Stilettos in the Sand…...

Moving Day

2011-08-08T02:56:00.010+03:00

Stilettos in the Sand is my past life.

I'm going to try blogging again.

You can find me at Stilettos in the South.

Blogging

2011-02-27T19:11:00.005+03:00

Yeah. Not posting regularly. At. All. Just not up to it, lately [as in the past several months], and just not in the mood. Not that I don't have anything to say, especially with all that is happening in the Middle East right now... Got out when we should have. My goodness. It is like a tinderbox. Ready to go kaboomie at any moment. Give it time.

Did hear that Donald Trump said something worthwhile about us protecting Saudi's and getting screwed on oil prices. A sane voice out there. Do I want "the Donald" for President? Nope. Don't think he's the right guy. We need a REAL conservative and I'm not sure Donald is the one. Still far too early for this discussion.

Would like to thank Anonymous for all the hate-mail he/she (they) has (have) sent me. If I was that interested I'd go through Sitemeter and find out where exactly it is coming from. Just don't care all that much. At some point, when I'm bored out of my mind and have absolutely nothing better to do I'll get the IP number(s) to post and do a rant or two on the hate-mail sent as comments, which, by the way, are still sitting unpublished because this is my blog and I can say what I want and if you don't like it then get your own blog and post about the hair up your ass, at your place.

The student from Saudi? His last name? With so many ways to spell Al-Dossary... I'm just saying. [Would not surprise me in the slightest to find out that that is the way the jihadist's name is spelled. Not Al-Dawsari, as is currenly being reported. Al-Dossary is a very, very common last name in Saudi. Coincidence? The spelling? Ummm. I think not.] And the jugearedjackass wants to bring how many more of them here? 50-100 million of them?!? Whatthephuckfor?!! If you are not a reader of BNI's blog, you should be. Along with Creeping Sharia. Goes without saying that Pamela's blog is a must for a daily visit, and of course, WZ's place. With so many of them against us, it is hard to keep up with everything on a daily basis, but unless people here get their heads out of the proverbial sand, your granddaughter's are going to be wearing abeya's much sooner than you think. The camel's nose has long been in the tent. It must be stopped!

Oh, and speaking of Pamela's blog. Her book is excellent! Just finished it. Highly recommend it. The only negative critique I have is that the last few chapters seemed "rushed." Pamela knows her stuff and could have expanded on them with more detail. She did not hesitate on the early chapters of the book. [If anyone else has read it, let me know whether you agree or not - about those last few chapters...] Reading The Post-American Presidency, after reading The Roots of [the jugearedjackass's] Rage by Dinesh S'ouza has armed me with so much more information than I had before now, as to why the man must be stopped in his tracks. He cannot be allowed a second term. [I do plan to follow your advice, Pamela. I'm going to our next City Council meeting!] What were the words that came out of some mouthpiece just a day or so ago? "We're going to play for the big win." Oh, as in you didn't do that the last time? You know, with Acorn committing fraud for you, lying, cheating and stealing? Seriously. The man and his fist-thumping lard-ass wife both need to be taken down a few notches. And, soon. [Oh, pluheeze. For the love of Pete. It has absolutely nothing to do with racism. Don't care what color these two are. It is their hatred of the United States of America and Americans!]

In the meantime, I've got quite a few e-mails to respond to. You know who you are. I appreciate the e-mails you've taken time to send to me, and regret that I've not responded sooner. On my "to do" list. Whittling it down... I really have no excuse.

Stolen Sheep

2010-10-19T06:48:00.000+03:00

Ahh, yes. There IS a joke in here, somehow! Feeling sorry for the poor sheep... And, as per the norm, when the nationality of the culpert[s] goes unmentioned you can bet your last halala that it was a Saudi!

Blame game. So typical. Take no responsibility whatsoever for your actions. Blame someone else. A man - a Saudi, no doubt, since his nationality is not identified - cons a woman into being seduced. For Eight Years! Or three. And it is the man's fault. The woman claims, "she fell into the man's trap and did not have her full presence of mind." He was, supposedly, blackmailing her and using "some sort of magic." Sure. Of course he was. The money quote, "Sometimes, he would say that he would make me go bald if I refused to have sex with him." Oh. My. Gosh! Make you go bald?!? Phleeze. Calling B.S. on the story. There are just too many discrepancies. Lady, you had an affair. You got caught. Now, you are now just trying to cover your black bag covered butt. Since the man has been punished doesn't the woman deserve equal punishment? Yes. She does.

They just can't be "normal."

2010-10-17T19:41:00.004+03:00

It is a mentality that muslims have. Although, in my humble opinion, it is more like an inherrent defect - one that is innately inbred [with all that cousin marrying cousin shite going on in their culture why the heck could / should / would we expect anything less?!!]. Oh, yeah, sure. Someone go ahead and accuse me of lumping all muslims together and not giving the good muslims a pat on the back. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that not all muslims are terrorists and that argument just doesn't fly with me [lest we forget that almost all terrorists are muslims!]. They can't even be "normal" at Disney World and have to act like the barbaric scourge they really are. Eliminate muslims along with anything and everything islam and the United States of America would be a much stronger, safer, kinder and better place.

Blogging help...

2010-10-17T09:50:00.000+03:00

Can someone share with me the code to put something "below the fold?"

Is this something "Blogger" can even do?

Any assistance will be much appreciated.

BC

2010-10-17T09:45:00.002+03:00

Baby Coen. Absolutely LOVING having BC spend time with me. It is simply amazing how much he looks like DS when he was a baby... DIL has gone back to work, part-time, and BC comes and spends Thursday night and Saturday night with his Bebe and Bumpa. I can just hold him for hours. Even when he is sleeping. Cannot get enough of him. Love Him To Death! Pictures soon.

Still getting the house set up and unpacked. Not everything made it. Big surprise. However, in all that did make it only one item was broken and that can be fixed - the glass to the frame of my camel tapestry that we got in Sharm el Sheikh. That the shelves to my buffet didn't make it is kind of a problem. The buffet is pretty much useless without them. All of my china sits on the dining room table at this point, until the shelves can be replaced [new ones made - I'll never be able to replace the shelves!].

As far as the house... It will suffice for a year. It is only a rental. Designed by a man. So much useless space - no woman would ever design something like this. I can only reach to the second shelf in all of my kitchen cupboards. The third and top shelves? Even DH at 6'4" can barely reach to third shelf. Looks like the stool will become a permanent fixture in our kitchen. The loft? It is huge and has no purpose, really. Supposedly this was the model home for this development some years ago. A professional decorator came in and did the colors and the draperies. Someone got ripped off. Fugly as sin. [Pictures of the house to come, later.] Wallpaper in the kitchen behind both the sink and cook top. Who puts wallpaper in a kitchen?!? It cannot be wiped clean. There are no back-splashes. In ten months or so, when we figure out what we are doing and where we are going - toward the end of our lease - I can look for a house that is much more suitable.

We miss Sterling very, very much. Saffrynn has always been a Mommy's girl and clingy. She is really, really clingy now. Oh, and she is also a FABULOUS little Mommy's helper when BC is here. If BC is napping and so much as moves an arm, Saffy is right there next to me to tell me that the Baby is stirring. Honestly, I had no idea she was going to take to BC like she has - I was expecting quite the opposite.

Do I miss the Sandbox? He11 NO! I have had the opportunity to read Arab News in the last couple of days, now that we finally have our computer set up - and internet - kind of. [A long story, but Comporium - the phone/cable/internet company - is still waiting for a letter from the management company of the house so that they can install outlets. Right now, we have cables running through and around the house that DH has jury rigged to allow us to at least get on the computer downstairs. More on the management company, later, too. Stay far, far away from TR Lawing if you are planning to rent in the Charlotte / Rock Hill / Tega Cay areas of N.C. and S.C. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more unprofessional group that manages rental homes.]

Back to the Sandbox. Did anyone catch that Saudi women have launched a campaign for women only hospitals? Ridiculous. The insanity there just does not stop. Of course, if the men would just stop being such - oh, I dunno - perverts? - then there would be no need for the segregation of men and women to the degree that there is, now. Speaking of the men... There are some 900 children in Egypt who are fatherless because Saudi men go there to phukk and then refuse to take responsibilty for their actions. Shocker! Hard to even fathom any sympathy for the fact that some 500,000 Saudis are unemployed. Saudis don't work. Well, okay, a few do, but the majority? Ummph umm. Work is beneath them. I have said in the past that if all the expatriate workers left the Sandbox then it would come to a dead halt and they'd be back to living in tents and driving camels.

Yeah. It is totally totally wrong of me to do a post on the beauty of BC and then include insanity from the Sandbox. But, I want to get back to blogging... May as well just right jump in!

Moved!

2010-10-10T20:40:00.004+03:00

The movers left yesterday after spending two days at our new home. Things are in complete and total chaos. We have internet at our community clubhouse, but will not have internet or cable until later this week. Looking forward to blogging again, soon! As well looking forward to keeping up with all of the blogs I used to read.

Funny that Saffrynn will be the biggest dog in our new community. That will be odd for a while, I think, after spending seven and a half years with Sterling who has always been the biggest dog on the block... More about that to come. [Suffice it to say, for the time being, that we are in an "older" neighborhood.]

I will be babysitting for Coen today for the first time. You cannot imagine how excited I am about that!!!

Sterling

2010-10-02T07:33:00.001+03:00

...is gone. He left us last night. His back legs gave out and he could no longer get up. I knew it was time. Our lives will be so different without Sterling. He has crossed the bridge and gone on to meet friends he never knew. You were a fabulous companion Sterling. You made it through the entire seven years we spent in the Sandbox and you will never know how much I needed you then and you were there for me. You will be missed in so many ways, but so many great memories of you will live on with us forever! Rest in peace Big Boy.

Two weeks...

2010-09-25T07:07:00.000+03:00

We are moving to our own house! Our "stuff" finally arrived from Saudi and the movers will be delivering it to our new address very soon. I'll have MY computer back. I can blog regularly, again. The Kids will be with us and constantly under foot like they are supposed to be. We are incredibly thankful that Sterling is doing as well as he is! I suspect we do not have much longer... The really good thing is that I will be twenty minutes away from my new grandson!!!

If anyone is still reading my blog, I need some advice. What kind of washer and dryer do I buy? I really had my mind set on Maytag. Why? Because my Maytag washer and dryer lasted so long and gave us almost no trouble but for the dryer breaking - once! Maytag is not really Maytag any more. It was bought by Whirlpool three years ago. So much for getting Maytag appliances. The salesmen at HHGregg and Sears are trying to sell me Sanyo or LG. Does anyone have a recommendation one way or another?

In Remembrance of This Day

2010-09-11T09:11:00.000+03:00

What happened on September 11, 2001, still makes me reel. And we are allowing muslims to take over OUR country, why?

Oh, sure, that lame argument "not all muslims are terrorists" will be tossed around today like it has been for the last nine years, but I, for one, am not buying into it. It is creeping into American culture like a plague and the majority of Americans are to nambsy-pansy to do a dayum thing about it. "It," being islam and the take over of what is truly the finest country in the whole wide world, MUST BE STOPPED. If "it" isn't? Lord Help Us All.

It is official.

2010-08-27T14:23:00.003+03:00

Baby Coen was born last night at 11:12P. He weighs 6 pounds and 5 ounces and is 19 inches long.

Excited? Barely covers the emotion. Thrilled beyond belief!

Say, what?!? Is this what "we" want?

2010-08-19T19:21:00.005+03:00

http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/world/story/8159176/

Americans better wake the heck up - and pdq! Coming to a city near you...

Most certainly to the Ground Zero mosque. Fausta's blog has the details. Can't link...

And... Life goes on.

2010-08-10T09:00:00.000+03:00

Slowly. Almost three full months in the States, now. Status? Pretty much the same as it has been since I got here, but for of course, Sterling. The job DH got that was going to move us to the Northeast? Turns out the guy who interviewed him in NC didn't have the authority to offer DH the job. So, no job. Not that that is a bad thing. I was absolutely dreading the thought of moving to New York. Now a moot issue. Stilettos in China? That could possibly be next. Here is how I am approaching that: After seven years in The Sandbox anything else is going to be a cake walk! We will know if we are moving to China shortly. Do I have any readers from China? Bejing... Any American readers? Can anyone offer any insight to living in China? I have been to Singapore, but not China. Nervous about the dog situation there. Something like a 45 day quarantine? Miss Pretty a/k/a Saffrynn is NOT going to like that.

Sterling is doing alright. Getting around very, very well. The surgery was two months ago and for a week afterward he improved dramatically and then had a bit of a set back. Our vet - who is absolutely fabulous - put us back on track, though, with narcotics. He was fast to determine that Sterling was still in pain, even though the vets at N.C. State assured us that Sterling was not. I have mixed feelings about N.C. State Vetrinary Teaching Hospital. So, after a few extra weeks of heavy duty drugs Sterling was pretty much back to his old self. That is a very very good thing. We know we do not have a lot longer with our Boy. We will just continue to enjoy every minute of every day with him and make sure that he is not suffering at all.

As for blogging and following blogs? I get to do very little. My choices are to use the laptop - which isn't a viable choice - or to use the computer at the home we are currently staying at. Suffice it to say that I just am out of the blogging loop for the time being. I follow very few and visit only a small handful of the blogs I used to follow every single day. And watching Fox News? Well that doesn't happen as much right now, either. Doesn't necessarily change my previous opinions on anything. I still think that Americans are being far too PC and it is NOT going to help us in any way, shape or form. Muslims still want us all dead or want us to conform. It is NOT a two way street with that sect and it NEVER EVER will be. Wake up Americans! Allowing a mosque near the WTC is the WRONG thing to do. Tell those cameljockeygoatphuckkers that they can build another mosque when we can build a Synagogue in The Sandbox. Not gonna happen. Why the heck are we bowing down to them? Oh. Wait. That's right. Who can forget the jeja bowing down to the king? How come so few of us see and understand what is happening, here?!?

A Sterling Update

2010-07-01T14:26:00.006+03:00

Sterling's surgery took place on June 7th. We brought Sterling home on Friday, June 11th. He did pretty good the first week he was home, and then kind of took a turn backward. On Wednesday of last week we headed to Dr. Metz's office so that Sterling could be "hydrated." And, of course to get a prescription for more pain medication. Fentanyl patches. Sterling gets a new 100 mg. patch every three days. Poor little guy has lost weight - he quit eating - and at this point refuses to eat anything but chicken and rice. Whatever I can get him to eat is what I will feed him. We probably do not have much more time with Sterling. My heart hurts about this.

In the meantime, life in the States has been going along... We bought a vehicle. A 2007 Jeep Commander. Oh my gosh. It sure isn't a Tahoe! DH says the Jeep is our "temporary" vehicle. Umm hmm. If five or six years is temporary. For a "temporary" vehicle he is making it pretty permanent. Yesterday he attached a tow bar [?] to it so that he can pull his boat. Hopefully, the Jeep will be DH's "temporary" vehicle. I'll be looking at BMW's...

Looks like DH has a job. That is a good thing. Waiting on the final "yes," from the HR department, but the Chief Pilot says that the job is DH's. So as soon as the final "yes" comes, we will head to the northeast to find a place to live. The northeast. Where it is cold and where it snows. I'll narrow it down when we have the final "yes." From The Sandbox where it is 120 degrees for nine months of the year to the northeast where it is cold and it snows for nine months of the year. No. Suffice it to say that I am not particularly thrilled with this development, but you have to go where the jobs are, so it really is not even a choice.

And, speaking of The Sandbox... One of the things I do NOT miss at all is the call to prayer being loud-speakered FIVE times a day. Yeah. I know the jugearedjackass thinks it is one of the most beautiful sounds, but let me tell you it is not. I was sitting outside the other day with Sterling and listening to the sounds of the woods. That is a beautiful sound. The call to prayer is nothing more than an intrusion. A loud, obnoxious intrusion. If I never hear it again, it will be to soon.

What are the Saudi's up to? The usual insanity. If a woman breast-feeds a man then they become related and they can interact without fear of being arrested by the religious police. Huh?!? Did anyone catch the recent article, which I think I saw at Weasel Zipper's place, about how a dozen people who were in "mixed" company were partying and got caught by the "religious" police? All of them were immediately thrown in jail, but for one young woman who was a minor - she was ten* - who was given 80 lashes. You cannot tell me with a straight face that lashing people is what a civilized country does for punishment. Sure, they lash people in Singapore, too. But not nearly to the degree that people get lashed in Saudi Arabia. Oh, and what else? They beheaded two people and nailed the headless body of one of those to a cross. Civilized? No. Not at all. Am I going to miss Saudi Arabia? NEVER!

*She was not really ten. But it isn't a secret that ten-year-old girls are most definitely old enough to be wives in Saudi Arabia. A lot of pedophiles there. Oh, sure. Like in the States, right? Only in Saudi, sexual assault on little girls [and boys, too] is legal.

Thank You. Everyone!

2010-06-14T00:56:00.006+03:00

The friendship, the support. Everything. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. The Boy, Sterling, is my Baby. Yes. I have my hands full right now. No. I've not responded to individual comments like I have in the past. Honestly, if DH wasn't with Sterling right now, I wouldn't even be on the computer.

There is more to come with Stilettos in the States, at some point. Oh, Hell Yes, there is. I promise. You have no idea how good it is going to feel to know that I no longer have to bite my tongue and say what is allowed to be said. I can say what truly goes on there on that side of the world. I can tell you all this much, though. I was there for seven years. I blogged for four [five?] or more of those years. Did I ever one single time say that I liked it there? No. [Find me ONE place in my archives where I have EVER said I liked Saudi Arabia. You can't find ONE single time and you WON'T.] I did not like it there. I tolerated it there. You will never ever in a gazillion years hear me say that I liked living in Saudi Arabia. As a matter of fact, I just barely tolerated it. Nothing good to say about Saudi Arabia right now. Not a single teeny tiny positive little thing. Well, okay. I take that back. Manohmanohman do I miss my house "assistant," or in Saudi-speak, my Houseboy. The new houseboy's name? It is me. And my name is Beth, not Sabra. I choose Sabra when I started this blog for my name then and there. For more reasons that had to do with my DH's job than for my keeping who I was secret. Although, in all honesty, believe me, that, too, was a concern. You do what you have to do when you live in a third world assbackward country. My name is Beth.

For the time being, however, there are only two priorities I have everyday. The biggest, most important being Sterling. Right behind him, though, Saffrynn. These days have not been our easiest. I suspect they are not going to get any easier with Sterling and osteosarcoma.

Cancer. Why isn't there a cure yet? Or, even a preventative shot like for the flu? Yeah. In our dreams. Right? They can't "plug the hole" for the oil spill [Heh! on the jugearedjackass's watch, no less - imagine if it was Bush!], how could I expect a cure for cancer?

In the meantime, before Stilettos in the States comes alive with the real author, "Beth!," [if you continue to call me Sabra, I will understand and will in no way be offended - I promise] please contine to be as patient with me as you have so marvelously done so far as you have sat out our move from The Sandbox to the States and now with what is one of the very all time lowest points in ~~my life~~ our lives - the osteosacroma with The Boy. Sterling. Right now? It is not about me. In my world? It is all about Sterling. And, Saffrynn, too... Stilettos in the States will happen. And if you think for one skinny second I will hold back about my life in Saudi Arabia, you are sorely mistaken. Not a chance.

Sterling is Home!

2010-06-12T15:11:00.004+03:00

Brought The Boy home yesterday, late afternoon. He was happy, happy, happy to see us and we were happy, happy, happy to see him. Saffrynn was happy, happy, happy to see her Big Brother. No - not happy. Estatic!

Geez. What a nasty gash our poor little guy has on him right now though. It is a "Y" shaped incision with no less than 150 staples. Big and gnarly. There is quite a bit of after care. Fine by me. Massaging his left leg every couple of hours for ten minutes or so to alliviate the swelling is not a problem. Hot, dry compresses every hour or so to the wound to alliviate the swelling is not a problem either. The team of vets at N.C. State Vet School assure us that we have removed the pain. No, we have not "cured" the cancer, but with the tumor removed the pain is gone. It will be early next week when we have all of the pathology back.

Have to say that Sterling is doing okay on three legs. Tripod. DH called him Tripod. No, Sterling is not running and jumping on the bed yet with three legs but that will come in short order. [We need to keep him from jumping on the bed for at least three weeks, so until then the boxes remain on the bed at all times unless we are actually in the bed. Boxes on the bed were the deterrent before we had the surgery done and something told me not to put them out in recycling quite yet.]

We will be going next week, back to N.C. State Vet School to talk to the oncologist and the surgeon, again. Not quite sure how we will proceed. Not saying we won't do chemotherapy, but not convinced we will go that route quite yet, either.

The good thing: Sterling is home!

Sterling AND Stuff

2010-06-09T22:46:00.002+03:00

Sterling could be coming home as early as tomorrow! Yay!!! But more likely he will be released on Friday morning. TJ, the 4-year vet student says that Sterling is healing and progressing nicely. He is up and walking already on three legs. TJ assures me they are keeping my Boy pain-free and as comfortable as possible. TJ told me last night to expect a very large incision. Okay. Thanks, TJ, so that I can be prepared.

