Real Life

Absolutely nothing exciting happening here in The Sandbox. Not that that is a bad thing... Probably a good thing, actually. We've been home for a week. Bags are all unpacked, laundry is [finally] all done, routine of "real life" has once again set in. The Kids are happy that we are home and we are back on a schedule. Regular play times, etc.

The other pictures, the ones from the "new" camera have finally been downloaded. I can see them on the computer and just cannot figure out how to get them to my blog. Even had DH look at my problem the day before yesterday and he can't figure it out, either. We had friends over last night. One of them is a computer guru. He said I could probably bribe him with some kind of dessert or something and he would come over one afternoon and take a look at the problem [I told him I found a recipe for Chocolate-Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches - doesn't that sound absolutely delicious!]. There has got to be a way. Honestly, it seems like it should be so easy - and there is just no way to get them to Blogger with the PMB program. When we are next in the States I will pick up additional cards for "my" camera so that when we go to Australia and New Zealand next year I will not have this problem.

The most exciting thing going on in this household is that we have another pet - well, kind of. Another lizard has moved inside. Too hot outside for the little guy [gal?], maybe? Foolish lizard. Apparently little Mr. Lizard has no idea that The Great Tan Lizard Hunter lives here. I've tried to catch it a couple of times. Seems to like the kitchen. I don't want to see him/her hurt - and but for the fact that my Kids tend to spill food out of their bowls occasionally, there is not going to be a whole lot for the lizard to eat, here. We just had indoor pest control come and I had the entire house sprayed after I killed the three Rust Beetles and had DH kill the gigantic, huge "cocka rocha." So, little Mr. Lizard is going to go hungry unless he learns to like food from The Honest Kitchen mixed with beef.

Locally...

The Saudi Post is doing what it can to try to "win over customers." [How about finding that pink shoe of mine that you kept, then, or giving me the books you confiscated. Perhaps not taking a blue magic marker to magazines, or ripping out the pages you deem inappropriate would be a good start.] Do I use the Saudi Post? Sure to send mail that is not important. Do I use the Saudi Post to send packages to the States? Are you kidding? Unless it is something small and replaceable, never. If I want to send something to the States - and it is rare - but there have been a couple of occasions - I'll use DHL. That the Saudi Post is having a hard time regaining credibility "due to poor services and bureaucracy" [can we call a spade a spade, here? what about theft?!!] is through no fault of anyone but those at the Saudi Post. The president of the Saudi Post says, "In the past five years, Saudi Post has much developed to prove to its customers that change has happened and that we want to please our customers around the Kingdom." Well, what about the years prior to that? The mail that never arrived - the mail that was taken because someone else thought they should have something that was supposed to be mine - and what about the mail that you decided was inappropriate for me to have? I am not yet willing to let bygones be bygones. I am holding a grudge. There is a very good reason that "private mailing companies have gained a reputation in the Kingdom and the confidence of the Saudi public" over the Saudi Post - one only has to have their own personal mail go missing just a few times before you decide that enough is enough. The one issue that was not even casually mentioned in the article. Sure you can blame it on having to hand-sort things, blame it on whatever you want. I find it unacceptable in this day and age of electronic x-ray equipment that someone has to open all of my packages and inspect their contents - the perfect opportunity for someone to take what does not belong to them - before they can be delivered to me. Can someone tell me what other country or countries open and inspect all packages?

More H1N1 virus [how many confirmed cases are we up to, now?] which has nothing - absolutely nothing - to do with pork. Perhaps with this sage advice we could get paper towels put back in ladies' rooms, even if we can't get toilet paper? H1N1 virus is not the only virus in The Sandbox. 1,274 new cases of HIV diagnosed last year. In a country with a population of what - some 25,000,000 people - only 1,274 new cases of HIV seems relatively insignificant.

Almost comical. A man and woman get married and go to Malaysia for their honeymoon. The wife goes to the bathroom at the airport where they are getting ready to return to The Sandbox and the man gets on the plane without his new wife and comes home. The wife is seeking a divorce. Supposedly the new wife "exited the airport facilities to find her husband gone, and stricken with worry that something untoward may have befallen him searched the terminal high and low in vain." An inconsiderate husband, for sure, that would not wait for her before boarding the plane. But a woman that has the common sense of a rock if she felt the need to search the "terminal high and low" and not check in at the boarding gate to see if perhaps her husband had already gotten on the plane. The husband should consider himself lucky that the wife is now asking for a divorce, and look for a woman that has an I.Q. of at least two digits to be his next wife.

A municipality official here has been "sentenced to prison and dismissed from his post for accepting a bribe of SR200,000." Agree wholeheartedly that corrupt officials should be punished with prison terms and immediate dismissal from their jobs. Good grief. Imagine what would happen to governments - both local and federal - in the States if everyone who ever accepted a bribe were punished. On the federal level, the House and Senate would be virtually empty! Perhaps some of those most guilty will be replaced in the 2010 election. Oh, please, make that happen!!! [Start with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barney Frank, Charlie Rangel, Jack Murtha and Maxine Waters.]

Like I said, not much going on in The Sandbox. Another hot and sunny day, here. I'm going to work today. I'll be floating in the pool, reading Vengeance.