Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Downtown for Paint

Had an interesting trip downtown this morning. Took a few photos. Didn't go down the street with the butcher shops. That will have to wait until another day. Got a few good pictures of some "special" parking jobs, though. And had something interesting happen at the paint store - the one I absolutely dread going to - but it is about my only choice. There are a few others, but they cater more to the building trade selling ten-gallon buckets of paint and I only want a gallon to paint a bathroom. Anyway...

While at the paint store, waiting for my two
different "sample" colors to be mixed, I stepped outside to take a couple of pictures. I was standing on the sidewalk with my camera trying to get pictures and being especially careful to NOT get anybody in them, knowing that if I accidentally did photograph someone that that someone would absolutely flip-out - when two young "local" men crossed the street. I stood there waiting for them to go wherever it was they were going since I didn't want them to be in my pictures. [Although, in hindsight, I should have taken their pictures and reported them to the nearest police officer!] Instead of going anywhere, they just casually leaned up against a truck and stood there jabbering in Arabic and pointing at me, RIGHT NEXT TO ME! Okay. Fine. No problem. I'll go get my paint and then take my pictures. They followed me into the paint store. I paid for my paint, grabbed my bag and went out to my waiting car and driver and put the paint in the back seat. Just as I was getting ready again, with my camera, they came out of the paint store and came over to the car. Additional pictures will have to wait. They were just too weird and way, way, way too close to me for my personal comfort. I still have no clue what they wanted. I didn't stick around to find out. The whole situation was just eerie. Nothing really happened, but it was somewhat particular and slightly disturbing. The blonde hair and uncovered face likely had something to do with it. Ya, know, just because NOT everyone wears head-to-toe black makes them a piece of "uncovered meat." Assholes. And it is the young men like those two that give a lot of other men here bad names!

Typical parking... Watermelon
for sale on the street corner [taken from inside the car]... A couple of apartment buildings... Just a part of downtown... A lovely little city, isn't it?

Nothing spectacular. The butcher shops are the pictures that I really want to get!

4 comments:

  1. For a good laugh what about this moanaboutmen.co.uk
    That place seems to be paradise for rapists... the victim gets the blame and go to jail... very 6th century at the worst!!

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  2. I got a network error the two times I tried to go to moanaboutmen.co.uk, Anonymous. Send me the link so I can check it out, if you get the chance. Thanks!

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  3. People here get really excited when they see something that looks even vaguely western. THe other day me and my saudi friend were on the corniche chatting in english. This man comes out of nowhere and starts following us around. He is so conspicuous that it isnt even funny. When we sat down, he started circling around us like a vulture. eventually he just left. Even though i didnt care.... you cant help but be annoyed

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  4. Unfortunately, hermit, it wasn't nearly as annoying as it was strange and uncomfortable. I'm just thankful that there were so many people around and my driver - right there - and that this didn't happen in a dark alley somewhere...

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