Man oh man oh man. This week has been just awful. Awful!

The dear friends we are staying with are not home right now. Their eldest daughter passed away on Monday in New York. Again with the sledge hammer to the gut. For us. And even worse for dear friends. May you rest in peace beautiful Anita... 41 years old. Much, much, much too young. Sadly Anita leaves behind her husband of 20-something years and five sons, along with her two sisters and their families and of course her parents - our dear friends.

The good news, finally, though, is that the two e-boxes we packed that have clothes and other relatively necessary items - the Kids tables, etc. - will be here tomorrow afternoon. We were told the e-boxes would reach the States in 7 to 10 days. Ha. Just like many of the things we were told by Aramco, prior to our leaving Saudi, 7 to 10 days is a big fat lie. The e-boxes left Saudi on May 12th and today is what - June 9th? At least be honest and tell us it is going to be almost a month. I would have packed differently. I might have even fed-exed some of our stuff to us. No matter. Tomorrow is okay. At least I don't have to keep wearing the same pair of shorts over and over and over, now. Oh, and I can put on a different pair of shoes, too!

If Sterling comes home tomorrow, also? Well, then life is getting better and I won't even bother dwelling on all of the bad that has happened this week. Yeah, well, okay. Maybe there is still a bit of "dwelling" that might need to be done...

Sterling

2010-06-08T14:11:00.005+03:00

Sterling had his surgery yesterday. The right front leg was amputated. We cannot see him until late today or tomorrow. He is in ICU, heavily medicated. It is unlikely that we will do further treatment. I spoke to Mike Metz last night, our vet, who referred us to N.C. State. Mike is also a friend. Yes, certainly chemotherapy and radiation are options to consider but not necessarily the route we will go with Sterling. Sterling is not a young Great Dane. Mike is not telling us to NOT go further but he is also not encouraging it. I understood exactly what he was telling me. I do not want Sterling to suffer at all and I do not want him to be in any pain.

We have removed the source of his pain by having his leg amputated. We know that the cancer is aggressive and that it will, in the short term, kill Sterling. Not that we will let it get that far. We will know. I will know. Sterling will NOT suffer. I will in no way allow that to happen. Our plan will be to keep Sterling happy and comfortable. He will be able to go for walks again and he will be able to play tug. Sterling will also be able to jump up on the bed again and he will be able to get on and off the couch. If you do not already know this about Great Danes, they are truly "couch potatoes." They like walks but laying on the bed or couch is ~~good, too~~ better.

Sterling's little sister, The Baby, paced and worried with me yesterday. Awww. Isn't that sweet?! What a good little girl she is. Saffrynn. The Baby's name is Saffrynn. Saffy senses my anxiety, no doubt. And, let me tell you that yesterday there was a lot of anxiety.

The surgeon that removed Sterling's leg will check in with us twice a day. He will call us each morning to let us know how Sterling is doing and again in the late afternoon or early evening. As of late yesterday - early yesterday evening - all was well with Sterling and he was coming out of his fog from the surgery but still being sedated with heavy duty pain medication. The leg has been sent to pathology and we will know more in a day or so. I think I know all I need to know, though, at this point. And all I need to know is that Sterling is okay.

Stilettos in the States will have to wait...

2010-06-05T16:44:00.004+03:00

Bigger things happening. Not good things. Bigger things.

The Boy. Osteosarcoma. Bam! Got hit in the gut with a sledge hammer this week on that one. Took my breath away.

Our trip from Saudi to North Carolina was a very long one. We left from Bahrain and flew to Amsterdam. I was told when I made the arrangements that both The Boy and The Baby would be let out of their crates at the "Doggy Hotel" to relieve themselves and to stretch. That did not happen. Apparently the layover has to be more than four hours in order for that to happen. We only had a three and a half hour layover. So, neither The Boy or The Baby got let out to do business or get a little stretching in before our flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

In Detroit, I was allowed to take them out of their crates and take them outside to do business. It was in Detroit where I saw that The Boy's metal water dish was smack dab in the middle of his crate with the prong ends up. Poor guy - laid on that for some twenty hours? [Why he didn't push it out of the way is beyond me.] As I took The Boy out of his crate he was limping on his right front leg, badly. Actually he wasn't limping on his leg - he wasn't using his right front leg at all. Whoa! What happened there?!? He was fine when we left Bahrain.

I took him to the vet, here, as soon as I could get him in and we had x-rays taken and got some medication - pain meds, arthritis medication - for him and we were told to follow up in two weeks and we were told that if it was arthritis then we would see a noticable improvement. The Boy did NOT improve. He got worse. I didn't wait the full two weeks to follow up. We went to the vet last Friday - a week ago, yesterday. Dr. Metz - our vet here - the vet we had for many years prior to moving to Saudi Arabia - said that he believed that there was something much worse going on than arthritis and he referred us to the N.C. State Vet School. We went this week for our appointment with the neurological specialist.

BAM! Osteosarcoma. Bone cancer. A very painful and aggressive cancer. We were told that we have six to eight weeks with The Boy. Sterling. The Boy's name is Sterling. I have not published the names of my four-legged Kids on my blog before for safety reasons. I did not want someone in The Sandbox calling Sterling by name. More a trust issue than a safety issue, I guess - or both. I had my reasons. Sterling. Poor little guy. Sterling is in pain. Was in pain. We are managing the pain with a Fentanyl patch and with Tramadol and Rimadyl.

There are options. Choices. None of them are particularly good. Because Sterling is in so much pain the plan, as of right now, is to amputate his entire right front leg. The tumor is in his shoulder. That will not, of course, stop the cancer from speading and growing. If we remove his leg we will be able to let Sterling be relatively pain-free - again, with pain management medication - probably for three to four months. That is the likely scenario for Sterling's time with us. Radiation and chemotherapy? Another option. One that we are not going to choose. At most it would buy us another ten or twelve months. Tops. It is far too much to put a dog in his senior years through. We went that route with our Rottweiler, Sergeant, many years ago, when he was diagnosed with triple cell carcinoma. Did we do it for Sergeant or did we do it for us? Either way it was stressful for him. It was painful. I will not do that to Sterling, too.

Surely there is a reader out there who has been through much the same that we are going through right now. Any recommendations? Thoughts? I have done some research and am changing his diet to a high-protein low carbohydrate food. The recommendation of the neurologist was "puppy chow." Does Sterling like it? Heck no. I'll be doing more research on high protein diets for dogs and will figure out what is going to be best for Sterling.

Sick. I am sick to my stomach. I am sad. Sterling is my baby! The Boy. I am absolutely heart-broken that the poor guy has to go through what he is going through. I would happily trade places with him. DH and I sat and talked last night and we are wondering if we are doing the right thing. Amputating his leg. Once again, we wonder whether we are doing this for Sterling or whether we are doing this for us.

Posting will be light. Maybe even non-existent for a while.

Paperwork, SEX and WINE

2010-05-18T17:07:00.009+03:00

DH has asked me to refrain from saying some of the things I really, really want to say until some retirement paperwork is complete and the money has been safely deposited... No sense risking that, so for the duration - until everything is complete - mum is the word.

Except... I have got to say that Miss ~~Michigan~~ muslim wining the Miss USA pagent irks the heck out of me. Of course, now that we all know such a pious muslim woman is also a pole dancing queen... [I'm on a computer that isn't letting me do cut and pasting - for whatever reason - so I can't get the link to work - but it's all over the interwebs - just google it.] Oh, sure. Someone try to tell me that everyone sins and that everyone makes mistakes. Not everyone is quite as hypocritical as one particular ~~religion~~ cult, though. [Don't even bother commenting and trying to tell me that I am being prejudiced or judgmental. This is MY blog. I am home now. I can say whatever I want and if you don't like what you're reading, then go somewhere else.] Miss Oklahoma didn't win because of her answer about Arizona. We all know that. It is "Carrie Prejean II." Miss Oklahoma is a stunning beauty! Much, much prettier than Miss muslim whose win was bought and paid for by her relatives. All part of a terrorist network, by the way. Debbie Schlussel has the whole scoop. [Can't link...] The win was also political correctness gone mad. It will be interesting to see what all comes out of that and to see if she gets stripped of the crown she is not deserving of. Oh. And, it will be interesting to see if a fatwa gets put on her head. I mean, after all, what self-respecting muslim woman would parade herself in front of the entire world in a bikini! Pfft. [I didn't watch the pagent. I did see, somewhere, that Miss muslim stumbled after her win. Regret missing that - but since she didn't actually fall... I bet along with being a pole dancing queen she is also a heavy drinker. Ut-oh. She better watch out. She'll be giving muslim women all over the world a bad name.]

Have set up a new blog site. As soon as I get the kinks worked out I'll link it and then everyone can visit me at my new "home."

Truly I appreciate all of the well wishes and the HUGE welcome back to the States. I think I'm finally on the right time zone, now, and that life is getting back to normal. As normal as it can be when you don't have a home and don't know where you're going to live, next, and don't have jobs, or a vehicle [yet], and all that kind of daily life details. Wine. Wine helps a lot. Sterling. Alexander Valley. Louis.M.Martini. It is all good! I no long have to refer to it as grape juice. I can call it wine. And, as Linda said in a comment, I can actually spell SEX and do not have to type "xes" ever again. Not that I have anything to say about SEX right now, but to know that I am not being censored and that I won't be blocked from my own blog by typing "WINE" or "SEX" sure feels nice...

We Made It!

2010-05-12T20:30:00.003+03:00

We are home!!! The United States of America! We made it. My gosh, what a long, long trip it was. Thirty-one hours? Longer? We left Saudi at 7:30P on Monday night. We arrived at the home we will be staying at until we find a home last night at 8P - or 3A Saudi time - Tuesday.

The Kids did just fine considering the ordeal. This has all happened so fast and the last couple of weeks with packing, inventory and movers - then the trip - which, by the way I did by myself - DH will be home in a few days - he had to finish some paperwork - it has all just been one big whirlwind. Some of it has not quite "sunk in." I am exhausted, both physically and mentally. The next couple of days are going to be "down time" for me. I need it. Down time and wine. Lots of wine!

This blog will switch over to Stilettos in the States. Expect that soon. Oh, don't think for a skinny minute I don't have some things to say about my life for the past seven years... I do. Some of it may not be all good, either. I bit my tongue while I lived there. I don't have to bite my tongue and keep quiet about what life was REALLY like in Saudi Arabia ever again.

Overwhelmed.

2010-04-27T10:27:00.003+03:00

THAT is an UNDERSTATEMENT! You cannot possibly imagine all that has to be done in order to leave The Sandbox. It is more difficult to get out than it is to get in, and getting in wasn't all that easy, either. Posting here will not resume until I am back in the States. Shortly.

To everyone that has visited and wished me well... Thank you ALL so much!

Oh My Gosh. Big Crimp in Plans. BIG! Updated.

2010-04-22T15:49:00.002+03:00

KLM has will NOT fly The Boy home. They will take The Baby, but not The Boy. I am working on it right now. This will change absolutely everything. I am in a panic!

Update: Crisis is no longer a crisis. Panic is no longer a panic. You cannot imagine, though, the PANIC that set in for a few minutes...

KLM said they couldn't fly The Boy due to the "embargo." The "embargo" doesn't start until May 15th and my return ticket is for June 7th. Ahh, The Kids are not returning with me. I am returning alone. So, clearly a misunderstanding, there. KLM also thought they were flying The Baby in the Business Class cabin, with me [which, in The Baby's mind, no doubt, is where she, too, ought to be]. I made it clear when I got the ticket that I have a STANDARD Poodle, not a "little" Poodle. The person that did my ticket must have misunderstood because he had The Poodle flying under the seat in front of me. Works for me! Can I get the seat next to me for The Boy, please?

There is going to be a little stress, here. Gee. 'Ya think? Getting The Kids out and home safely will be my number one priority, though, and whatever else happens, happens. No sense in stressing over things I have no control over. Quite frankly, if NONE of our personal effects make it to the States and The Kids DO make it to the States? I can live with that. I really can. I can buy a new couch, or replace shoes. The Kids CANNOT be replaced and The Kids are really a very big part of what has kept me sane on this side of the world.

I will contact Delta / KLM again tomorrow to confirm that The Kids WILL be going home on the same flight that I go home on.

Blogging...

2010-04-22T09:20:00.004+03:00

There is probably a lot to blog about. Like this "child" bride who was ten when her father sold her to an 80-year-old pedophile and who was divorced six months after she was married but apparently didn't know it until now - ten years later.

And like this, how there are 275,000 injuries, the result of accidents on the road each year due to reckless driving and speeding. What will be done about it? ~~A nationwide campaign to "raise public awareness of the need to abide by traffic and road safety regulations~~." Nothing. PCRC. Is that such a bad thing?

I just have way too much to do to blog. And, quite honestly, I just don't have it in me right now to do it justice. Blogging will be light, perhaps even non-existent, until I have it together here. I'm not quite done with this blog. There are still some things I want to say. Check back in two weeks...

Stilettos in the States...

2010-04-21T14:22:00.009+03:00

Stilettos in the Sand will soon be Stilettos in the States. It is all over. Done. My sentence, here, is up. I have served my time. Almost a full seven years. I know many others have done it for much longer. I cannot. The Kids and I get on a plane in two weeks and we are headed home!

No more limbo. Everything is now resolved.

Errands to do

2010-04-21T07:33:00.003+03:00

DH and I have errands to do this morning. Really only one of us needs to do them. That would be me, but since I cannot get in the truck and drive myself... DH will have to take me.

One of the errands is something that could be done over the phone. I tried, yesterday, and was completely unsuccessful. Why? Because a certain office, here, which has a half dozen employees, has only ONE employee doing all the work. How do I know this? It is an office I've been to several times. I've have seen how it functions up close and personal. I was on the phone with the lone worker yesterday and listened to him ~~juggle~~ multi-task as he answered other "in person" inquiries as well as answering several phones. The man promised me a call back. I never got it. I am not blaming him, though. I understand that he was incredibly busy. Today I will go to that office in person. We are leaving here in forty-five minutes. I want to be the first one there when the office opens.

Then we will race home so that I can take The Boy to the vet. He got a cut IN HIS EYE while I was gone. I'm blaming his Little Sister for it. DH took him to the vet, originally, and I'll take him for the follow-up appointment. The cut still is not healed.

There are a half dozen other things that I have to do today. None of them are going to be fun. And all of them are going to be mostly frustrating. Such is life, here in The Sandbox.

The "limbo" situation? STILL NOT RESOLVED! Getting much, much closer though. Stay tuned for some interesting news...

IT IS A BOY!!!!

2010-04-19T17:01:00.003+03:00

His name will be Coen Robert. He is due to arrive on or about September 10th. Now, if you'll excuse me, there is MUCH shopping to be attended to. Oh My Gosh. Is this going to be FUN, or what!?! Oh, yeah, it is.

Situation: Limbo. Still not resolved.

2010-04-19T14:58:00.006+03:00

I cannot really discuss the situation, known as "Limbo," happening with us here in The Sandbox. I just am not at liberty, yet, to do so. Suffice it to say that it is not anything bad. It could actually be a good thing. The not knowing is the hardest part, though, and I don't know whether to get started on a major project and then find out that all of my effort will be for nothing, or if I should just forget about it, for the time being, altogether. The decision does not rest in my hands. I know what I would do. It is a decision that DH has to make. He makes the big decisions and I make the small ones. He takes care of everything financial, etc., and I decide what color towels to buy for the bathrooms. It is a system that has served us well for many years - we've been married for 18 years - and have been together for 20! Yes. Today was supposed to be the day of reckoning. But as is typical with the way many things go here such is not the case and today is not the day. Oh well. You know what? There is a plan for all of us. Whatever it is, that plan has already been decided. [We just don't know what the decision is one way or another.] And, it is out of our hands... Such is life.

I anticipate a phone call in just a few short hours about another "reckoning" that is supposed to happen today. DS and Baby-Mama find out if there is going to be a Kaylee or a Coen in our lives at 9:30 this morning their time - let's see, it is going on 3:15P, here, so that's 5:15A in North Carolina! Cannot wait. Absolutely, positively cannot wait to find out if I will have a Granddaughter or a Grandson. I am just thrilled to be having a Grandbaby so I do not care if it is a little Girl or a little Boy.

There is an post on the web that I found about women driving. It needs a thorough dissection. I'll plan on doing it for tomorrow. Today it would just require too much time and attention.

Time to dissect "Bachelors are time bombs," today, though. It is always the single man to blame for every single societal woe, isn't it? [/Snark.] Apparently it is quite bothersome to have "singles," or bachelors residing in "family neighborhoods." Well of course it is! One of those single men might have a pair of binoculars that can see through cement walls. Or something. The article says, "For many families, bachelor men living in their areas are simply time bombs waiting to go kaboom. These families allege such men are social, environmental, moral and security threats." Okay social, moral and security threats, maybe, if push came to shove, but environmental threats? How?!! They don't take their trash out regularly? They have too much trash in the form of bottles or cans?

Who knew there was a "municipality law" that dictates that "singles are required to live in building on main streets and away from residential neighborhoods." Not that that should come as a surprise to anyone, but I, for one, honestly did not know that there was a law that said where "singles are required to live." Hmmph. Learn something new everyday. Of course, it really is not the fault of the bachelors who end up in certain residential neighborhoods because "many real estate offices are cheating the system by renting out residential units to bachelors in the middle of neighborhoods." No. You don't say... Find that hard to believe. Like it is only in The Sandbox where money talks. Chicago slums and Tony Rezko - the jugearedjackass's pal - ring a bell, anyone?

Of course, in Chicago there probably are not three types of bachelors [or three or four or five types of marriage for that matter - I digress]. Chicago would have just two types. Bachelor men who have no familial responsibilies whatsoever and baby-daddy bachelor men who have no familial responsibilities whatsoever. The three types of bachelors in The Sandbox? "The first are professionals who work in high paid jobs as doctors and engineers. They rarely pose problems and have a clean reputation. This group is disciplined, and prefers living in family buildings to avoid living among singles." But, but, but... Isn't there a law against this? "The second group consists of singles in middle-income jobs. These type of people usually live in old apartment buildings, which are generally tatty and lack security." Ahh. So it is the middle-income bachelors who live in all of those buildings. [Personal responsibility insofar as the apartment owner to keep the building in good repair and from becoming "generally tatty" does not enter into the equation, I guess.] The third, and final group of bachelors "is the undesired group of singles in low-paid jobs. Most of these people are expatriates and live in crowded apartments, which are filthy and lack basic services. These types of workers generally tend to share their accommodation with other single men." Gee. Anyone care to guess why? Because they are paid such ridiculously LOW WAGES they cannot afford to live any other way. But, according to the article, we are lead to believe it is all the worker's / bachelor's faults that they are forced to live this way. I cannot believe that I am even reading the article as it is written. I am appalled at the lack of compasion and understanding from the author [who shall remain anonymous - if his - her? - name is published on the article I can't find it - and it is no wonder why, after reading...].

Abdullah Al-Hussein, whoever he is, says that "bachelor men bring trouble." Well of course they do, right?! Mr. Al-Hussein must never have been a bachelor. Did he go straight from Umm Abdullah's house [his mother] to being married and living in family housing? Must be he did. He goes on, "Singles do not care about the environment and cleaning their homes. They always create noise, especially when there is a football match. They are filthy most of the time and bring along parking problems, rats and all types of insects." Whoa! You hear that all you filthy dirty varmin infested bug ridden bachelors? That is all you are. Not my words. Mr. Al-Hussein's. A final family man, Ahmad Al-Jabri, who along with Mr. Al-Hussein was never a bachelor agrees and says, "Some real estate offices do not care about regulations when it comes to renting housing units to singles. They only care about money and rent apartments to singles when they're not supposed to. I wish the government would establish neighborhoods for singles and bring this problem to a close." Oh my gosh. If that wouldn't be the answer to MOST of the problems on this side of the world, then I don't know what would be.

Bachelors. All three types. They are just waiting to explode, here. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. Nah. This is a LFZ. Contemplating just a second or two longer, it is believable. And that is just the way it is on this side of the world.

Not really "funny" funny.

2010-04-19T06:33:00.005+03:00

Have to share something with you. Has almost nothing but everything to do with this cookbook "faux pas" that calls for "freshly ground black people," which is OF COURSE a typo and is supposed to say, "freshly ground black pepper." Duh!

The other night while I was at Qatar Airways office in the Bahrain International Airport office groaning about getting reimbursed for a taxi cab because Qatar didn't put MY luggage on the plane with me, the ONE man who was even willing to be helpful, Khalid, said to me, "Did you speak with a white man downstairs [in baggage services] earlier?" I said, "No. I spoke to an Arab man downstairs ten minutes ago when I was there..." Khalid says to me, in all seriousness, "How do I say this?" Communication between us is starting to be an issue. Me because I speak English and Khalid because he is trying so hard to speak English [and he did very well, by the way!]. So, Khalid, again, says, "Was he a white man?" And I honestly responded, "No. He wasn't." Khalid, not to miss a beat says, "I am a white man. Was he the same color I am?"

