would have it, the auditions were to be held in the same place where the Sheikh was going to be on the same day promoting his event. I couldn't bring myself to ask for the day off, given the time crunch we were in at work, and I am not the type to do something - like play hookie - and get away with it.
So... I didn't go, and I didn't think about it again... until I saw Iron Man, and Salman was asking me what the name of the actor who plays Iron Man is. When I told him, I remembered this - so I told him about it too - he was so mad at me
"Mommy" he almost shouted in frustration in the middle of the theatre, and then told the little guy "Mommy almost got a chance to be in a movie with Iron Man!!" (a bit of a distortion of the actual story) which then got my little one to also yell "Mommy!" in disappointed outrage. I am flattered that my sons think I would have made it all the way, but at the time I was a newly single working mother - my husband having taken off only a month or so before that, and I didn't think it was worth it to risk the job I actually had to go for an audition that I was not certain to pass. For all I know, they called half the women in Dubai for the audition. Plus, I think I made a good decision - I don't think that movie ever got made - or maybe it did and I just missed it - which is very possible since I only get to see kids movies most of the time.
From time to time, my boys remember this story, especially whenever they see that actor or some reference to Iron Man on TV and yell at me again for not going and ask me, "Why?!!". In their minds, I almost met Iron Man and was almost a movie star - and, for that, they are torn between feeling I am slightly cooler than they thought before and being totally frustrated with me for blowing it all.
In the past couple of years, of this sort of movie my favorites have been the Batman Movie with Heath Ledger (because his joker was just awesome - really he totally overshadowed the guy who played Batman. I don't think they should even have the Joker in any other Batman movie because I really don't think anyone else can do it as well as he did) and Iron Man with Robert Downey Jr. He is another great actor - though a mess in real life if what you read in the tabloids is even half true. I guess like other kinds of artists actors are often emotionally unstable and tortured people - hence the messy lives and tragic deaths (like Heath's RIP).
Once they had a contest here in Dubai. There was supposed to be some kind of movie being filmed here starring Downey Jr, and they decided to cast the female lead locally. So a local paper sponsored a contest and called for women living in the UAE between the ages of 25 and 35, with dark hair and dark eyes, fluent English and "athletic" builds to send in their photos - head shot and full length shot. From those, they would pick some women to come in to audition. I remember my co-worker reading the article out loud in the office.
At that time, I was working for the Sheikh, and he was out of town, so things were a little slower in the office than usual - hence more time for gabbing. Anyway, we started joking around about sending in our photos. She told me that she and her friends were all going to send theirs and said "you have dark hair and eyes - you should just try it." I was like "yeah right.... they need someone with an athletic build." I still have no idea what an athletic build is supposed to be - when I hear it I Imagine some chick with really toned and kind of muscular looking arms. Anyway, as a lark, I ended up sending my photos in - the full length photo wasn't even a proper one - I was seated - but I didn't have any other photos, and it wasn't like I took the contest seriously enough to run out and get one taken.
Quite a bit of time passed, and we forgot all about the contest. The Sheikh returned, and we were right in the middle of a big event to which he had invited HH Sheikh Mohammed. I was checking my e-mail, and I got one that I almost overlooked because I thought it was junk mail. It was from the contest organizers telling me that my photos and initial self description had passed the first round of screening, and they would like me to come down and join other selected women for the first round of auditions. I just laughed. I showed my co-worker, and she tried to convince me to go. BUT the audition was on a work day, and the Sheikh - normally a really good natured guy - was more than a little tense; plus we were working way over time those days as it was to get the event off the ground, and as my luck would have it, the auditions were to be held in the same place where the Sheikh was going to be on the same day promoting his event. I couldn't bring myself to ask for the day off, given the time crunch we were in at work, and I am not the type to do something - like play hookie - and get away with it.
So... I didn't go, and I didn't think about it again... until I saw Iron Man, and Salman was asking me what the name of the actor who plays Iron Man is. When I told him, I remembered this - so I told him about it too - he was so mad at me
"Mommy" he almost shouted in frustration in the middle of the theatre, and then told the little guy "Mommy almost got a chance to be in a movie with Iron Man!!" (a bit of a distortion of the actual story) which then got my little one to also yell "Mommy!" in disappointed outrage. I am flattered that my sons think I would have made it all the way, but at the time I was a newly single working mother - my husband having taken off only a month or so before that, and I didn't think it was worth it to risk the job I actually had to go for an audition that I was not certain to pass. For all I know, they called half the women in Dubai for the audition. Plus, I think I made a good decision - I don't think that movie ever got made - or maybe it did and I just missed it - which is very possible since I only get to see kids movies most of the time.
From time to time, my boys remember this story, especially whenever they see that actor or some reference to Iron Man on TV and yell at me again for not going and ask me, "Why?!!". In their minds, I almost met Iron Man and was almost a movie star - and, for that, they are torn between feeling I am slightly cooler than they thought before and being totally frustrated with me for blowing it all.
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