Don't I feel confused!?! Ahh, Khalid. Pssst. Let me fill you in on a teeny tiny little secret. "I am white. This is what a white person looks like." At the same time I am saying that, I am pulling up the sleeves of my shirt to show him my "white" skin. Khalid responded, "Ahh, yes, Madam. Here, we are white." "Umm, no, Khalid. You are brown. Perhaps dark tan. But you are not white." I had to reply. "I spoke to Ahmed. He is an Arab man. He was not white." Ahh. Now we're on the same track, though. Arabs consider themselves to be white? Who knew?! [If you are an Arab living in the United States, how did you fill out the census question for your nationality? White? Seriously?!!]

Why do I think it is funny that a recipe calls for salt and fresh ground black ~~pepper~~ people? Oh, I dunno no. It really isn't "funny" funny, but come on. I, mean, after all, not only am I not going to find that particular ingredient here in The Sandbox, but where the hell am I going to find prosciutto?

Yeah. 'Ya have to admit. It is a little funny at someone else's expense. Hey, if you can't laugh at a typo that is CLEARLY a mistake... I mean, come on. It was, after all, a mistake made in Australia, not South Africa!

Never mind. I am jet lagged. I am in limbo. I can think something that isn't really funny is funny if I want to.

Random stuff. Here, and elsewhere.

2010-04-18T06:49:00.008+03:00

Still overwhelmed. Also in limbo. Cannot say anything more about my "limbo" until it isn't "limbo" anymore. Rest assured, though, that if the "limbo" goes one way, I'll have a bucket-load to say about the situation. If it goes the other way, I will have to "bite my tongue." Tomorrow will probably be the tipping point.

A man jumped from a 10th story window. He is dead. The irony of the story will be lost to most. Calling B.S. on it. There is a more to this story than what is being reported. [Oh my. What a surprise!] Come on. A man could not defend himself against a 45-year-old woman who just happened to be in a hotel room with a meat cleaver? Sure. Okay. According to the short report, "Eyewitnesses testified that he had been at the bottom of the building when the Egyptian woman appeared on the balcony screaming that there was a thief in her apartment, at which point the Saudi national went yp to her flat to save her. Once he was in, however, the woman locked the door behind him and took out a large knife and demanded money." Something is very wrong with that portion of the story which completely contradicts that Egyptian press report which claims "that the Saudi had been engaged in 'immoral activities' at the time." Umm hmmm. There you go. That report is just a little more than slightly believable, if you ask me. Oh, and as to the irony aspect? How many "maids" have jumped from several stories high escaping something sinister, here? Search my archives. The answer to that question is a lot!

And, speaking of a lot. A lot of PCRC, here. "A total of 50 people died, 385 injured and 4,596 accidents took place because of the heavy rains that lashed the Kingdom over the past four days..." Not a chance of anyone taking any personal responsibility, is there? Nope. Not a chance. "Abiding by traffic instructions and the directives of traffic policement limits the number of traffic accidents and guarantees public safety," says Gen. Sulaiman Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Ajlan, Director of the Traffic General Administration. Gee. 'Ya think? "He added that there were thousands of traffic violations over the past four days." What he didn't add was what the consequences of those violations would be. Oh, that's right. There aren't any consequences. Never mind.

Oh. And speaking of "something's wrong with this story," how about this one? Let's see an "expatriate" man has been arrested for raping an eight-year-old girl. An expatriate of unidentified nationality. [Anyone care to guess?] The man is a 48-year-old driver who has "been accused of xes abuse three times." Huh?!! Three times!?! Why the heck is the man even out on the streets? Shouldn't he be in jail? How many "expatriate" men in The Sandbox get the opportunity to get off Scott-free after being accused of some sort of xesual abuse THREE times?!! Hmmph. "The man's arrest also led to several other victims coming forward and the discovery of a stash of dirty pictures and movies at his home." For right now the man is in police custody while investigations continue. In the meantime, "The General Prosecution and Investigation Board is currently investigating the charges against the man which includes xesually-abusing minors, taking photographs of young girls and xesually-harassing them." Interesting, isn't it, that when the man was arreted he "admitted to engaging in xesual intercours with the eight-year-old girl" yet an investigation continues? Why? Who is this man and who is he related to, or who does he know?

A kind of sort of feel good story, here. About a dog. A soldier's dog. If you do not get choked up reading about Tank then you have ice water running through your veins. Posted "just because."

It is a small study involving only 13,000 women. Who knew?! "Blondes have last laught with more money." A University of Queensland "study found that not only did blonde women earn an average seven per cent more than their brunette and red-headed sisters, they married men who earnt six percent more too." It is good to be blonde. Saw it first at [where else!] blonde sagacity.

Have not listened to Rush one time since I've been ~~home~~ back. See? I really am in a funk of some sort. Of course, all listening to Rush is going to do is make my blood boil. Not because of Rush, of course, but because of the jugearedjackass. Is that ~~man~~ imbecile a complete and total embarassment to the United States of America, or what!!

Inom is still not back from his vacation. He left at the end of January. His brother is here, though, and today, for the first time since I returned he will come and help me. Thank goodness. I thought for sure I was going to have to push the vacuum around, myself. Maybe even wash my own kitchen floor. Called Hadar last night and he is coming in fifteen minutes. Phew! Crisis averted.

Freak Weather

2010-04-17T07:19:00.005+03:00

Blame it on global warming or some such crap. Really it has been bizarre, though. The storms we've been having. Thunder, lightening and heavy rain! Weird. Certainly not what we are used to, that is for sure. And the rain, although quite necessary, makes the patio and the patio furniture a muddy mess. Are they still seeding the clouds here? Or something? It rained for three nights in a row. Always at night... Isn't that a little odd? I don't think it rained again last night, but I could be wrong. Haven't looked outside to see if the patio is a mess. ~~[Nope. I just checked. It didn't rain last night.]~~ Yep. It rained last night. DH was up before I was and he cleaned the patio and patio furniture before I even had my first cup of coffee. [Still jet lagged. Yeah. That's my excuse. And, I'm sticking to it.]

The lightening killed one young man and put another in the hospital. In fairness to Mother Nature the weather isn't so much to blame as much as stupidity. The rain is being blamed for all sorts of injuries and even some PCRC, too. Personal responsibility? Not so much.

Overwhelmed.

2010-04-15T15:44:00.004+03:00

It is all catching up with me. The jet lag. The pain in the butt getting the luggage saga. Just taking a shower in salt water. Again. Yuck. You cannot possibly imagine the effect of the water unless you've experienced it... And, the possibility that there may be a big change in store for me. Nope. I did not see "that" coming. Ought to be interesting. Understatement, there. Today I just feel mightily overwhelmed and want to sit on the couch and knit instead of trying to think straight and be productive. [Knitting is productive!] Blogging? Eh. Not on my list of priorities today. Might not even be on the list tomorrow. We'll see. I had such good intentions for a few posts about "stuff" I've missed that happened here in The Sandbox while I was in the States. Newsy things. And, I really wanted to complain - yet again - about the lack of selection for food at The Commissary. What happened? Why isn't there any meat?!! That's alright. We can just eat bacon!

Exercise in Futility

2010-04-14T10:35:00.005+03:00

What a nightmare. Losing your luggage. I think I have a right to be furious about it. Although I am much less aggravated about the whole situation than I was yesterday, that's for sure. And, my luggage did make it home safe and sound with everything intact. It's a miracle. Wearing my lucky socks was a very good thing. Yes. I have lucky socks. Doesn't everyone? It is quite likely I could have gotten a whole lot more done yesterday, including that mountain of laundry, if I could have found just ONE person to help me at Qatar Airways with the list of numbers that I accumulated between yesterday morning and yesterday afternoon. Honestly, if it wasn't for the service that I've received in the past with the exception of that one instance where Farrah was in charge of my side of the cabin, I'd be saying "That's it. All done flying Qatar."

Actually I don't know why I'm even bothering to be surprised. It is typical for this side of the world. No one wants to be responsible for anything and no one has the foresight to go over and above and actually try to think outside of the box. You think that government workers are bad in the States? Ha! They have nothing on the Middle East!! You have no idea what ineptness is until...

It is not worth going through one by one each of the telephone calls I made yesterday - which actually started the night before when I arrived home sans luggage and called my travel agent in the States and said, "You need to help me find my luggage. Two huge blue bags, with Priority tags on them [business class luggage is supposed to be handled with priority - it is one of the reasons you pay twice or thrice the amount of an economy class ticket!] were left at JFK in New York and no one seems to want to tell me why. Qatar, being a Middle Eastern company, automatically wants to blame the "other" airlines who checked my bags when I originated my trip in RDU. No. Not acceptable. When I checked in at Qatar in New York, they asked for my baggage claim numbers, which I dutifully gave them, which they dutifully [or not, obviously] entered into the system. That is what those bar codes are for, though, so that airlines can match up what bags are supposed to be on board matching them with each passenger. No matter. It was nothing short of impossible trying to explain that that is what happened and that is how it happened and that it is Qatar's fault, not American Airlines.

Dozens of phone calls yesterday all to numbers that either had a mere voice at the end coming out of a brainless, empty talking head, or worse, phone numbers that went unanswered or went to voice mail boxes. Unbelievable. And each number that I called that had a brainless, empty talking head answer at the other end said, "Yes, Madam. Call this number." No. I already called that number. I've been calling it for two hours and no one answers. "Oh, yes, Madam. Call this number." I have to say that I got more assistance from the man in Baggage Services at Bahrain International Airport than I got from anyone else. Thank you, Ahmed. It was yesterday afternoon when I called Ahmed for the umpteenth time and he said, "Yes, Madam. I received a message that your bags will be on tonight's plane if there is room." What? If there is room? Throw a half dozen other bags off that plane and get my bags on there! The ones that were supposed to be on the plane I was on from two nights ago!!

DH had to work this morning at 0-dark-thirty. Early. Very, very early. He wouldn't have gotten but a couple of hours sleep if he would have taken me to Bahrain last night to collect my luggage - and it was a trip that had to be made without actually being able to confirm one way or another that my luggage was going to be there. No problem. I'll get a cab and go over. I mean, it's not like I can get in my truck and drive myself there since women do not drive in The Sandbox [they will never be able to drive - it is a control issue and men here, apparently, cannot bear the thought of losing that control]. So, I left Saudi last night in a cab to Bahrain at 8:30. Off to the airport. Not knowing that my luggage would be there, or not, but wearing my purple socks with the lime green frogs on them. My lucky socks. My driver spoke very little English. I used the "new" company that is here as the "old" company had no car available. You have to give these men a great deal of credit to come here from whatever third world country they are from and learn to drive in the worst driving conditions anywhere on earth! For the most part all of them do an excellent job. I have no complaints in that regard. I tried to ask the driver if he had been to Bahrain earlier and what the bridge traffic was like. He did not understand me and said, "Bridge busy on Wednesday night and Thursday night." But, of course. Wednesday night is the equivalent of Friday night in the States. Thursday is the same as Saturday night. The bridge was busy. What are all of the cars with Saudi license plates, filled with young Saudi men, doing going over to Bahrain on a Tuesday night? Oh, sure. They are going grocery shopping or to the mall. Wink wink.

It is a constant source of both amusement and aggravation that it is ALWAYS the Saudi side of customs that is backed up. We sat at the bridge for a good half hour or forty-five minutes last night just waiting to get through the Saudi side of Customs into Bahrain. Was it backed up in Bahrain? The same number of cars passed through the Saudi side to the Bahrain side. No. It was NOT backed up on the Bahrain side. Just the Saudi side. Always the Saudi side both directions - going and coming back. Why is that? I have a partial answer to that question. The Saudi workers are all too dayum busy playing with their mobiles - talking and texting - and those mobiles take priority over the job they are supposed to be doing - you know, the job they are being paid to do. You take those mobile phones away from the workers and see how efficient they become! I realize that there isn't a chance of that happening, but that is part of the reason / problem. Again that is just part of the reason / problem. Another part is that women - covered head-to-toe in their black bags - do not want to show their passports to the customs agents at the booths, so they get out of their vehicles to go into Female Inspection while their male drivers - husbands or fathers - wait for them. Another part is that the males in the vehicles do not think they should have to wait in line to pass through the booths so they jump out of their cars and race up to the booth windows on foot to cut in front of those of us still waiting in line to get our passports stamped. The men working at the booths allow this to take place so there is no preventing it or stopping it. They could simply just say, "Get back in your car and wait," but that does not and will not happen. It makes no sense because your car is still in the line - you just don't have to wait as long when your car actually pulls up to the booth and you can race through. I just don't get it. Likely, I never will, either.

Got to the airport in Bahrain just as the plane arrived. Timing. Perfect. Bags were just starting to be unloaded. Ten bags were unloaded and then I saw one of mine. Goody! See? Wearing lucky socks does help! A couple of minutes later my second bag came through. I should be all relieved and happy. I have my stuff. Maybe. Who knows what got removed from my bags in New York? Yes. Of course I have locks on the suitcases, but that only prevents honest people from stealing stuff out of my bags. TSA has removed more than just a few items from our bags in the past. Has to be TSA workers because they are the only ones with the special key that opens TSA approved locks, right? Honest TSA workers? Oh, sure. There are some. But they are government employees, and being a government employee means you are allowed to steal from anyone you want. After all, you're stealing money from taxpayers just by virtue of being employed by the government who has far too many employees already but again, being a government employee also means that being efficient and actually working is out of the question. I digress.

There are my bags. I should be all happy, happy, happy. And I am happy. But not happy, happy, happy. I am unhappy about the frustration and time and effort expended to get bags that never should have been left off of the plane in the first place, and I want an explanation as to why they were NOT put on the plane. I can handle someone saying, "It was our mistake and we are sorry." But as of right now, that has not happened. Oh, and I need to be reimbursed the $125.00 I spent last night taking a cab to and from Bahrain. Don't think I didn't get that in motion last night while I was at the airport. After I collected my bags I went straight to the Qatar office with my receipt for the taxi - including a generous tip - and said, "I need to be reimbursed for this." Khalid at the Qatar office in the airport last night was more helpful than all of the men and women I spoke with yesterday, combined. Except of course for Ahmed who works at Baggage Services. Khalid had me fill out the paperwork and provide my ticket information, copy of my passport and the receipt so that I can be reimbursed for the extra expense and told me that I could not make a claim for any missing items unless the bags were inspected there, at the airport. Fine, then. Get me a porter and we'll go get the bags out of the trunk and we'll inspect them right here, on the floor of your office. And that is exactly what we did.

It was a cursory inspection, there in his office on the floor, but it would appear, so far, that everything made it. Treats and new toys for The Kids! [Always a first priority. They actually know at this point that there are treats and toys in the bags and The Baby helps me unpack with her little nose in my bag as if to say, "Is this mine? How about this?"] I could feel the cold packs without actually taking them out of my bag. They were still cool to the touch. Of course, when I originally put the cold packs in my bags they were three frozen solid blocks. Twenty pounds of bacon and Canadian bacon and sausage. Can you even imagine how rank the bags would have become if they weren't sent over to me as quickly as they were? A new special egg poacher [I have never made a poached egg in my entire life!] for DH so that I can make him Eggs Benedict [I'm giving it a try for the first time when he gets home from work in an hour]. A dozen packages of Knorr Hollandaise sauce. And a dozen packages of English muffins. Oh, sure. Most people probably pack their clothes in their suitcases. Me? No. Other stuff. All the stuff I can't get here. Guess that isn't a hundred percent true. The dozen or so new bras I bought in the States to wear after having had my surgery done were in my suitcases, too. I cannot wear my old ones because they all have underwire in them and underwire is not allowed for at least six months. But, then, I'll never need underwire again which is the reason for getting the lift and "pluff" in the first place! I've been wearing the same sports bra since I left the States on Sunday afternoon... Knew that I was going to need that extra support for such a long trip home, and I did, but that was all I had with me - just the one I had on. Today I have a new, clean lavendar bra on [in honor of wearing my lucky socks last night!]. Okay, okay. Too much information. Way too much information. Other stuff in the bags? Books. Never ever leave the States without buying books. Vanilla. Two huge bottles of it - real vanilla [the kind that actually has alcohol in it instead of the fake stuff that we can get here].

Anyway, after a couple of hours at the airport going between Baggage Services, Customs and the Qatar office my non-English speaking driver and I were on our way home. Still have to go through Saudi Customs though and admittedly I was just a bit nervous with twenty pounds of pork and real Vanilla in my bags. After having the car so thoroughly searched the night before I could only imagine what they were going to do with my suitcases. In some ways, I have to be thankful that Customs - on the Saudi side - was as backed up as it was. They were asking all of the men in their vehicles to get out of their cars and were again doing thorough searches - even the dogs were out - literally - the dogs that are sniffing for contraband - the kind that is pharmacutical or the kind that goes boomboom - no clue. We pull into our spot and Mr. Custom's guy has the driver open the trunk - then he looks in the back seat where I am sitting - and he nods his head - he stamps the driver's "paper," and lets us leave. Yes! See? Once again, it pays to wear your lucky socks!! Did not even have me open a single bag. But then, I do not believe I am very mennacing looking, either. White, blonde American woman. Middle-aged, at that.

So now, all that remains to happen is for me to be reimbursed by Qatar for the cost of taking a taxi cab to and from Bahrain and for them to apologize. It would be nice if they would add - oh, I don't know - a gazillion miles to my account, too. Not holding my breath for that. In the meantime, I'll get back to that mountain of laundry and finish unpacking. There is a great deal more I could add to the frustration that I have to deal with in my day-to-day life - we had gardening and irrigation show up to fix the faucet in the back yard for the thirtieth time - it still isn't fixed and someone else is coming to attempt to fix it at 12:30 today. And, then there is Appuk, the gardener, who, although he does a good job is getting on my last nerve for a variety of reasons. It is just the way it goes. My world... Maybe more on all of that, tomorrow.

Oh, and that special egg poacher I got? It doesn't have a single instruction on it how to actually cook the eggs! What is that all about?! Am I the ONLY one that doesn't have a clue how to make a poached egg? The cooker was made in China. It just figures. Think I'll go practice with it and try to figure out what I'm doing. Yeah. Wish me some luck on that one... But, I do have my luggage, now. And I made it across the border through Customs without having bacon and other products taken away from me. Life is good.

SOS Different Day

2010-04-13T11:00:00.004+03:00

Like I expected anything to change? No. I guess I didn't. Another maid is dead. How many have to die? Never mind. Rhetorical question, really. Maids are a dime a dozen - whoever sponsored her will just import another one from some third world country. Interesting, though, isn't it, how many maids die fleeing their sponsors? Why on earth would a maid want to do that!

Something's going on, or something happened while I was gone. Last night coming from Bahrain to Saudi the Customs inspection was backed up [shocker!]. Saudi officials were checking everything and everyone. It is the first time I've experienced having them open the spare tire well in the trunk of my cab. Not that I had to worry about them inspecting my luggage since it never got on the plane with me in New York. [Business Class ticket on Qatar! $3,500.00 for a ticket and this is what happens. Yes. I am pissed. Beyond pissed. I am furious. My luggage NEVER even got on the plane? Wonder how many items will mysteriously go missing since it sat in JFK Airport all night/day. And, I wonder how Qatar is going to rectify this situation for me.] So, Customs officials thoroughly checked the cab I was in, including the side panels of the car. What, exactly, are they looking for? Do they think I am stupid? Blonde, yes. But not stupid. There is not a chance I would risk smuggling booze in, or any other contraband for that matter. I can only imagine that that is what they were looking for since they did such a thorough search. I mean, come on, it isn't like I'm going to try to smuggle a firearm in or something like that. I wouldn't even know where to get one on this side of the world. Whatever. But clearly someone has been caught bringing something in or they wouldn't be searching like they are searching.

Let's just call a spade a spade, shall we? Misyar marriage is nothing other than legalized prostitution. Social necessity? No. I don't think so. Pluheeze. Because there are so many spinsters? Gimme a break. How many spinsters can there possibly be when every man is entitled to four wives?

Yep. Same old same old same old. You'd think I would have a better attitude after just spending almost a month in the States getting it adjusted. I don't. Have to say that I was very, very, very happy to see my Kids and DH, though. And to sleep in my own bed again. Will be busy today doing laundy and cleaning up around here. DH did one load of darks while I was gone and there is a mountain of laundry to be done. I do mean a mountain! Off I go to get started on that. Pain in the butt is what it is because I have to fill the washer by hand with a big pitcher. 18 pitchers, per load. Twice. So it is really 36 pitchers, per load. First to wash, then to rinse. Just one of those little things that I didn't miss at all while I was home because I didn't have to worry about the salt water destroying my clothes. Here in The Sandbox we have salt water. There is one tap in the kitchen that has what is called "sweet" water [desalinated] and it is what we use for drinking water and it is the same tap that goes into the dishwasher, supposedly, so we have dishes that aren't washed in undrinkable water which is a good thing. It is also the same tap that I have to use to wash my hair and to brush my teeth. Just another one of those things that I didn't even think about once while I was gone and just another one of those little annoyances which are a part of my daily life here. Ahh. Welcome home!

I'm Home. More later.

2010-04-13T01:59:00.003+03:00

Depending on whether or not Qatar finds my luggage... Not a "happy camper" right now.

Champps. Last lunch out. Don't even bother ordering the Reuben sandwich.

2010-04-10T02:17:00.012+03:00

One of my favorite lunch spots when we go to Triangle Town Center or Streets of Southpoint mall is Champps. I order the same thing. Always. Have to tell you, though, that two - not so great - experiences at Champps [the one in Raleigh, not the one in Durham] has left a bad taste in my mouth. Yesterday we went to Triangle Town Center. We. Me, my Mom and a friend of my Mom's, Daisy. It is the last lunch I will eat out while I am here. I leave for the Sandbox in a few short hours and will not be home again until fall when Baby is born.

How it is that Mom's friend, Daisy, accompanies us is that my Mom - bless her heart - does a good deal of transporting many of her elderly neighbors back and forth to doctor's visits and grocery stores and other miscellaneous errand running. She is such a dear sweet woman, my Mother! There are a couple of neighbors that do not drive and Mom does what she can [over and above, if you ask me, but it is none of my business] to make their lives easier. If there are taxi cabs near where Mom lives, and there probably are, I've not seen them. Forget the fact that even if there were taxi cabs that it would cost some of these elderly neighbors on fixed incomes an arm and a leg to take a cab back and forth to doctor's offices and do errand running. The neighbors are blessed with the presence of such a wonderful woman, my Mom, who generously does this for them.

Before getting to lunch yesterday, let me back up a bit...

Last August when we were home we - me, Mom and Daisy - went to the Raleigh Champps for lunch after Mom took Daisy to a doctor appointment. Doctor's office first, then lunch, then some shopping... What a lovely girls' day out, right? Daisy does not get out much. She is an elderly woman whose husband died a year after Dad. [It is three years today, that my Dad passed away.] I do believe Daisy was quite sheltered when she was married - it is pretty obvious that she didn't get out much. That is a whole other story, though. Going out to lunch at a sit down restaurant instead of a drive-thru or a buffet was going to be a special treat for Daisy. We walked into Champps and Daisy was in awe. "Oh, this is so nice." That was before she even looked at the menu.

Daisy is a smoker. I was a smoker. We sat in the bar area, which, until January 1st of this year when a blanket no smoking in North Carolina anywhere policy went into effect, is where smokers were allowed to smoke. The three of us gals, out for a nice lunch before an afternoon of shopping. Why Champps? I like the food. I knew I could have a cigarette and a drink there - and I knew I'd be ordering a frozen Mudslide to be served with my meatless Patty Melt. While I am in the States, I don't go anywhere for lunch where I cannot order a drink. I can drink all the Diet Coke and water that I want when I'm home in the Sandbox.

We sit down. Daisy is looking at the menu. She doesn't have a clue what she should order. I know what I want and Mom knows what she wants. We order. I order a meatless patty melt [which is basically a grilled cheese sandwich with onions on dark Russian rye bread]. Mom orders a Reuben. Daisy decides she will have what Mom is having and she orders a Reuben. Service is fine. No complaints at all about the service. Mom orders her usual - hot tea. I order a vodka and club soda with no fruit - and ask for the frozen Mudslide WITH my sandwich. Daisy ordered coffee. Champps is a sports bar and here are two women ordering a cup of tea and a cup of coffee. No matter. They are prepared. Again, no problem with the service. It is when the food is served that the problem starts.

A patty melt without the meat. What was served to me was two lukewarm pieces of dark Russian rye bread with a slice of unmelted American cheese and a slice of unmelted Swiss cheese and some raw onion. What?!! Is that how you would serve a patty melt with the meat? I don't think so. The server - who also happened to be the bartender that day - comes to check our table. I have to send my sandwich back. I want a GRILLED CHEESE with sauteed onions - just like a patty melt - but with no burger. I have no idea why someone in the kitchen thought a cold cheese sandwich with raw versus sauteed onions was going to be acceptable. No problem though, I'll get a new sandwich - or at least a sandwich that is prepared like I anticipated it would be.

Mere seconds later, Mom opens her sandwich - the Reuben - and says, "They forgot the Thousand Island dressing and this is cold." She is right. The Swiss cheese on her sandwich isn't melted, the sauerkraut is cold, the meat is cold. I tell her I'll send it back. Mom does not like that kind of "fuss," she wants to eat it anyway. Daisy looks at her sandwich and says, "Yeah, me too." Nope. Not going to happen. I'm not going to let Mom and Daisy eat cold sandwiches that are only partially prepared - when you forget a MAIN ingredient, the Thousand Island dressing, the sandwich is only partially prepared. I call the server back over and explain the problem about the Reuben sandwiches. They are sent back to the kitchen to be redone. In the meantime, my sandwich is done and served to me. Now, I have to either eat in front of my Mom and Daisy or I have to wait for their food to be redone and served and let my sandwich go cold. No biggie. Mom and Daisy both say, "Go ahead. You eat that while it is still hot." A couple of minutes later Mom and Daisy get their plates.

It was just after that that the manager comes over to us to find out what the problems have been with our food. He is very nice and I politely explain what has gone wrong with everything we have ordered. I offer to go to the kitchen to show the cook how a Reuben is made. The manager kindly announces that lunch is on him. He takes our food items off of our bill. That is NOT what we asked for. After all, everything was taken care of even though it all had to be sent back. Daisy is still ooohing and awwing over the restaurant and says, "I'm going to have my daughter bring me here for my birthday dinner." The manager only hears part of her statement and believes we are there for her birthday and moments after our plates from our lunch have been cleared away there is this big huge strawberry shortcake kind of dessert served with ice cream and a candle and three spoons. Dessert is "on the house." How nice! Cannot complain about how we were all treated and how our situation was resolved with cold food being served. You know, had the restaurant been busy, I might have understood. But it was just after "lunch rush hour" and the restaurant was not busy. Cold food? Unacceptable.

So, yesterday. Again, the three of us - me, Mom and Daisy - went to Champps for lunch after one of Daisy's doctor appointments. We order almost the identical order we placed in August of last year. I order a vodka and club soda to start, with my frozen Mudslide to be served with my sandwich. Mom orders tea and Daisy orders coffee. A minute later our server, Nikki, comes back and says, I am sorry but we do not have any tea bags. No biggie. Mom carries her own tea bags in her purse for just such emergencies. Now Mom only needs some boiling water. Daisy who is fussy needs more cream for her coffee. I'm guessing at that point Nikki is thinking, "Why did this table of three women have to be my table?" Mom has to send her tea water back to be microwaved so it is hot - tepid is not the right temperature for tea. Daisy gets her additional cream... I'm already feeling sorry that Nikki has our table, and mention it to Mom under my breath [Nikki doesn't know that I make sure to treat servers well at the end of any meal].

My sandwich comes. It is perfect. Grilled cheese with sauteed onions on dark Russian rye bread. Mom's sandwich comes. It is cold. Cold sauerkraut. Cold meat. Barely even grilled - the bread - unmelted cheese. Ditto for Daisy. I tell Mom to send her sandwich back. She, being the one to not fuss, said, "No. I'll just eat it." Daisy does fuss. She sent hers back. Nikki apologizes profusely. It is not her fault. It is the fault of the staff in the kitchen. Who comes to the table only seconds after we sent Daisy's sandwich back and complained that Mom's was cold? The manager. Same manager from last year. I relay the sandwich dilemma to him and explain how a Reuben is supposed to be prepared. I tell him that I come to Champps once or twice a year and how last year we had the very same problem. He remembers us! John, his name is, said, "I remember you. You sat over there [and he points to the direction where we had, in fact, sat during our prior visit]. It was less than a year ago you were here." He is correct. It has been eight months. Great memory!

John apologizes for the sandwiches which were improperly prepared and offers to redo them or to let Mom and Daisy order something else. Daisy is fine with hers being microwaved so it is hot. Mom says, "No. It will be okay. I've already started eating it." Fine, Mom. Eat that cold Ruben sandwich. It is no big deal, really. I explain to John that with two visits in a row where the same problem was experienced that we might think twice before returning to Champps next time we go to Triangle Town Center [which won't be until this fall]. John is understanding and says, "You will not be charged for those sandwiches." I hope he does not think this is some ploy we use to get free food. Like I said, my sandwich was prepared perfectly and served on grilled bread with melted cheese and sauteed onions. I have no complaints. The Rubens are, obviously, the problem. Seconds from finishing our sandwiches, Nikki comes back to our table and says, "We have a new dessert. An apple caramel tart which we would like to give you, on the house." Neither Mom nor I are interested in dessert, and certainly we are not looking for "on the house." Daisy? She says, "That sounds really good. I'll have it." Amazingly enough, she ate the whole thing! It was huge.

We pay our checks. My bill is $27.00 for my sandwich, two vodkas and one Mudslide. I leave a 40% tip. Mom's check is $5.00. She leaves an equal amount for the tip. Daisy's bill is $7.00 and she leaves a 40% tip. Our server, Nikki, who probably figured when she started having issues - our issues - at our table that she was only going to end up with a bare minimum for her part in getting us our lunch, I hope, was pleasantly surprised. Again, it isn't about the money. Nor was it about the service. Service at Champps has never been an issue. It is about the sandwiches. You have a Reuben on the menu, it says it comes with Thousand Island dressing and it gets omitted? Wrong. You say it is a traditional Reuben on dark Russian rye bread but no where does it say it is served cold! And, by the way, a traditional Reuben is supposed to be a hot sandwich.

My complaint is not with Champps in general. Very good service. Excellent managerial assistance when something is not right. My complaint is that Champps does not know how to make a Reuben sandwich so either take it off the menu or have your cooks actually learn how to make one. Until they can do so, I would suggest ordering something else. Someone please tell me that we are NOT the only ones to have this happen with Reuben sandwiches at Champps...

The last lunch out before I get on a plane and fly home. Oh, and by the way, thanks alot you phukktard from Qatar who thought his diplomatic status allowed him to smoke on an airplane and then joke about trying to light his shoes on fire. It won't be long until we are all strip searched and NOT allowed to have any luggage at all. Interesting that one particular group has decided to make an already awful situation - getting on an airplane - all but intolerable. Is that group being held responsible? Of course not. Typical, though. Just typical.

See everyone in a day or so where I will be back to blogging from the sunny, warm Sandbox!

Almost Up...

2010-04-05T16:02:00.004+03:00

Yet again, my time at home has flown by. It always does. I see the doctor one more time this week, then I get on a plane and head back to the Sandbox. I'm ready, though. I miss my DH and my Kids. I've shopped and stimulated the economy in N.C. I have enjoyed all the things I can't have... Bailey's in my morning coffee. Bloody Mary's in the afternoon with cottage cheese and Pringles. A bottle of Sterling Cabernet every night. Ham for dinner. King crab legs. Scallops. BLT's. Yum! In less than a week I'll be home and will not be able to have any of those things until we return in the summer. I will, of course, come back for the birth of Caylee [Cohen?] [the names keep changing]. Not a chance I will miss that. There is a possibility that I will find out the sex of Baby this week. Then I can really do some stimulating of the economy!

Back to regular blogging soon. Sigh. Heavy sigh... Not about the blogging, but about leaving...

He screws up everything!

2010-03-29T16:25:00.003+03:00

Plans to go to Charlotte this week to see my DS. And, to meet for the first time his current girlfriend [wife-to-be] and mother of my first Grandchild! Guess who is going to be in Charlotte that day? Yep. The jugearedjackass. He's going to talk about jobs. Can't he do that from the Oval Office? Nope. Instead he is going to make traffic miserable and screw up everything for me on Thursday. Every single day when I don't think I can possibly muster up any more hatred he makes it possible!!!

Phew! I did it just in time.

2010-03-28T18:42:00.003+03:00

So plastic surgery in the States is going to be taxed five percent, after all. Thought that tax was supposed to be removed from the debacle bill of reparations and distribution of wealth because it was going to be an invasion of privacy between plastic surgeons and patients. Apparently the tax is still in there. We were lied to? No! My surgery was done before the bill became law so I am exempt. This time. If I do any further work it will be done elsewhere. Thailand has "vacation surgery" packages where you can have work done for less than half of what it costs in the States and where you will be pampered at a resort, afterward, for the duration of your healing and recovery process. Personally, I know I will do everything in my power that can legally be done to not pay a single penny more into the system. How soon do you think we will see plastic surgeons feel the effect of this? I'm guessing it isn't going to take long.

One of the Best Parts of Being Home

2010-03-28T17:58:00.003+03:00

Other than spending time with my Dear Mother and other family members that are close by - my Brother and SIL live about a half an hour away - love spending time with my three nephews, a 14-year-old and 10-year-old twins... One of the not so terrible "side effects" of having just had surgery - I don't want to go anywhere. Hurts too much to be out and about for any length of time. So, I can plop my butt in front of the computer and read all of the blogs I am not allowed to read in The Sandbox. The ones that the internet's most useless program in the entire world - Websense - blocks for me. Jawa Report, Woman Honor Thyself, Yag Patriot, BNI [which I will not link to, for obvious reasons] and one of my favorites, Big Dick's Place.

What a delightful way to spend a Sunday morning. With a hot cup of coffee and Bailey's and all of the internet that I'm not supposed to see. Life IS good!

Caterpillar

2010-03-28T17:11:00.008+03:00

Hard to feel too sorry for the 121 workers that were laid off from Caterpillar in Clayton, N.C., last week. How many of those 121 workers voted for the jugearedjackass? Umm hmm. So, how is that hopenchange working out for you?

Caterpillar's problems don't stop there, though. According to this, Caterpillar [along with a couple other large companies] has said that it will "take a $100 million hit on its first quarter earnings" all thanks to the jugearedjackass and his cronies, Nancy and Harry, shoving their monumental, historical reparations package under the guise of health care reform up our collective butts.

Again, how many employees at Caterpillar, not just in Clayton, but nationwide, voted for the jugearedjackass? How many employees at Deere voted for him? How many employees of AT&T voted for him? You reap what you sow. What is all of this going to do to an already troubled economy? Just you wait and see. Watch us slip further and further into a dismal abyss. What can be done about it? Make sure that anyone who voted for the massive government takeover which amounts to nothing more than redistribution of wealth - reparations - in the guise of health care for everyone in four years or so with new taxes and regulations already passed as law and effective immediately gets voted out on their ass. November 2010 can't get here soon enough. Neither can November 2012 when we can finally throw usurper currently in office out!

America, wake up. Do you realize that we are being laughed at around the world? Man oh man oh man. Did we get screwed. And don't think for a single solitary second that the screwing we are getting is over. Bend over. Don't expect a kiss, first, either. It is only going to get worse!

Time Warner Cable Sucks - Part Two

2010-03-28T15:05:00.007+03:00

Who knew there were so many dissatisfied and disgruntled Time Warner Cable customers? Yesterday after I posted Time Warner Cable Sucks [well, it does!], I got a comment from Paul S. who, according to his title, is a member of the "TWC Social Media Support Team." And, why, do you think that a Social Media Support Team is even necessary? Imagine a job where all you do all day long is cruise algores internet looking for sites that have disparaging remarks about the company you work for. Oh my gosh. You couldn't pay me enough. The up side though is that Paul S. does not need any people skills and he could do his job from his bedroom in his Mother's basement if he wanted to. That is the only possible way Paul S. could have found my blog. By typing in certain search parameters. I typed in "Time Warner Cable Sucks" and got 2,360,000 results via Yahoo and 2,190,000 using Bing. Man oh man. That is a lot!

Due to a mistake on Time Warner Cable's part, Mom went two and a half days without the 24 channels she IS paying for. I spent 22 minutes and 20 seconds yesterday afternoon on the telephone with Derrick to resolve the issue. Poor Derrick. My frustration was NOT directed at him and I had to explain that is was not HIM that I was upset with, but I was upset with the lack of competence and compassion clearly absent from customer service woman at the Clayton office on Thursday, and customer service woman's totally inept supervisor. There is nothing Derrick could have said that would convince me that customer service woman didn't phuck up our cable on purpose. She didn't like having to ask her supervisor to have to deal with our situation and she didn't like me or my Dear Sweet Elderly Mother. Customer service woman was totally put out that we had questions, that the social security number was an issue, and that we were not leaving the line until we had some resolution. That old saying, "The customer is always right," does NOT apply at Time Warner Cable.

Derrick did his job well, and found the problem - the technician shut off the cable completely instead of leaving the 24 "Broadcast" channels Mom is supposed to have. Oh, and that 24 channel line up? You've got to be joking! WUVC (Univision). A Spanish station. Along with Telefutura. PC to the max. Make sure illegal aliens get their stations. WRAL is CBS, WUNC is PBS [our tax dollars hard at work to make sure the message from the left is broadcast loud and clear]. WARZ-LP - no clue what that is. WNCN is NBC, WRAZ is FOX [but NOT Fox News!]. Two C-SPAN channels. Great. And two "Public, Educational and Government Programming" channels. Can we call a spade a spade, here? Two "Public, Educational and Government Programming" channels? Indoctrination. Nothing more than indoctrination. The worst of it is that there are THREE home shopping channels. THREE! HSN, QVC and ShopNBC. What a complete waste of time.

Anyway, back to Paul S. The man has got to be busy. With all of those sites to visit between just Yahoo and Bing, "Time Warner Cable Sucks." Just type that in. See what comes up. Even a couple from blogs I have visited in the past such as Brain Shavings, and Right-Thinking from the Left Coast. I'm sure there were others. I was surprised at the amount of "networking sites" [Facebook, Twitter and YouTube] that were covering the same issue. Yep. Paul S. is a busy guy visiting all of those sites to say, "Sorry about the way you have been treated at your local office. I have forwarded your complaint to our Customer Care team in the Carolinas." I guess that is supposed to make everything okay. Do I honestly think that the Customer Care team in the Carolinas gives a rat's ass about the treatment my Mom and I received at the Clayton office on Thursday afternoon? Riighttt... Thanks for visiting, though, Paul S.

We'll see how quickly the cable issue gets resolved, today. Sunday. They are sending out a technician between 10A and 12N. I made a specific request with Derrick, yesterday, that the technician come to our door and see me before he [she?] leaves so I can make sure that the problem is solved. I also requested that a credit be issued for the few days that we go without cable, since we are paying for it. We'll see if that shows up on Mom's next bill [even though I won't be here, then]. And, we'll see how customer service handles our visit to the Clayton office on Monday or Tuesday when we take the box and clicker back, and when Mom tries to change over the social security number from my Dad's to hers. Based on the unequivocally miserable experience we had this past Thursday, I'm not going to get my hopes up. Anyone want to bet that I am not disappointed?

When a company has a monopoly on something then they can do just about anything they want. While I am still here at Mom's, recuperating, I will be checking some other options for her. I understand AT&T is offering some of the services Mom wants and that Dish Network may be a better option for television. Now, I have a mission. Don't you just luv a good mission? Oh, and if anyone has recommendations on options, please do share!

Time Warner Cable Sucks

2010-03-27T14:52:00.008+03:00

The three women and one lone man at the office in the Garner area - or is it Clayton? - have less people skills than most trees. [Where's Matthew when you need him? He's really good with that kind of snark!] I'm going out on a limb, here, and I'm going to say that the women there - and the one lone man - were all hired to fulfill some affirmative action quota. Not a single one of them deserves their job. Not in this day and age with unemployment at 20%. If you are going to work in a service-oriented position then you need just a few "people skills." And being nice to people is one of those skills. Especially old ladies!

My poor Mom. An elderly white haired woman who is vertically challenged [short]. When she moved into her little house [three bedrooms is not all that little - it is twice as big as our house!] in N.C. she called the cable company and they came and installed cable for her two television sets and put internet on her computer and gave her a land line for her phone that included 24/7 long-distance calling [family is spread out - one sister in Maryland, another in California - and us, in Saudi, with a N.C. phone number through the computer]. At the time, it was some special deal they gave her like $60. a month for ALL of that. That deal lasted for three months. Since then, the price has risen steadily and dramatically. As of last week, when she got her bill, she was being charged $179.00 a month for all of those services - the exact same services she got for $60.00 a month two and a half years ago.

Mom opened her bill and said, "Do you think $179.00 a month is too much to pay for cable, internet and telephone?" Hell yes, it is! "I really only got the cable for the boys when they come on the weekends - and for you and your DH when you come once or twice a year for a month." Nope. That is way too much for a woman on a fixed income to have to pay. Told Mom that I would go to the cable company with her to see what we could do to lower the cost. Get rid of the premium cable package, for one. No reason that she needs 200 channels for one weekend a month when my nephews - her grandsons - come or for that one month a year that we are here in the summer. If DH wants to watch a car race or football game there is a really nice sports bar not too far from Mom's house.

We went to Time Warner Cable on Thursday. We waited in line - and waited and waited and waited - because two of the three customer service people didn't have a single freakin' clue what they were doing and couldn't do a thing without asking their supervisor, first. [Oh, and by the way, Ms. Supervisor, you work in an office, not outside on a farm. Your being dressed in those way too tight jeans for your body and that red t-shirt was totally unprofessional. I don't think you should have to wear a suit, but you certainly should have to at least attempt to look somewhat business-like. Try a nice pair of slacks and a blouse.] There was some man at the far end customer-service window and I don't know what his deal was but he was trying to figure out how to lower his bill for two separate telephone lines in his house and Ms. Supervisor was getting all testy with him. The lone man customer service agent was working that window and didn't know how to respond to the man's inquiries so Ms. Supervisor was there. She was yelling at the guy! I was mortified for him. Thanks to Ms. Supervisor we all know what the guy's monthly payment is and we all know that he is three months behind in paying his bill and now his service has been shut off. Discretion? Ms. Supervisor has no idea what that word even means. Dolt? Ms. Supervisor is the dictionary definition. I can give quite a few more choice descriptions of her... [I need to get the address of the head office for Time Warner and let them know how their Clayton/Garner office is being served - or NOT being served.]

Mom and I were at the middle customer service window. We asked for a break down of the bill. Customer service [ha!] woman said, "What are the last four digits of the social security number on the account?" Mom did not know. The social security number that the account was set up under is my Dad's number - he, originally, set the whole thing up before they were going to move from New York to N.C. The bill, however, is in Mom's name. But the woman wasn't going to give us any information because of the social security number being my Dad's number and not Mom's. You have got to be kidding! Mom has been paying the bill for almost three years. It is in her name. And you are not going to give her a breakdown of her bill because she doesn't know the last four numbers of my Dad's social security number? I couldn't be nice any longer. I said, "He is dead. He is not going to be able to call you and change it into Mom's social security number. The bill is in her name and she is the one who has dutifully come here and paid it once a month for the last two and a half - almost three - years." Customer service person says, "I am going to have to ask my supervisor." Fine. We'll wait. And we did. There was no way I was going to let Mom get out of line and wait some more.

Finally Ms. Supervisor waddled over to help customer service person that couldn't do anything without her permission. Ms. Supervisor said that if Mom gave customer service person her I.D. [license] then she could help us this one time, but in the future Mom was going to have to know the last four digits of the social security number on the account. [Does anyone with a legal background read my blog? Is this allowed? How is it that a social security number has become a "national identity" number when it was originally designed for the purpose of keeping track of employment? How do illegal aliens get cable if they don't have a social security number?] Ms. Supervisor said that my Mother should change the account but that she would need her social security card to do so - along with Dad's social security number. I said something to the effect that most people don't carry their social security cards around with them and customer service person decided that she needed to argue with me, "Oh, yes. Everyone carries their social security card." No, not everyone does, you idiot! [You just want to argue because you can't stand white women and you've had an inferiority complex your entire life!] You are not supposed to. If your pocketbook or wallet gets stolen and you've got your license in it, along with a credit card or two, and your social security card, you are screwed! Brains and common sense are, obviously, not a prerequisite for becoming a customer service representative at Time Warner Cable. I'm not sure what prerequisites are required other than being the "right" color. I do know that last week 121 workers at Caterpillar in Clayton were laid off and I'd be willing to bet that you could find a worker or two in that group who would relish the opportunity to work as a customer service representative at Time Warner and who might actually bring some people skills to work with them - no matter WHAT color they are!

Anyway, after a good deal of arguing back and forth we were able to get a breakdown of what it is, exactly, that Mom is paying for. There is NO good way to do this. If you cancel the cable completely and just want phone service and internet then it is $160. a month because the price of having those two options, separately, doubles if you don't have a "package deal" that includes cable. Makes absolutely no sense at all. But with no industry competition, Time Warner Cable has you over a barrel and they can charge whatever it is they want. Competition is a good thing. How come there isn't any? If Mom "locked" into a two year contract she could have lowered her bill to $149. for all of the same services that she was paying $179. a month for. Does that make any sense? Sure it does. For the cable company but not for the cable company customers!

What Mom finally decided to do was to remove the premium cable package and get basic cable - some 24 channels, only. She was told that she needs to bring the box and clicker back to the Time Warner Office - along with her social security card - and that then they will switch her service and she'll only have to pay $113. a month. Remember. All of this took place on Thursday. So, last night, I'm getting ready to go ~~sit~~ sleep in the recliner in the bedroom and turn on the television to watch Fox News. There is now NO cable at all. Not the 24 channels as promised. None. Today means another trip to Time Warner to get this straightened out. I'll be taking names. I neglected to get customer service woman's name a couple days ago, and I have no idea what Ms. Supervisor's name is. But someone in a cushy office somewhere needs to know just how incredibly ineptly the local office is being run in Clayton. Oh, and someone needs to turn those 24 channels on pretty darn quick, since Mom is paying for them!

P.S. Anonymous - I don't know what your problem is. Are you jealous that you can't have plastic surgery? Or something? Either way I've got comment moderation on for people just like you and you are NOT going to get through. Good try though.

Surgery

2010-03-25T14:25:00.004+03:00

Glad I had it done before the debacle known as the Health Care Bill passed. I didn't get the tummy tuck. Call me chicken. I'm going to get a personal trainer when I get home and work on the tummy that way. I knew there was just no way I could take the pain. The breast lift and "pluff" has been painful enough. But at least I can finally move my arms enough to type. I don't know what I expected - but I didn't expect the pain. Duh! Of course it didn't help that I had an allergic reaction to the painkillers that were originally prescribed. Just made everything worse.

My Dear Mother, who was a nurse, has been lovingly taking care of me for the last week. I will owe her big time for all she has done. I had the surgery done on Friday, the 19th of March. I had to be at the hospital for 6:30A and we were home by 2:00P. Can't sleep in a bed yet - can't lay down. Sleeping in a recliner and that has actually been quite comfortable. Let's see... What else. Showering has been interesting. Cannot wash my own hair. Cannot use a blow dryer. Cannot lift anything - nothing. Cannot laugh [or sneeze or cough]. Made the mistake of visiting Matthew's place yesterday and was in pain for an hour afterward [laughter - the man DOES have a way with words!].

Going today for my first post-op follow up visit. I'm not sure if the stitches will come out today or not.

Have to say that prior to getting all the drugs at the hospital - WakeMed in Cary, N.C. - I had discussions with several nurses and none of them are supportive of the jugearedjackass's plan for reparations in the form of health care. Glad I am not a tanning bed tanner. Taxes on tanning facilities went into place immediately after the bill was signed. Also have to say that I have never seen such an efficiently run hospital - medical facility - in my life [not that I've had much experience - I don't get sick very often and I can't recall the last time I was a patient in a hospital - 1981 when I gave birth to my son?]. Have nothing but positive praise for the treatment I received at WakeMed. If you are going to have to have surgery - elective or not - and you are in the Raleigh area, go to WakeMed in Cary to have it done!

I have an excellent doctor - and so far I am thrilled with the results! Has all the pain been worth it? Yes. I do believe it has been! I'll know better as the healing progresses. But, so far, so good. Back to regular blogging soon.

Short Leave

2010-03-20T13:40:00.001+03:00

Going to get my surgery! Back soon.

Another Poor Little Bali Street Dog

2010-03-17T10:58:00.002+03:00

I neglected to include this little guy in my previous post on the Bali Street Dogs.

This is really much more like what there are just so many of roaming the streets in Bali. Thin. Hungry. Not healthy. Alone. The situation had a pretty serious impact on me. As much as I saw and thoroughly enjoyed the beauty and fun that Bali had to offer, each night I laid in bed and mentally reviewed the sadness I had seen throughout the course of the day. I still haven't figured out what I am going to do to encourage donations - to ANY animal shelter [because I know homeless, stray, hungry and sick animals roam the streets EVERYWHERE in the world] - but I AM going to do SOMETHING.

And, when I was doing the post I could not find the two facilities that I knew I had pictures of - well, one is nothing more than just a sign - and I should have taken a picture of the building. We saw a third while we were there. I am pretty sure it was another BAWA, though. Only caught it briefly as we whizzed by in the car.

Beverages.

2010-03-16T21:11:00.003+03:00

Alcohol, to purchase in Bali, is not cheap. [Cheaper than where we live, though! And certainly more abundant and actually available.] It took me a while to get the money down. It is just so odd. 1,000,000 IDR is $100.00 USD. 100,000 IDR is $10.00. So the 358,000 IDR for a bottle - small fifth of Smirnoff - that's $35.80! How much is it in the States? $15.00, maybe? At most?

Interestingly enough, we saw Smirnoff and Stolichnaya - both pricey - and two unknown brands to me, Vibe and something I cannot recall, but not a single bottle of Absolut. How is it then, that we saw so many Absolut bottles? Not a single one of them filled with the real thing. [Not that it would matter, I've boycotted the brand since they did their adverting campaign advocating for open borders.] Nope. They are all filled with petrol, gasoline, at little stands EVERYWHERE for people to fill the tanks of their scooters and motorbikes. [Apparently Bali vacationers don't drink Absolut, either. Good. And to the locals? The only thing Absolut is good for is filling the bottles with gas.]

It is worth noting that there is a local Bali vino, Hatten, which has a web site that I, of course, cannot get to because Websense blocks anything having to do with tobaccoandalcohol products [as if they don't exist if you can't view them on the internet!]. The local vino was okay. Just okay. Nothing to write home about. I did drink a few bottles, though, but more often than not, when I could, I choose to indulge in something else. Vino is a personal taste. There may be others who think that it was just great. Me? Like I said. Just okay.

Ohh! And this menu. Had to take a picture.

Triple xes in the Long Island Ice Tea? Or how about a Scrudriver? I actually had an Illusion. Nothing to write home about. Give me a Mojito or just plain old vodka and club soda, any day.

Nothing to do with living in The Sandbox

2010-03-16T09:03:00.004+03:00

And, as much as I try [fail!] to keep politics out of my blog because this isn't a blog about politics blah, blah, blah... I just cannot help myself sometimes. The current administration at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, under the helm of their teleprompted leader - the jugearedjackass - constantly and consistently leaves itself wide open for criticism and ridicule. It is no secret that I absolutely loathe that pos who has usurped the highest office in the free world - correction, what used to be the free world. No matter. Things will eventually right themselves. Lord, I hope so! Anyway, I didn't ask his permission but this piece has to be shared. If you haven't taken the opportunity to visit The Lunatic's Asylum, you really ought to. Well, provided you are a right-thinking like mind. Today Matthew posted this:

Reason #11,206 Why Your President is an Asshole...

Okay, I've just turned the television on, and once again The Savior of the Universe is on television complaining about Insurance companies, beating the bushes for his ObamaCare monstrosity. He's using the same old strawman arguments about "the old lady who gets screwed by her insurance company" and "paid the highest deductible, but got rotten service" and was ultimately "dropped for a pre-existing condition" and all that tommyrot.

Listen, I have first-hand knowledge of what it is to be fucked royally by an insurance company, but I can console myself with this thought: when they were picking up my bills, 90% of my medical expenses were paid for, and I still got 60% of my yearly salary -- tax free -- for almost two years afterwards.

And I paid a lot for that level of coverage, Mr. President. I was recently looking at an old paycheck, and I was paying just a hair over $2,400 a year for that policy, and Lord knows how much of that tab my employer picked up. The lesson: if you can afford to pay for it, you can get awesome coverage.

The problem is that there are people who can't afford that level of coverage, and the reason they can't is not because the insurance companies are out to screw them; it's because they can't earn enough to pay for it themselves. The reasons they can't earn enough to pay for it are varied, but I can promise you that at the top of the list are: uneducated (because the Union-run public schools do such a good job!), lazy (why work when you can claim aggrieved minority status, or just engage in serial pregnancy and get free money?), receiving welfare for the second or third generation, criminal, in the country illegally, have never held a job in their lives.

What Pelosi and Reid have wrought, America wants not. I don't know how much clearer that can be made without an angry mob gathering outside the White House with torches and pitchforks. We can't afford it as a country, and the economy at present is shrinking, not growing, and so it's not likely to be a winner at anytime in the foreseeable future. Drop this subject, Mr. President. You should be paying attention to more important things.

Yet, they can't seem to help themselves, these Obamatards. They keep pushing and pressing and trying to sell it to us. They think if they send The Won out into set-piece little dramas where he is surrounded by vocal supporters (the lazy, halt and stupid, the Union slobs who can afford their own insurance but want it for nothing, anyway), and keep putting them lofty speeches into the Ol' Teleprompter for him to vocalize -- that if he just manages to seem somewhat "Presidential" -- then this pig will manage to fly.

Someone's been watching too much "West Wing", methinks...when he hasn't been following strange men into the shower, allegedly?

None of this makes Barack Obama look "Presidential". Today will be, I think, like his 50th Potemkin Village speech on "health" "care". I still don't know what the heck he's talking about, except that a long-standing American libtard tradition of giving shit to people who haven't earned, and certainly won't ever pay, for it, is to be continued on an even grander scale. FDR and LBJ were disgustingly parsimonious with other people's money compared to BHO. Yeah, that'll make it increasingly popular.

Get this through your heads, democrats: poor people are not terribly motivated to do anything for very long (except maybe breed, smoke crack, and commit violent crimes). You may manage to harness their numbers every so often to achieve some limited result, but you will never be able to harness them for the sort of "transformative" change you're talking about because your own actions have turned them into little more than mental slaves of the government plantation -- with rice pudding for brains, no ambition, no pride and no work ethic. You can round them all up and pump 'em full of adrenaline, but their enthusiasm will quickly fade because their attention spans are geared for "right this second" rather than "tomorrow"; this is why the class-warfare card always fails. It's why this bill will never become law. It's why you're failing now.

It's now gone beyond mere failure, and it begins more and more to resemble desperate begging. It's high-pressure, full-court press sales time; you might as well hang a sign on Obi Won that says "Everything must Go!". You can smell the fear through the television set; this man, who promised so much, has delivered on nothing. If anything, he's already on track to become the Worst President in U.S. History, and yet he's holding out the slim hope that there will be something, something, that he can "achieve" of lasting value that will set him above James Earl Carter on that list. It's beginning to look more like ego than a policy goal. But He's wrong about it all.

Primarily, he's wrong because his vision was too broad, and in the end, he left it to others with their own agendas to fashion it and put their stamps upon it. The other reason he's wrong is because none of this crap over "health" "care" is what a President needs to be doing, nor a government. Do you realize that while the American economy tanks, we've spent fifteen months talking about nothing but this stupid bill?

On the one hand, we should be thankful the assholes in Congress have been preoccupied by this monstrosity, because who knows what other nonsense they may have cooked up if they had had more free time. On the other, BHO has frittered away one third of his presidency tilting at windmills. And if you'll allow me a third hand for rhetorical purposes, The Obama/Pelosi/Reid Frankenstein Bill has probably done more to damage the democratic (small 'd' intentional) party for the future than any tax-cheating, boy-fondling, bribe-taking Congresscirtter ever could.

This bill is the Titanic, and when it finally goes down, it's taking everyone with it. You know it, I know it, anyone capable of breathing without mechanical assistance (would that be covered?) knows it; why doesn't Barack Obama? Either he's stupid, or he doesn't care. I don't know which is worse.

Does it get any better than that? No. It does not! The man's snark-o-meter is stuck ON - it goes full blast ALL THE TIME.

There are a lot of political blogs out there. I spend free time reading many of them. But none quite take the tone of Matthew's analysis of day-to-day policy coming from Washington. Truly I hope that one day I can meet him and share a beverage with him and converse - or just listen to him talk - for the sheer entertainment value of it if nothing else! On the other hand, I suspect if I have a beverage that I'm trying to consume it will be an ugly sight - no one wants to watch someone spew vino out of their nose...

About that Global Warming Crap

2010-03-16T08:44:00.003+03:00

Earth ~~day~~ hour. Turn out the lights. All to heighten the awareness of climate change. Calling algore... Bull$hit is what it is. The Sandbox is chiming in. [How ironic. From a country that cares nothing about what it emits in its air from petroleum refineries and other caustic manufacturing facilities. From a country that does nothing about keeping the dust out of the air and lets us all breathe in toxic substances that are pretty much the equivalent of little teeny tiny pieces of asbestos.] On March 27th, for one hour in the evening, between 8:30 and 9:30, the electricity is going to be shut off. It is the first time that The Sandbox bothered to include itself in the whole global warming hoax since "earth hour" began in 2007. Personally, unless the electricity is shut off at some main point and I cannot turn the lights on, I plan to turn every single light in the house on and every possible appliance.

Bull$hit is what it is. Pure bull$shit.

Thanks A Whole Lot

2010-03-15T19:49:00.001+03:00

You phukktards that have screwed up flying for the rest of us. You know who you are.

As if going through security isn't enough of a hassle, taking off your shoes, removing liquids and gels. Will flying to the States from Doha, Qatar, require me to go through one of those full body scanners, too? I have no objection to doing so and firmly believe that flying is a privilege, NOT a right. To all who oppose to going through the full body scanners? Ride a camel to your destination. Take a boat. Walk. But you are not getting on any plane I am getting on if the rest of us have been put through the scanner. Who doesn't go through the body scanner? Someone who has something to hide, that's who. No, I'm not willing to listen to any argument that it is against someone's values or morals or cult beliefs. Take a long hard look at WHY it is that flying has become such an ordeal. Then try to present an argument that it is against your values or morals or cult beliefs. There is one reason why flying has become such a nightmare and one reason, only. I don't think I have to spell it out.

Here's what I'm pissed off about today, though. And it is not because my luggage gets searched, by hand, in Doha, by someone who is touching everyone else's stuff without even changing her gloves - yeah, that lip gloss you just opened and stuck halfway up your nostril? You can keep it. I don't want it now. Those sneakers in the bag before mine that you just man-handled and now you are opening my eye shadow to rub one of your filthy dirty gloved fingers across it to make sure it is powder and not cream? You can have the eye shadow, too. Sure, maybe you think I have some sort of germ phobia - I do - but again, that isn't why I'm pissed off about flying. Not even pissed about the full body scan.

I am pissed off because I cannot take my knitting on the plane. That's right. Knitting! Why? Because the knitting needles could be used as a weapon by someone if they fell into the wrong hands. Yep. Knitting needles are not allowed on planes. Is that like one of the most ridiculous things you have ever heard? No. Probably not. I can see how a knitting needle could be used as a weapon. I don't use two long needles, I use one circular needle. Think piano wire around someone's neck. Why that's an incredibly pleasant thought, isn't it?

So, let's see. Fly out of here to Doha. Sit in Doha for a couple of hours. Then get on the flight there to Washington, D.C. It is a 14 and a half hour flight. FOURTEEN AND A HALF HOURS on one flight. Can you even imagine how much knitting you could get done in that amount of time? Then I think I'm in Washington for three hours - it might be four - before I get on the final flight leg home. Knitting sure would pass the time for me. But, nooooo. No knitting needles allowed. Yarn? Sure. No problem. Just no needles.

Thanks a whole lot!

Really Important Post about PCRC

2010-03-15T07:46:00.001+03:00

Really important? Nah. Not so much. But as a public service I feel the need to share the fact that there are 17 road deaths a day in The Sandbox. Only 17? I would have thought more. Statistics for 2008-2009 show that there were 485,000 accidents in which 6,485 people were killed. I've long forgotten how to do percentages - what percent is that, people killed in accidents? Seems like a relatively small number like a little over 1%. Not even 1.5%. The article quotes some other percentage but I don't know how that was derived other than to say that there are 13 deaths for every 1000 accidents - which comes out to what - a little over 1% - 1.3%. [If someone else that can remember how to do this kind of math wants to correct me, I'd be appreciative.] So out of 485,000 accidents, only a little over 1% of the people involved died. What is are the statistics for other parts of the world, I wonder?

The World Health Organization [WHO] issued a report giving The Sandbox the award for having the "highest road accident death toll in the world." Yowza! In the world!!! That's going to be hard to beat, elsewhere [in case anyone is looking at this like a competition of sorts].

In a report by the General Directorate of Traffic, released mark the beginning of the 26th Gulf Traffic Week [huh?] yesterday, "some 30 percent of accidents in Riyadh area were due to drivers jumping traffic lights, followed by 18 percent due to illegal u-turns. Speeding, sudden stops and and engaging in other activities while driving, such as using mobile phones, were among the reasons leading to accidents." And, you want to know what will be done about it? Absolutely nothing, that's what. This has got to be the ONLY country in the world where the traffic police face fines and penalties for doing their job.

I've gone on and on and on in the past about how you are literally taking your life in your hands by getting behind the wheel of a car, here in The Sandbox. The driving is something that has to be seen to be experienced. My telling you about it just doesn't do it justice. Think I'm kidding? Read some of the comments from the article. No, wait. Please. Allow me:

Kamaludeen says, "It is really sad to read this news. Please do something to give AWARENESS about Traffic Regulations to the public..." Really? Really, Kamaludeen? You think that that is going to make a difference? The public is quite aware of what the Traffic Regulations are but chooses to ignore them - all of them!

Iftekhar Ahmed says, "...KSA [has] one of the best roads [sic] system in the World... but unfortunately the people driving like crazy.....all over the Kingdom." I don't know about one of the best road systems in the World, Iftekhar, but you won't get any argument from me about the "people driving like crazy.....all over the Kingdom." Crazy doesn't even begin to cover it.

Sami says, "Who cares any way. We hear all this talk about new rules which will help reduce accidents in a big way but have never seen anything implemented... Go to Bahrain and you will find a significant improvement in the way people drive there. If you spot any vehicle over-speeding, wrongly overtaking, breaking signals, etc. etc. just look at the number plate of the car and you will not be surprised at all to find a KSA on it." Well, Sami, until authorities here are given the authority to do something about this problem of PCRC don't expect anything to change. The reason it is different in Bahrain? Authorities, i.e., the Traffic Police ARE allowed to issue tickets and fines and court dates. Here? Not so much.

Concerned Person hits the nail on the head, "Yes, let's blame the government and the lack of signs and stoplights." Said tongue-in-cheek. "I place the blame squarely on the drivers. There are those who drive but lack the education to do so well. Train them or get them off the roads." You really think "education" is the problem? No, it is not. You say so yourself, "Then there are those who even if they would have used their wealth to educate themselves properly would still drive dangerously simply because of their mentality: they feel they are superior to others, the rules don't apply to them and they always have the right of way while others simply have no rights." [Emphasis, mine.] Bingo! 'Nuff said. There is more to Concerned Person's comment, "This disrespect towards ones' fellow humans is alos evident in other part of Saudi society as many maids and others like them are telling us every day." Wow. Someone - Concerned Person - has his/her eyes wide open!

Qatwa, says, "Again and again always the same!!! Really the gov must do something, 98% drive as they want, not keeping any rule. It start with Mobile whle driving ignore red traffic light high spped in the town, one way streets, overload the car, kids on the laps and many more... ...small boys driving car, with out license... Why you are surprised??? Every body park as he wish no matter if he disturb others!! " I will not correct his English usage. Kudos to him for speaking a whole heck of a lot more English than I speak Arabic. Regardless, the message is spot on and as it continues advocates for fines - right then and there - hit men [remember, women are not allowed to drive in The Sandbox] in the pocket where it will hurt the most.

Nishtar Idroos says, "Stricter laws and stiffer penalties are the only way forward." Amen to that! "The enforcing agents must be doubly smart both physically and technologically... The adventurous segment that causes most of the havoc [are you kidding?!? it is every man not just the adventurous segment!] always had the advantage by virtue of a lackadaisical attitude of the traffic police and their technological constraints." I don't know about technological constraints, but they are for sure "constrained" through no fault of their own.

There are more. Most confirm what I have been saying all along. Until the Traffic Police are ALLOWED to do their job there will be unabated PCRC in The Sandbox.

Chia Pets

2010-03-14T16:33:00.002+03:00

Is the jugearedjackass Chia Pet still available? I need to get a couple when I'm in the States next month. One will go to a family member who voted for him - probably for Christmas [it is never too early to start shopping for Christmas - there are only 285 days!]. And, it would be good to have a couple over here on the ready for gag gifts when you need them. I mean, after all, what else has the man done that is worth anything more than a gag gift? Oh, he's a gag gift, alright. A joke. And the joke is on us!

Maids "turn up the heat"

2010-03-14T09:39:00.005+03:00

So says the headline. But mostly it is a complain-fest about the distrust between the maid's sponsors and the maids. The article, here, says that "... the number of domestic workers being abused in the Kingdom is rising at an alarming rate. [Umm hmm, it is. And what is being done about it? Nothing. That's what.] On the other hand, the number of maids getting back at their sponsors is growing even more." [Really? What did you expect would happen? That they would remain working and idly taking the abuse that is doled out?] Reported is one instance where a maid was abused and abused and abused and she just couldn't take it anymore, so she extracted revenge, which was "final." I don't specifically recall reading about that particular instance, but then, since it is so common place, I could have read it and even posted on it.

One housewife [emphasis, mine] says that she was paying her maid handsomely, "SR1,700 per month." [$454.54.] Supposedly, the maid asked for more and when she did not get it she took the woman's "jewelry safe" and "ran away." Sure. It could have happened. Do I believe the maid was being paid that much? Nope. Do I believe the maid could have taken the jewelry and run away? Yep. But I'd be willing to bet that the maid did it because she wasn't being paid. At all.

Interesting that the Middle East is the ONLY part of the world that finds it "really hard not to live without the help of a maid." No where else in the world... I'm not talking about a housekeeper [or, houseboy]. When we lived in the States we had a housekeeper. She once a week. We paid her. Quite a bit. Having a weekly housekeeper is not unusual. Having a full-time maid is for most of us, anyway.

Why is it that everyone seems to believe a maid is going to extract revenge by taking it out on the children? Does anyone understand that there is a difference between a MAID and a NANNY? If you want someone to take care of your children, hire a nanny. A woman, Marian Al-Hasan, says that she was "shocked when I saw bruises and cuts on my nine-month-old baby's body. I asked the maid about it." The goes on to say that she installed a "nanny-cam" to discover that "the nanny terrorized and physically abused my baby." Which is it, Mrs. Al-Hasan? You said MAID and then decided she was a NANNY. They are NOT one and the same. Someone has seen "The Nanny Diaries" a few too many times, maybe? For the sake of the rest of us and in fairness to the maid, get your story [as in fiction versus non-fiction] straight. Allegedly, the ~~maid~~ nanny was "... upset with us because my mother-in-law is constantly yelling at her. But she is an old lady, what do you expect?" To be treated with some civility and respect?! Out of the question, I guess. A lot of mother-in-laws are "old" and you don't hear them yelling. Blah, blah, blah. Excuses, excuses, excuses. One right after the other. Gets old.

There is some highly implausible report of a maid hitting a child before school every morning, too. "The student was very afraid and she asked us not to inform her parents about it." Umm hmm. Sure. When you need to make the story really set in, bring out the kiddies ala Harry Reid and his co-horts, you know, democrat style. That way you are guaranteed to extort the sympathy factor time ten for maximum ick. "She said that her maid hits her every morning because she is the reason why she wakes up really early to drop her to school." Does the maid put her on the back of her bicycle? Maids, women, are not allowed to drive here. Only the most gullible would believe the story.

This is telling, though: "Most Saudis are more concerned about maids performing black magic rather than stealing valuables." And for finality we get a sob story about how some woman "said her husband left her and married the maid because she put a spell on him." Say what?! Seriously!! "I accidentally noticed a piece of thin fabric which held some hair and some unknown words written on it under my husband's pillow... I later discovered that my made was making a love talisman for my husband to make him leave me and marry her." Right. The woman's occupation? Housewife. So that's two housewives in one article, both requiring a full-time maid.

Marrying the maid. It must be an issue. Who knew? It is okay, and it isn't. A man named Muhammad "found himself in a difficult situation after he divorced his wife and married the woman who was working as his housemaid." How common is this practice, anyway? He goes on to complain that the marriage lasted a month, and when the ~~maid~~ his new wife left him he was "left alone, nursing a guilty conscience." Aww. How sad.

"No one can deny the fact that some men fall in love with their maids or need their care and service, especially those who suffer from ailments." Then, apparently, the practice is okay, because it is "permissible for ill people." [Emphasis, mine.] Now that would be one lucky maid! According to one expert, Dr. Saleh Al-Sadlan, "it is permissible to marry housemaids if men suffer from chronic diseases and do not have anyone to look after them... Such a marriage is good for a man because she will become a wife and a maid." See? Didn't I say lucky! Could it possibly get any better.

Another expert, Dr. Khaled Al-Mosleh, has an opposing view and sanely suggests "that this kind of marriage is impermissible because of the injustice to the new wife." Although he gives credence to the credibility of such a marriage so that a man can "avoid the social stigma of mingling with an unrelated woman," or to marry the maid "to satisfy their lusts..." Well, there you go. Even though it is not permissible it is okay. Kind of sort of. "...these marriages are impermissible because of the great injustice done to the wife... The injustice may cause her to resort to black magic and sorcery..." What is it with the black magic!? Which, of course, is only practiced by the maids.

Wonder just how many of those marriages - where a man marries his maid - end up with them both living happily ever after. Just like in the fairy tales...

Beauty is in the Eyes of the Beholder

2010-03-14T08:37:00.000+03:00

Or something like that. I, personally, was quite impressed with a good many of the Budda-like carvings and the many, intricately carved "rocks" at the Temples we saw [and we saw a lot!].

The more odd looking, the better, in my opinion. Saw a great deal of what would likely be deemed "politically incorrect" in the Western part of the world.

Thankfully the left-wing kooks haven't infiltrated Bali and other parts of the East. Yet. [Give it time. If it is art that is insulting to anyone with a right-leaning slant, it is all good. Insulting to anyone leaning left? Bad. Very bad.]

Think you could get away with this in the States? Highly unlikely! Someone would be screaming, "That's racist!" and the ACLU would be filing a lawsuit against the store proprietor faster than you can pop a bag of popcorn in the microwave.

Still have more to share...

Rice Terraces, Volcano and Waterfall

2010-03-13T12:29:00.003+03:00

Some random photos from Bali. More tomorrow with the politically incorrect "stuff."

Rice Terraces [which are beautiful, by the way, so lush and green...]

The view of a rice paddy at a restaurant famous for its fresh "Crispy Duck." [Look closely. Those little tan "specks" that look like rocks, or something, are ducks.]

The volcano.

Git Git Waterfall.

Note to anyone going to Bali in the future: Do not wear high-heeled wedge sandals to Git Git Waterfall no matter just how fabulous they are and no matter how perfectly they match your outfit. Opt for sensible shoes, instead. The half mile path to the waterfall is a bit rugged.

Make Your Weekend A Three Day'er

2010-03-13T10:04:00.003+03:00

Yep. Turn any two-day weekend into a three-day weekend. Want to know how? Have someone in your family feign illness and go to one of the medical facilities. Since women are not allowed to drive in The Sandbox, that means the man of the family will have to take a day off from work to take the sick woman or sick child. And, since you know you are going to be there for a while, make it an outing. Bring the whole family! Including the maid. Heck, even the maid deserves an outing once in a while doesn't she? Couldn't possibly leave the maid home with all the other children. Nope. Does not work that way. Everyone gets to go.

What is interesting is how there are so few sick people on Thursday and Friday. Why is that? Because that is the same as Saturday and Sunday, in the States, and no one here wants to miss a single minute of the weekend. But come Saturday morning, the equivalent of Monday morning in the States, man oh man oh man are there a bunch of sick people!

I spent twenty minutes this morning driving around looking for a parking spot. I was willing to walk a distance, didn't need one of the "no parking this is the curb" spaces that others were taking. After driving and driving and driving, virtually in circles, I gave up, came home and walked to the clinic. [I had other errands to run, or I would have walked in the first place. I just need to collect records.] The throngs of people there today were amazing. Honestly, as bad as parking has been in the past, and I've been to the clinic on some pretty busy days, I have never seen it like it was today. Is there something going around? We know it isn't swine flu, because that comes from pork and there is no pork allowed, here. And, besides, it was just a made up epidemic by the jugearedjackass and his cronies who need every opportunity to not waste a crisis.

Nowhere in the entire hospital / speciality clinic area was there an empty chair for waiting. Not a single one. Unbelievable. Really! Really - do you need to bring the entire family and the maid when only one person in the family is sick? Why?! Are you afraid that the maid will harm your children if you don't bring them and leave them with her? Why does one man need to bring three adult women with him? Never mind. I know why. They must all be treated equally - two cannot possibly be left behind when one is sick because the one that is sick might get a coffee and a donut and it would not be fair to the two who didn't get to go to the clinic. Or something.

Yeah. Good times this morning. Good times.

But to come home and find the pool guy looking for the chlorine tablets that he LEFT OUTSIDE yesterday... Icing on the cake. You have a key to the gate, why didn't you bring them inside and put them in the pool room, dumbass? I'm not paying for that batch of chlorine tablets and now you need to get another batch and I want to see the receipt. Remember a month ago the pool had to be emptied because the light had filled up with water? Rev did a most fabulous job repairing it and now, the pool light is filled with water, again, and will need to be emptied so the light can be repaired. I called a friend who has a pool. Rev is not their pool guy and we need someone else.

Surrounded. I am surrounded... Going home to the States, shortly, probably won't be a whole lot better. Going to be surrounded, there, too. By all the people that voted for hopenchange. How's that working out for you folks, anyway? That umployment check you're getting? Sure, you'll be special in that you'll get two years of benefits when that is not what unemployment was ever intended to do. Remember how he was gonna take care of all of you if you voted for him? Umm hmm. You are about to get the worlds biggest butt reaming with his healthcare takeover. You voted for him, you deserve the reaming. But leave the rest of us out of it. We didn't vote for him!

More on that abused baby. Why, how cozy.

2010-03-13T06:37:00.013+03:00

Yes, cozy. That would be the only way to describe the situation. That, and confusing. Cozy and confusing. [The facts from one article to the other... Along with one of them having to be incorrect - is the young wife 20 or 23-years-old? - just don't make sense. Sense? Give it up. When you live in a "NLZ"* you do not expect to "make sense" of things. That, and that the two reports are from two different newspapers.]

Regardless of what makes sense or what doesn't, the fact remains that a woman - who was the second wife - or first wife, depending on which report you refer to - of a man who had two wives - abused a baby. A little seven-month-old baby girl. Why? To get revenge on the man's first wife - or his second wife. Today's article says, "The incident took place last week when Anwar's 20-year-old mother, who lives with her husband's first wife, was busy with chores [read: talking or texting on her mobile] in another room and heard Anwar screaming and crying." Last week it was reported that the child belonged to the first wife and that the second wife had been the abuser.

No matter, really. First wife. Second wife. What does matter is that a baby - a six or seven-month-old baby was used as a pawn in this cozy little menageatrois [spelled that way on purpose]. Which just goes to show you that for all the harmony and peace and love and understanding that we are led to believe takes place between a man who is allowed up to four [sometimes six] wives really just does not exist. Oh, sure, everyone can pretend it does, and they do...

Someone go ahead and correct me if I am wrong on this, but it is my understanding that for a man to take on four [or six] wives that they all had to be treated equally. That he had to be able to provide for each of them separately - two wives? Two houses. What were they all doing living together under the same roof? "Anwar's mother married her husband after he divorced his first wife. The pair later reconciled and the three of them were living together in the same house." Cozy? Understatement. And just look how it worked out.

*No logic zone.

A struggle to make ends meet. With a maid.

2010-03-11T08:06:00.003+03:00

Really pretty hard to feel any sympathy for this woman. She is a twice divorced woman with children - kind of sort of - she gets custody of them until they are seven years old, at which time they go to their father. She is working as a sales agent and makes 5,000 SR a month. That is $1,336.89. She says, "I suffer a lot from people who look down on me working..." A telling statement, there. You know what? In the rest of the "real" world, most women work. I was a divorced single mother. I worked. Sometimes two jobs to make ends meet. I don't know whether or not people looked down on me for that, but I know I wasn't on welfare and never asked for someone else - city, state or country - to take care of me and pay my way. [Unlike Sarah Dustin! The "poster" woman for welfare benefits in N.H. many years ago.] Here's the thing, though. Look at her expenses. Listed first is the 1,500 she pays for a maid. Seems to me that if she got rid of her maid she'd be 1,500 a month richer and wouldn't have to struggle so hard to make ends meet. The 2,000 a month for a driver? You can count on paying for a driver - since Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive... Struggling to make ends meet. With a maid. Laughable. And hardly worthy of any sympathy.

I must be running low on energy or patience or something. Just don't have it in me, today, to put the usual amount of "snark" into this post.

Ubud Monkey Forest

2010-03-10T11:29:00.001+03:00

Interesting little "forest," in Ubud, Bali. Ubud, by the way, is a lovely little artsy town that you can just get lost, exploring in. So many art shops, so many shops. Beautiful little cafes and restaurants. [Lots of dogs...] Some of the big wood carving "factories" are in Ubud. Thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed the three separate visits we took to Ubud, which was about an hour or an hour and a half away from where we were in Seminyak. Given the opportunity and chance to go to Bali again, I would choose to spend more time in Ubud... [although it is a good hour or hour and a half away from the golf courses and that would not be good for DH].

The Monkey Forest. No bars, no cages, no glass. Just us and the monkeys and a bunch of other tourists. I was so looking forward to going there, thinking, "Oh, monkeys are just so cute." Umm, no, they aren't, really. And if you could have seen the TEETH these monkeys had! Fangs, even.

I was happy that none of them approached us. Of course, we didn't pay the 10,000 IRD [$1.00 US] for bananas to feed them, either. No need, really. Everyone else was feeding the monkeys. Surely they are some of the best fed monkeys of monkeys in the world. We did not see a single "thin" monkey anywhere in this forest.

We did see one couple - with a Monkey Handler - holding a monkey, like you would a child on your hip, and having their picture taken by the Monkey Handler. When it came time for the monkey to be set down he [she?] wanted no part of it and was clinging to the woman and pulling her hair and completely ripped open her shirt at the shoulder on one side. Not pretty. The woman was rather frightened and freaked out about it [who wouldn't be?!]. Her screaming made the monkey even more agitated about leaving her alone and the monkey was screeching and doing all it could to NOT get off of her. It was an interesting scenario, but no one can say that they were not warned... The sign on the way in:

It reads:

FOR YOUR SECURE AND SAFETY
PLEASE OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING INDICATION

1. Do not touch and tease the monkeys as they may react in an unpredictable manner.
2. If you wish to feed the monkeys, please do so carefully or seek a monkey expert in the green uniforms to assist you. Peanut are not allowed.
3. If there is no monkey expert nearby please toss the food to the monkeys from a safe distance.
4. Do not hide the food, the monkeys will find it, even it if is in your pocket or bag.
5. Never grab a monkey, if a monkey gets on you, drop all of your food and walk away slowly. If a monkey jumps on you, stand still and walk away slowly.
6. Please walk on the paving path.

WE TRUST YOUR VISIT WILL BE A MEMORABLE ONE.
Thank You

Some of the monkeys. Saw a lot of little baby monkeys. Ahhh, how cute [look closely at the first picture - the baby monkey is clinging to mama monkey - you can see baby monkey's tail - curling out to the left].

The sign on the way out - or the back way in if you are going first to the Temple:

It reads:

YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE
If you wish to enter the temple
you have to be dressed properly,
in respect to the Balinese Hindu Religion.

Please wear a scarf & sarong
around the waist if there is no
ceremony.

To join temple ceremony or any
religion event please wear
full traditional
Balinese costume:
* For woman : wear sarong,
Kebaya or Sleeved Shirt &
Scarf around the waist.
* For man : Wear sarong,

Head dress, Sleeved Shirt
"Saput." Scarf around the waist.

Entrance forbidden for woman
during Menstruation.

Please don't use flash during
the ceremony and during
the praying time.

Your cooperation is deeply
appreciated in preserving
the sanctity of our temple &
helping us preserve in a natural way
the beautiful Ubud.
Thank you.

As we were standing outside waiting for our guide to go and get the car, we watched a little monkey try to eat the seat of someone's scooter. Eat? No, destroy. What was probably a perfectly good scooter seat when someone parked it wasn't a perfectly good scooter seat when he [or she] returned. The monkey was intent on doing as much damage to it as possible and started chewing a little hole and by the time our car arrived for us had managed to take a half-hamburger-bun sized portion out of the seat.

Rumor? No, truth.

2010-03-10T08:54:00.006+03:00

Someone, not to long ago, said to DH, "You know they are going to completely redo Dhahran Highway and put it underground." DH, responded, "Are you serious? That is going to be a nightmare." Well, it's true. That is what they are going to do. The work has already started. Trips downtown? They will be few and far between. As if being on the roads here in The Sandbox isn't horrific enough!

Anyone who ever experienced the project in Boston, Massachusetts, known as "The Big Dig" knows exactly what kind of nightmare this is going to be. We lived in New Hampshire until 1998; I had the unfortunate pleasure of commuting 60 miles, one-way, to and from work in Concord, N.H., to Boston, MA, for a couple of years - the whole while the "Big Dig" was taking place. Good times. Not. I was not alone. DH did the commute a couple of times a week the whole time we lived in NH going back and forth, commuting from Logan Airport to RDU in Durham, N.C., a couple of times a week for work.

Good grief. What genius decided that this was necessary?

Sounds to me like someone's upset...

2010-03-09T06:13:00.003+03:00

...about the win, or loss, depending on how you look at it. I didn't watch the Oscars. I am glad Hurt Locker won over Avatar. I haven't seen either movie. Not really true, I saw part of Avatar - like a single five-minute scene. I have no interest or desire to watch the whole movie.

Yahoo was running one of their "headlines," something to the effect, "Best Dressed at the Oscars," and showed someone, Miley Cyrus, someone and someone. Why do I remember Miley Cyrus? Because Yahoo identified her as Sarah Jessica Parker. Even I knew it wasn't SJP. Miley, by the way, what are you, 17? You looked 35 in that gown with that updo. Slow down, honey. You've got plenty of time to play grown-up left ahead of you.

So I clicked on to see how the "stars" dressed and what "grades" they were given for their choices. This irks me. Not the dress - although it isn't the most lovely gown at the ball, by any stretch, but the fact that whoever did the commentary and issued the grade said this, "Can you believe James Cameron's Amazonian ex is 58?!" Was it really necessary to call Ms. Bigelow "Amazonian?" No. I don't think so. And I don't think she deserves a "D," either. A "B." The color doesn't do much for Ms. Bigelow, but the dress itself is okay. Navy blue would have been a better choice of color. So, because Avatar didn't win, and Hurt Locker did, she got called "Amazonian." I think she is an attractive woman and she looks absolutely fabulous for 58!

Look at some of those other frocks? Demi Moore, what were you thinking? SJP, yellow isn't really your color. What were their grades? A far cry above Ms. Bigelow's "D," I bet. See? Even the Oscars is political and if the left doesn't win, they start name calling. What is that, page 5 out of Saul Alinsky's handbook?

More Fun Than Should Be Allowed In A Day

2010-03-08T13:50:00.005+03:00

It wasn't all that bad, today, actually. Oh, well, yeah, sure a little painful. But every year except for the very first year, it has been painful. The parking was [almost] the worst part.

[To the one or two male readers that come here - if this makes you squeamish - talking about "female health issues," stop reading now.] Let's face it. Getting a mammogram is no fun. None. Whatsoever. But, it has to be done. When I had my very first one, quite a few years back, afterward I thought to myself, "Gee. That wasn't all that bad. Wonder what all the fuss is about." I'm guessing the technician that did that very first one didn't have a clue as to what she was doing. Every mammogram since has been painful. Could you POSSIBLY squish me any FLATTER?!! I don't think so!!! Today I asked the technician if she realized she had some of my clavicle bone squished between her plastic plates, too. She told me that it was "only skin." I don't think so. Skin is relatively pliable. Bones are not.

So, after my mammogram I trotted off to make an appointment for my blood work - which has been ordered by my plastic surgeon in the States and which my doctor, here, ordered so that I can have all of the necessary pre-op "stuff" out of the way before I leave in ten days. No appointment necessary. Just fast for twelve hours and go get the tests done. I will start fasting tonight at 7P. I'll be at the clinic tomorrow at 7A. [Which means I am all but guaranteed a parking spot! Anytime after 7:30, though, and you play the parking game.]

After I left the lab, I went to reception to make an appointment for my EKG. Not necessary. Go straight to the EKG lab and sign in and wait for no more than two or three minutes and - done. Just like that. Done. Who knew it could be so easy? Have to give the company, here, which runs our clinic big kudos for stream-lining things in certain areas.

So, by 7:30 or 8:00 tomorrow morning, I should have everything I need done and all I will have to do is collect the records - I will order them tomorrow - and I'm good to go.

Twelve hours with nothing but water. Not that big of a deal... You have to do what you have to do, sometimes.

An accident? No. Attempted Murder.

2010-03-08T09:23:00.006+03:00

An accident is when you pick up a glass of water too quickly and end up splashing yourself - perhaps in your eye - and choking because of your own force with which you raised the cup or glass. Do two-year-old children do this? Yes. [Which is precisely why there are sippy cups with lids.] Attempted murder is when you try to force a two-year-old to drink chlorine and pour it in the eye of the child. An accident. Umm hmm. Sure. I hope the twenty-three-year-old ~~woman~~ second wife who did this to this to an innocent little two-year-old girl rots away somewhere for a very, very long time.

A man divorced his wife, with whom he had two children. A little boy and a baby girl. Sometime afterward he remarried a twenty-three-year-old woman who, apparently, was not much keen on being a stepmother. Or so, it would seem. The little girl suffered at the hands of this wicked stepmother who is blaming prior injuries to the, then, baby - a broken leg and fractured thigh - on her, then, two-and-a-half-year-old brother. What two-and-a-half-year-old child is capable of inflicting such injuries to a baby? I suppose in some far fetched way it could happen. After all, anything is possible. I just highly doubt it.

Do I think that abuse of children by a stepmother or stepfather doesn't happen all over the world? Of course it does. I am merely pointing out this instance because it yet, again, brings to light the fact that divorce, here, when there are children involved, means that the children will automatically go to the father. I posted on another such instance a week or so ago, while we were away, and I was using the laptop. It's back there, in the archives. In that case, the mother was a non-Saudi who after divorcing her husband was banished to her home country to never see her little boy again and the father beat him so badly he was in the hospital for two weeks.

Am I the only one who sees something horribly wrong with this system? Of course, there is absolutely nothing I can do to change it. Just the way it is. Here, in The Sandbox. Such is life, I guess.

Bathrooms in Bali and Restaurant Review

2010-03-07T00:46:00.001+03:00

One word. Scary. Regretfully I have to disappoint, but after checking out just a couple out of necessity stops sans camera and then realizing that the necessity wasn't there after all due to the general condition of the facility, I did not bother to do the bathroom scene in Bali as I have done in other countries. With, of course, a couple of exceptions.

There was one restaurant that we decided was our favorite in Kuta. Well, it was my favorite. DH liked it very much as well. His favorite restaurant was near our villa in Seminyak, and we ate there several times. It would be a toss-up, really, as to which was "better" than the other. This post isn't really about the restaurants as much as it is the restrooms. Combining both just seems wrong. Oh, well. What the heck?!

Rumours is the restaurant that we ate at most often. We tried many, but kept going back to Rumours. Great calamari. The nice thing about Rumours is that it is only one or two restaurants down from Rumours was Ultimo, an Italian restaurant I really liked. Ultimo had the best lobster and avocado salad I have ever tasted. I could not stop eating it!

The second night we were there, in Bali, and headed out to find a place for dinner, I told DH that I wanted Italian. He saw the menu posted outside of Rumours and said, "Let's see what is on this menu." He looked, and before we could even think of walking away the young hostess said, "Two for dinner?" I responded and said, "No, not tonight. I really think I would like Italian tonight. Perhaps tomorrow." Not missing a beat the hostess said, "We have Italian menu, also." A second later I had Ultimo's menu in my hand. So the nice thing about these two restaurants is that they will let you order off of either menu. From there on we were at either Rumours or Ultimo twice a week for our duration. Excellent service at both. Good food. Good prices. I am fairly certain that one of the reasons DH enjoyed Rumors so much is that they treated his Bintang [Indonesia's Favorite Beer. Indonesia's ONLY beer!] with the respect he felt it deserved.

They put the bottle in a champagne bucket full of ice and covered it with a towel...

Because I had already managed to sneak a peek at facilities in other places, I just did not even bother chancing upon whatever conditions I might find and did not use facilities anywhere outside of our villa for the entire three weeks we were in Bali, except for ONE instance. If I even felt like it might be remotely possible that I might need facilities I would send DH in first to scope out the area. Didn't happen. I could tell by the look on his face as he would get back into sight whether or not it would be possible. [Scroll down.]

DH came out of the restroom one night and said, "You have to see the signs on the doors in there. It is a unisex bathroom and on the ladies stall they have that girl on the mud flaps on 18-wheelers." Okay. Off to the unisex bathroom I went, camera in hand.

I was a little surprised to not see the mud flap on the ladies stall and had completely misheard DH on that. He meant the sign on the door was the same. I was expecting the mud flap. Little misunderstanding. Nonetheless a nice, clean, usable facility! With real towels instead of paper towels or kleenex.

My favorite restaurant was in Kuta, not far from Seminyak, perhaps fifteen minutes or so. Poppies. We only went there twice, much to my dismay. There is not one appetizer, or salad, or daily special or other entree that I did not enjoy - the grilled mahi-mahi was absolutely delicious. Along with it being just a charming little restaurant, with good food and great service, it had the best Mojito's that I have ever had!

Apparently, Poppies is known for its world famous Pina Colada. Pretty majestic is all I can say!

It was at Poppies where I discovered the sign that said to not put articles of clothing in the toilet. Honestly. Never in my life. In the many countries and ladies rooms that I have ventured into have I seen a sign that had to instruct someone NOT to put articles of clothing into a toilet. I can only just barely comprehend that it had to have been a problem at some point or the sign wouldn't have been needed. Right?

Seriously?! A sign that says do not put articles of clothing in the toilet ... use the bin. You just have to wonder...

I'm still not able to quite comprehend how much of a problem this had to have been!

Back to life, here, in The Sandbox.

2010-03-06T06:46:00.007+03:00

While we were in Bali, the lay-out of the on-line version of Arab News changed, drastically. You can no longer look at the on-line version and know what was actually on the front page. The headlines all run on as if they are all on the front page, when, in actuality, they are not. When I clicked on Arab News this morning and saw this, "Abuse pushes maids to end their lives," I thought, "Gee that is on the front page?" Well, of course it isn't. It is on page four, just barely noticeable next to the quarter-page size advertisement for some local magazine. Abuse of maids? Why bother even mentioning it?

"Housemaids are [sic] claiming violence and mistreatment are the main reasons why many of them try to end their lives." No. Really? Because when they move to a foreign country to try to make a living for themselves and to support the families that they left behind, they actually thought they would be working normal hours and get paid and treated like a respected employee? Phooey on that. Make them work around the clock, allowing them only two or three hours of sleep. Oh, and make sure that the refrigerator you've purchased has a lock on it. They all do, here. Seriously. Go to any appliance store and find a refrigerator or a freezer without a lock on it. Just try. Salma, an Indonesian housemaid said, "I worked in a house where the sponsors used to feed us one meal a day and lock the fridge later to make sure we didn't eat anything else." The article reports, "In the last couple of years there have been countless reports of abuse in the media, including testimonies from maids about the withholding of salaries, verbal or physical abuse and restrictions on their movements." Last couple of years? We've been here seven years. Seven isn't normally considered just a "couple." "Couple," means two - three, pushing it - but then you are into "few."

Interestingly enough, while we were enjoying cold beverages on the patio of a restaurant in Kuta, Bali, our waitress, Maggie, struck up a conversation from us, starting with "Where are you from?" It went on from there. She asked my husband what he did for work and some of the usual questions one might expect from someone when you are meeting foreigners. Bali does not get an abundance of American visitors. Many from Australia, quite a few from Europe and a lot from Japan and China. Not Americans, though. She asked us how long our flight was and we explained that we had actually flown from Saudi Arabia where we live. "Oooh. Saudi Arabia. I have heard stories about Saudi Arabia. They torture the workers there." Well, no, not really, Maggie. They do not torture all of their workers. Just some. Mostly the maids. You are better off working at this restaurant and working on your farm with your 3,000 chickens. So, you see? These women know about the conditions and the plight of foreign maids here. Yet, they are often left with little choice than but try to make a living regardless of the conditions, elsewhere, such as working as housemaids in The Sandbox. It was an interesting conversation.

In the article, there is reference to an article which was published on February 27th about an Indonesian maid taken to the hopsital "when she fell from the third floor of her sponsor's building." Fell? Jumped! [If I could find it, I'd link it.] "The doctors later found that the maid had been beaten up and tortured and found burns and lashing marks on her back." [Oops. Sorry, Maggie, you are right. Tortured.]

A man [game: guess the nationality] has been exiled from Riyadh and sentenced to 100 lashes after having an affair. Exiled? You may go anywhere in the country, but stay out of Riyadh! Yeah. That ought to really punish him. And 100 lashes. Apparently a father complained "that the man had seduced his daughter, taken her to an apartment and slept with her." Removal from Riyadh and 100 lashes. Some punishment. What if it had been someone else?

Two items that I cannot find at Arab News on-line site from today's paper...

An 70-something-year-old man was not allowed to divorce his 18-year-old wife. Why? He couldn't remember her name. I'd say that was some marriage!

I do have a happy "feel good" story to share about marriage in The Sandbox, though, about a young couple we met on the plane on our way to Bali. During the first leg of our journey, from Bahrain to Singapore, they were seated directly in front of us. I could tell by the young woman's actions that they were newlyweds. I could just tell! Again, when we got on the plane from Singapore to Bali, they were seated directly in front of us. The young woman had changed her head-covering from black to white, though. So, I asked them if they had just gotten married and were going on their honeymoon. The young woman, Meer, positively beamed and smiled from ear-to-ear. Her new husband, Dammah, smiled. We chatted. I asked them if I could take their picture, and they allowed me to do so on the condition that it not be published or publicy shared, anywhere. I will not post the picture of them as the couple, or of the one I took of Meer. I have to tell you, though, that the exhubrance that was absolutely radiating from Meer was heart-warming. She allowed me to ask some very personal questions about their relationship and about marriage ceremonies, here. Meer's responses were incredibly candid and honest. That conversation - and those questions and answers - will remain private, as well. I so wish I could share the huge beaming smile of this young woman! It is important to realize that not all marriages that take place on this side of the world are those that are sure to end in unhappiness like that of an 18-year-old being married to someone old enough to be her grandfather. DH and I have just celebrated our eighteenth anniversary. I wished Meer and Dammah as many - no, even more - happy years as DH and I have had.

Something else on the back page of today's paper is a picture of two new fashions from a fashion show in Jeddah on Thursday. Something's missing, though. The woman's head is not covered! Have to give the two designers credit for trying to come up with new ways to design the traditional thobe and abeyah. Oooh. A green thobe. With a capelet attached. Interesting. The abeyah is actually kind of nice. To foo-foo for me, and awfully, awfully low cut for this part of the Middle East. That is a lot of neck showing there!

Not missed on the back page of the paper, however, is this. A quick little blurb about how the much despised woman known as Sarah Palin grabbed bundles of swag from a gift suite at an Oscar's festivity of some sort. No matter that it is all a lie and that the woman, Melissa Lemer, running that particular gift suite has demanded a retraction. The article is from the AP and the AP would rather shrivel up and disband than to ever issue an apology to Sarah Palin or offer a retraction! Expect that in 4, 3, 2, 1, never.

My oh my oh my. Back to reality.

2010-03-05T20:41:00.002+03:00

That's for sure. The beautiful crystal blue clear skies with white fluffy clouds are behind us. Dust. The sky here in the Sandbox is full of ~~dust~~ dirt. And there is no one to pick up after us. From having someone come to our villa at whatever time we chose every day to make breakfast for us, serve us, clean up afterward, to having a housekeeping crew come in and make the bed and pick up our towels. Done. Over.

This morning DH made breakfast before he went to play golf. I wandered into the kitchen right after he left and just went, "Oh my. Who is going to clean this mess up?" Ditto for when I got out of the shower and realized the bed was still unmade. Hmmph. Someone has to do it. Guess that someone is me! Have spent most of the day doing laundry. Several more loads, then it is all done. Not complaining about having to do any of this, mind you. These are the things I do every day - along with most everyone else. Make breakfast, do the dishes, make the bed, do laundry, etc., etc., etc. [Yes. I do have Inom - Inam? - to assist me a great deal by doing the stuff I choose not to. That too will end someday when we return to the States. Not quite as politically correct there to have a houseboy, anymore. Such is life.]

We stayed at a little group of fabulous villas, Kunja Villas, in Seminyak. A nice beach town. Our villa was probably a ten minute walk from the beach. The beach was nice. Didn't spend more than just a few days there with so much else to see and do. The area where you park to actually get to the beach is not an area where you can spend time on the beach. That portion of the beach is restricted solely for ceremonies [and I presume from the ceremonies we saw being carried out it is restricted solely for Hindu ceremonies]. It was quite a "beach walk" to get to areas where you could rent lounge chairs and buy cold beverages. Bintang. Indonesia's Favorite Beer. Indonesia's ONLY beer. I am not much of a beer drinker - had a sip or two of DH's and that is it. Plus, with the full humidity [85%] and the absolute necessity for putting sun screen on, any sand you come into contact with absolutely clings to you. There is no brushing it off. We did find several outdoor ~~restaurants~~ bars where we spent afternoons sipping Mojito's and Bintang, though. So, although we only spent a couple of days on the actual sand beach, we had ample opportunity to enjoy viewing the beach from the seats of comfy chairs.

The usual and customary hawkers for tourists were on the beaches in abundance! Buy a hat, buy sunglasses, buy a kite, buy a leather belt, buy a t-shirt, buy a sarong, buy a bra. Yes! One woman was selling bras. On the beach. Other women were offering massages, and manicures and pedicures. All I could think with the women offering the massages was, "Sure. I am covered with sand and sweat and sunscreen [that's a pretty picture, isn't it?]. And you want to rub - with some pressure applied - the sand directly into my skin?! I'll pass, thankyouverymuch." When offered a pedicure or manicure, the fact that these women were carrying around their little tools with which to provide these services and no water with which to clean or any other way to sterilize the nippers and files - ahh, yeah. I'm gonna pass on that, too. One of the kites for sale:

For the most part all of the hawkers were very nice, and hey, they are only trying to make a living. [When we were in certain areas, the hawkers were more aggressive and pushy than at other areas.] More than once when the hawkers found out we were from America they said, "Oh, good president, there." Oops. You just blew it! I wasn't planning on buying sunglasses or a hat or a belt from you - but you just brought politics into the equation so purchasing anything from you is out of the question, now. You are tough out of luck. When another said, "president obama is very good," DH said, "Don't go there." DH knows. I set the guy straight and told him that the jugearedjackass is a horrible, horrible president and that many Americans hate him. The man just looked at me with total bewilderment and finally trotted off.

Have to tell you that the private pool we had at our villa was just so nice that I preferred that to the beach and spent more time there. It was the most perfect pool I have ever had the opportunity to use. I took plenty of pictures so that when we finally build our retirement home in the States [or Bali!] we can do something very similar.

The outdoor area - partially - of our villa [missing the dining area and the couch - which I actually have a photo of - it was interesting - but DH is sitting on it and that has been a rule since I started this blog - no identifiable photos of DH]:

Still do not quite understand the concept of the indoor/outdoor bathroom. Sure it looks kind of pretty and all, but with it so much outdoors there is no air conditioning and thus it is impossible to dry off from a shower or even try to get ready - doing your hair, or make-up - in the bathroom. The half tile, half stone floor? Will never understand that except that you can hose it down to clean it, maybe? Or that it just looks nice? To some, I guess. The concept escapes me.

We didn't get to our villa until sometime after 8:30 on the night we got to Bali. It was probably closer to nine. We were both tired and pretty much ready for a good night's sleep at that point. We went to bed. I woke up the first morning there with my back in so much pain from such a hard mattress that I was almost in tears. I knew there was just no way I was going to be able to endure three full weeks sleeping on such a hard mattress. [Americans are incredibly spoiled insofar as comforts. Our own bed is a king-sized with a box spring and one of those 15 or 17 inch "pillow top" mattresses.] I called the front desk that morning and said, "We have got to do something about the bed. It is too hard to sleep on." Three men immediately came to our villa to check it out. "The bed? What is wrong?" It is too hard. "The bed is too hard?" Yes. My back hurts. Can we put something on top of the mattress to make it not so hard? Like another mattress or two? They ended up trying to fix the problem by putting five or six comforters on top of the mattress and then explained that they were not going to be able to tuck into the sheets like they are supposed to. You know what? I don't care that the sheets cannot be tucked in. I do care that I cannot sleep on this mattress. Oh, and the pillows are nothing to write home about either. "What is wrong with the pillows, Madam?" They are hard. They are not feather pillows. "Only kind of pillows, Madam." Well okay, then. I will deal with the pillows. I was sure that if I complained any longer about the pillows that someone would be out collecting ducks and making different pillows for me, immediately, and I didn't want that. I decided to deal with hard fiber-fill pillows since the mattress had been kindof sortof fixed. More about the sleeping experience in a different post...

Lizard central in the evening when the lights were on. They don't bother me at all. And, they did such a wonderful job of gobbling up all the bugs, what is not to like about geckos? All I could think was how The Boy would be in his glory and would never leave the outdoor cooking/kitchen area of our villa if he was there. He, is, after all, the Great Tan Lizard Hunter.

So many things to tell about our Bali experience... I'm rambling at this point. I'm tired. Tomorrow, more beach. Some random photos and petrol stations. Still have lots and lots to share! Temples. Local culture. Interesting signs. Monkeys and tigers no bears. Oh My.

Bali Street Dogs

2010-03-05T06:58:00.007+03:00

There is an organization called Bali Street Dogs. And there are a couple animal welfare societies, BAWA being one of them. Thankfully. Truly this was the most upsetting part of our visit. Just broke my heart to see so many of them. It was more than just upsetting and heart-breaking. It was disturbing.. Yeah, I was that "crazy" American woman that carried around a bag of dog food - along with whatever other actual food I could get my hands on every day and left it for the dogs. There is, according to our Bali "rep," a big problem with rabies to go along with the ever increasing and never-ending population of these poor dogs.

Interesting thing about these dogs, most of them turned down the dog food I was leaving. Why? According to our guide, they are not used to eating dog food. They eat people food. Mostly rice. All were more than happy to eat the meat I would leave - steak scraps, pork sate, ham... And the cheese and crackers. Along with rolls and bread.

I left a pile of crackers and a big pile of dog food for these two:

They ran off though, before I could tell whether or not they were much interested.

Fortunately there is a percentage of these "street dogs" that do belong to people. From what I understand the dogs go home at night, then in the day, they are free to roam at will. Safe? Hardly with the traffic. Again, our "rep" explained to me that every day as these dogs try to cross busy streets, "Splat!." They are hit by cars. That they are someone's pet, that is allowed to be injured or killed when it could be so preventable... Hardly much comfort.

I did not click on the "see photos" at the Bali Street Dogs site. If someone does go through the photo gallery there, let me know if I would be able to handle it. I had a hard enough time seeing up close and personal so many bone thin and obviously sick dogs. I will have those images forever etched into my memory. I took very few photos of these dogs. Not because I didn't want to - I should have taken more pictures! I had a very difficult time - the whole three weeks we were there - with the sadness of it all and sometimes instead of taking a photo where I had ample opportunity, I was more concerned with getting the dog food out or leaving whatever leftovers I was carrying. Often they were viewed as we were sitting in cafes and restaurants and would scurry off before I could get the camera on. Or, else, we were in a moving car and had passed out of their sight. As we were doing endless walking, I did have many photo opportunities. I rather regret that I didn't take more pictures to make their plight known.

I have contacted one organization about setting up some sort of way to do donations through my site. When I have something figured out I will do something to offer incentive to my few readers to donate and will put something from The Sandbox up as a reward - I have a few things in mind. I don't know, special tote bags from over here, or carved camels, or something.

Bali

2010-03-04T10:57:00.003+03:00

Just got home from three fabulous weeks in Bali. It really is a wonderful island for a vacation. Or retire there? Took a gazillion pictures. I'll start posting them tomorrow. Today? Spend time with the Kids and unpack.

Profiling. Okay for some. Not for others.

2010-03-02T06:07:00.004+03:00

Imagine if US airlines said they were going to start using "physical features and the way they speak" to profile certain groups. The outrage would be explosive. Any outrage that Dubai will start doing just that - using "physical features and the way they speak" - to keep a certain nationality out of their country? Nope. And there won't be any, either. The link is here: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article24752.ece.

A report of a child who was severely beaten by his father - beaten so badly that he spent 14 days in the hospital - who, apparently was tortured by his dad for NOT confessing to being xesually abused. What the?!? Did I just read that correctly? Link: http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2010030265011. Where is the little boy's mother? Somewhere else. She is a "foreigner" and she has divorced the boy's father. Rules in the Sandbox say the children go with the father under such circumstances. The boy is in the custody of his aunt who says that a "social protection house would be the best home for the child." Umm, how about reconsidering and letting the child go to the home of his mother. Is that an option? It should be. The father has been detained by authorities and "should not take custody of the boy until he is examined for mental health." Gee. 'Ya think?

Is $6.11 too much to pay for olives?

2010-02-28T12:55:00.002+03:00

How much are olives from the deli in the States, now? Is $6.11 too much to pay? For Greek olives stuffed with fetta cheese. A container three-quarters filled the size of a cottage cheese container. Is that a lot? They sure are yummy. But I don't know if they are $6.11 yummy. For olives! And, yes. Of course I took a picture of the price tag and the olives. I am just too technically challenged to post that picture on this laptop. [The small keyboard and my long nails just do not do well together. I feel as though I've done well to do what I've done so far on this little teeny, tiny laptop ten pound relic of a computer. Regular desk top that I can use. That is what I need. Then I will post the pictures. The one of the olives. And, the one that says "Do not put clothing in the toilet." Wednesday or Thursday. In shallah.*]

*In shallah. The term that everyone uses in the Sandbox. It means, loosely, "God willing." "Can I get a cup of coffee, please?" "In shallah." If you search my archives, you will find out how I feel about "in shallah." Do NOT use that with me. I know exactly what it means!

Gatorade

2010-02-27T08:08:00.002+03:00

If Gatorade is looking for someone new to advertise for them, I know a tall blonde very, very handsome golfer that is available. He probably doesn't play quite as well as Tiger does, but pretty darn close! He has a low handicap and he drinks plenty of Gatorade on the course. That should seal it for us.

Do I care about the whole TW thing? Honestly, I don't. I do, however, feel very sorry for his wife who I think he has humiliated beyond belief with his boinking anyone who had a pulse. I feel bad for his children who are someday going to understand what happened. Elin chooses to stay with him? Her choice. I know if it were my DH that did something like that I would have already had divorce papers drawn up. Is what Tiger did any different than a culture that allows ONE man to have FOUR - or sometimes SIX - wives? No. Not really. To each his own, though. As for me? Call me selfish. I just cannot see sharing MY DH with anyone else. THAT is NOT going to happen.

Anyway... Just throwing it out there for Gatorade.

There is a sign...

2010-02-27T03:43:00.003+03:00

In a ladies room that reads: "Do not put clothing or other items in the toilet." What?! Really?? Has it been a problem in the past? What kind of items were you finding in the toilet? Clothing. Were women actually putting clothing in the toilet? I know - laundry. Someone was using it for laundry.

Yes. Of COURSE I took a picture. I'll post the picture as soon as I am reconnected with the behemoth desk top - Wednesday or Thursday. Unless I can find a child to help me do it on this - the laptop.

Do not put clothing in the toilet. Well, okay, then. I won't. Not now. Not now, anyway, since I've seen the sign and been instructed not to do so.

Just a Dead Maid

2010-02-25T05:18:00.002+03:00

Nothing to see, here, folks. Move along. Just another dead maid. One who tried to flee from her sponsor - the family that recruited her - and didn't quite make the two-story jump. Go here to read the one-paragraph article: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article21635.ece?comments=all#comments. Read the comments. Speaks volumes...

Still Not Pretty.

2010-02-23T03:57:00.007+03:00

The laptop almost got dropped. DH's laptop is almost ten years old. Working with a prehistoric model, here. It is heavier than it looks. And I went to move it and almost dropped it on the tile floor. Would it have survived such a fall? Dunno. Probably. It is that heavy. The tile wouldn't have survived.

Coffee. Better from a regular coffee maker or a French press? I learned how to use a French press this week. I've seen them. Have a couple of friends who swear that coffee is better with them than in a regular coffee maker. The jury is still out on this one as far as I am concerned. Actually I think I like the coffee from the coffee maker, better. There. Guess the jury isn't still out on that one. Any thoughts?

In local news.

A maid has been sentenced to a year in jail and 200 lashes for mixing urine in the food of the family she worked for. Sure there is the "eewwww" and "gross" factor in that. Disgusting. Notwithsanding the "eewwww" and "gross," I cannot help but think about what went through her mind - the maid's - that she justified doing what she did in response to the treatment she received from the family she was working for. Doubtful the poor little maid just woke up one morning and said, "I know what I'm going to do to get back at these folks. I'll pee in their food." No. She had to have endured quite a bit, I would think, that made her decide to do what she did. Link: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article20781.ece

Saudi women working as maids in Qatar? Umm hmm. Didn't think so. Not a chance of it ever happening. Some Saudi women are upset about the rumor, though, thinking that it is simply a way to humiliate them and spread rumors. Not to worry. I think we all know that Saudi women HIRE maids, they don't WORK as maids. Link: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article21030.ece

Just buy your underwear somewhere else. Bahrain. London. The States. Victoria's Secret delivers internationally. So does J.C. Penney. Skip going to the lingerie stores in the Sandbox. Perhaps when the business dries up and completely fails then authorities can get it together and fix the problem. It has been an issue for as long as we've been here and I would venture to guess it was an issue long before we arrived. Link: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article20118.ece

Yeah. There is more. I just can't stand this laptop! To all of you out there who just luv yours, more power to you. A daily struggle for me right now to type on this thing. To cut and paste and copy? Still can't figure it out. Longing for my behemoth desk top model! Soon. Then things will be back to normal and I can post the new pictures I have. Cannot even attempt THAT with this computer. No way. Not a chance. Unless I can find a teenager or 10-year-old that would be willing to come and help me. Technically challenged? That is an understatement.

News. Not posted very "prettily."

2010-02-21T08:10:00.002+03:00

"Prettily." That is a word, isn't it?

Let's just see how this will work. I can assure you it won't be pretty. But I'm going for it.

One thing in the news this past week: A man has been sentenced to 120 lashes for having more than his fair share of allotted wives. Men are allowed four. He had six. See here: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article18508.ece. [I told you this would not be pretty. Trying to post on a lap top. Arrgh!] Without getting into what position he held working as an employee of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, he still should have known that he was only entitled to FOUR wives even if he only had an elementary school education. Will he now have to eliminate two of his six wives? Three of them are illegal. So that should help him decide which to choose. Ahh, true love. Isn't it grand? Read the comments at the story if for nothing more than amusement. Six wives. How do you even do that? Each woman gets to spend one night a week with you and one of them gets lucky enough for two nights a week? This whole practice of more than one wife is just something I will never be able to understand. Sharing a husband with another woman - or with several women. Nope. I won't be able to get past the "uggh" and "how disgusting" factor of it. To each his own I guess...

Another happening was a Saudi prince who murdered his aide in a London hotel room. Since it didn't happen in the Sandbox it likely won't be swept under the rug as easily as it could or would have been, here. The story is here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7266876/Saudi-Prince-charged-with-murdering-his-aide-at-London-Landmark-hotel.html.

[Yes, I tried to do "links" in the usual manner but they didn't work.]

Seems like there was something else. Ah! The United Airlines plane that was forced to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City a few days ago. Virtually nothing about this in the news or by bloggers. Saw it first on Fox. Figured for sure it would be all over blogs the next day. Didn't see it on any of the blogs I visited, though. Are we going to be given more information? Did authorities figure out who the note came from? Was it from one of the passengers? A disgruntled employee [you'd have to be really, really disgruntled to pull such a stunt!]? Perhaps this wasn't really "news" because it was just slightly over-shadowed by the man who flew his plane into the IRS building in Texas. You have to admire the man if for nothing more than his conviction. The United Airlines "news" is here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,586602,00.html.

Yeah, there is lots more going on. But this is painful. Using a laptop for a very unpretty post. I gave it a good try. Will be reconnected with the desktop that I can use, soon.

Computer Issues

2010-02-17T10:04:00.002+03:00

Have to use a laptop right now. Big problem for me. I know many absolutely luv their laptops. I can barely type on it. Posting has been slow to non-existent and will be until I am reconnected with my big desk top... I really, really struggle with the laptop... I am seriously technically challenged. Cannot even figure out how to use my new IPod. Will take it to the states with me next month so that one of my little nine-year-old nephews can show me how to download Rush. How sad is that?!!

Baby Stuff

2010-02-16T12:40:00.000+03:00

Baby shopping. Mall of Dhahran has some great baby stores! Cute, cute stuff. Cannot wait for my little Granddaughter to be born. Grandson? Don't know yet. Shopping in "neutral" until we know for sure. Blue and tan can be neutral. So, can brown.

Is the sweatshirt with the airplanes on it not the cutest little sweatshirt you've ever laid your eyes on? [The Baby's Grandfather is a pilot, after all...] If the baby is a Girl, I can picture a yellow and white dress underneath this sweatshirt with navy shoes. If the baby is a Boy, jeans, with little hiking boots.

Adorable. Adorable! A little baby bathrobe. With a matching towel.

And the tags. "Keep away from fire." Seriously?!? I mean, was that a problem? Someone held their baby too close to a fire and now all baby clothing has to come with a tag that warns people?

Oh my gosh. This is going to be sooo much fun! I can hardly wait for September 9th.

For The Kids

2010-02-12T07:09:00.000+03:00

All that meat I cooked a week or so ago? Two days in the kitchen. 70 pounds of beef. 52 pounds of chicken. Exhaust fan on high - for the entire process - because it smells so dayum awful [especially for someone who doesn't eat either beef or poultry!].

Two showers a day are required during operation "meat cooking." Not complaining [well, okay, maybe a little bit I am], because it is for The Kids.

Are they not just two or the most adorable four-legged children you have ever laid your eyes on! Yeah. I'm just a tad biased...

The meat, raw, beef and chicken:

Chicken thawing in the sink:

Seven packages of the beef, at a time, in the pan.

I can only cook four packages of chicken in the small pan.

There is a lot - A LOT - of fat in the beef.

None in the chicken.

Oh, but it is all halal* so that makes it okay.

Cooked. Measured and bagged. Frozen. An entire freezer full. Ready for mixing with food from The Honest Kitchen for the next three months.

*halal - where animals are slaughtered in a most barbaric, but specific way, by first man-handling the animal into a head lock before its little throat is slit [almost enough to make me want to force The Kids to be vegetarian, too]

Drink, anyone?

2010-02-09T10:48:00.000+03:00

Nice clean truck.

In defense of the truck, we do live in a country where it is utterly impossible to keep anything clean. The wind blows? Everything outside in the elements gets covered with dirt. If it rains? Everything turns to mud.

How much?!?

2010-02-09T06:32:00.001+03:00

Eight dollars - EIGHT DOLLARS! - for a pillow and a blanket on a plane on American Airlines. Jet Blue and US Airways have been charging seven dollars. Who knew? Probably everyone that flies domestically. Thankfully pillows and blankets come standard on international flights and certainly in business class. Eight dollars. Cheesy. Just seems cheesy. Food was eliminated a while ago - unless you want to dole out $5.00 for ~~peanuts~~ pretzels or a $8.00 for a turkey sandwich. I am okay with that. Personally I never understood why a "meal" was served on relatively short flights to begin with. What, you can't go two or three hours without a meal? And beverages other than soda, coffee or water have always cost money unless you fly first class, domestically. Eight dollars. For a blanket and pillow. Unbelievable. Oh, here's something interesting I heard on the news recently - there is a service that will ship your luggage for you. I guess some people have been shipping their luggage for a while, now. [I cannot imagine how expensive that would be for us - from here to the States.] As if flying isn't already miserable enough - with TSA employees removing "stuff" from bags and not being held accountable, and with tighter security measures, now airlines are charging for pillows. I remember seeing something about an airline eliminating seats and making you fly standing up. Ryanair wanted to do it for flights lasting less than an hour and a half. Probably won't be too long before all flights will be "stand-up," and we'll be nekked, wrapped in Saran wrap and duct-taped in place. Geez. Something to look forward to.

I so want my snark to shine through on this, but just don't have it in me this morning. Just not in the mood, I guess. It goes back to the posts from last week about the 20-year-old woman who broke a glass over the head of a school headmistress which was first reported with having something to do with a mobile phone. Sabria Jawhar wrote about the way female students are treated - how they are treated like children - and she was right. Having a near riot at a girls' school over mobile phones which just happen to be against the rules is just a tad overboard. So what that the principal was attacked by a group of students who had their phone confiscated? Ho hum. Boring.

That poor little 12-year-old girl who was sold by her father to his 80-year-old pedophile cousin for 85,000 riyals is on her own. No one wants to help her. The story is being back-peddled some with an "anonymous" source saying the girl isn't really 12. She's 15. The who ordeal is just one big exaggeration and "the media [has] blown the entire case out of proportion, and that divorced couples [the 12/15 year-old's parents] tend to divert from the facts and claim things agains each other, which is well known in the legal system." Well, okay, then. Good to know.

This is the best this guy could come up with? "An Asian man who is accused of raping an Indian boy has claimed that he carried out the crime because his wife cheated on him back home." [Emphasis, mine.] Say, what?!! Oh, and it is very important to know the nationality of those involved, apparently. [Of course, when no nationality is mentioned with know the person is a ~~democrat~~ Saudi. We are all wise to that game, at this point.] The article itself is very brief - but that first sentence - identifying what nationalities were involved lets us know what is really important.

Ohmygosh. Two men and three women who were together at a restaurant [no nationality identified - care to guess?] were detained "on charges of 'khulwa' - being alone without the company of a legal guardian - on Sunday." They were "removed" from the premises and "led away by Hai'a staff after failing to produce evidence of a legal relationship between them."

Go here* and look at the cartoon. I've blogged about this on several occasions. Someone who just walks right up and cuts you off at the check-out counter at the grocery store! Happens all the time. Truly I had never experienced this before coming to the Sandbox. If it wasn't the "norm," then there wouldn't be an editorial cartoon about it, would there?

*Which just happens to be the page of the "local" news, here, where you can avail yourself to all sorts of other newsy tidbits.

Missing Inam.

2010-02-08T19:55:00.002+03:00

I never, ever thought I would catch myself saying this, but I miss Inam. Really. I do. He is on a well deserved vacation and I am happy for him. I know Inam and I have had our "moments," but at this point we've settled into our routine and he knows what I expect and he knows how to do it. Not that I am not appreciative of his brother Hadar filling in for him, but it will be good to have Inam back. Sometime early March. I think. I hope!

The backyard has a big blue hole, again. Not happy about this. Better now, though, than in May or June when we are going to want the blue hole filled with water. The pool light filled up with water and in order to fix it the pool had to be drained. Sometimes I wonder if Rev really knows what he is doing. The light should have been sealed and we should not have to be dealing with this. Typical. Just typical. A dangerous blue hole...

We are freezing! It has been downright cold. I'm waiting for snow. Snow! Global warming and all. Only 50° right now. It was 40-something degrees last night. The heat is on. When we moved to Saudi Arabia I did not expect that we would have cold weather. Cool, maybe. But not cold.

I'll be headed to the States soon. The new scrutiny of passengers leaving from Saudi? Is it a big surprise that there is a group that is screaming about this - there is always a group that is believes they are being wronged by society in some way, shape or form. Muslims don't have a monopoly, there. Choose any ethnic group, or yags, or code pink loons, someone... [Actually, the one demographic that probably has been wronged the most is the only group that does not make a fuss about it. White males.] And even if there is some extra scrutiny, isn't safety worth it? Some social networking nut job is making much ado about not much of anything. According to this, there is "fury on Saudi cyberspace." The Saudi Liberal Network has an open letter on Facebook that says, "We wish to register our profound disappointment with this new policy. These new regulations are an insult to our entire nation and all of its citizens, as they stigmatize all of us as potential terrorists." Hello?!! Without bringing up Tim McVeigh or Richard Reid isn't there something that the terrorists - just over the course of the last year - have had in common? Why yes, I think there is. No matter. Thanks to the FruitAKaboom phukktard ALL of us leaving this country to go to the States will face extra security. As if traveling and airline travel wasn't bad enough, already, prior to Umar Abdulmutallab.

Yeah, there was probably more. I got busy and distracted. Started this first thing this morning. Twelve hours later? A less than half-done post about happenings on this side of the world... Such is life sometimes.

Colts

2010-02-08T02:54:00.006+03:00

I know nothing about football. I have never watched an entire football game. [Honestly, I've never sat down to watch a game. Period. But football is something DH watches so I have seen football games on television.]

That said... Colts. I'll be rooting for the Colts and hoping they win the Superbowl.

Hmmph. Well that didn't work out.

Congratulations to the Saints for their win!

Absconding. School Girl Handcuffed.

2010-02-07T13:24:00.001+03:00

Absconding and school girl handcuffed. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

Have you seen this man?

Hard to feel sorry for the little chippy who wrote all over a desk - in her words, "two little doodles" - with a magic marker. ["I love my friends Abby and Faith," and "Lex was here 2/1/10" and a smiley face are NOT "two little doodles."] I don't care if it was erasable magic marker or not. What she did was just plain wrong. [Would you do that to the dining room table in your home? Probably not. So why would you do it at school?] She got caught and now she's crying about it. Did it happen over here in the Sandbox? Nope. New York. [It has happened more than once in New York - that a teenage girl was hand-cuffed for writing on a desk. Speaks volumes about the public school system, there.] Really she ought to consider herself lucky. In the States she'll be able to sue and get her fifteen minutes of fame on Good Morning America or Jerry Springer. [Is Jerry Springer still on?] Over here? She'd get a couple months of jail time and lashed. Something to be said about the justice system in Saudi. No coddling. No ACLU. No 1-800-IAM-HURT. It is a good thing. And although I do not always agree with the method of punishment I do agree that the system works on this side of the world, swiftly. [From this blog which was featured in today's Saudi Gazette.]

Saudi Arabia also knows how to deal with illegal aliens. Arrest them and send them home. Just like that. Easy. The States? Nah. Everyone has to have rights. Regardless of whether or not they are legal. Democrats get more voters...

Divorce is on the rise. I blogged about it last week. Why is it such a surprise to everyone over here?

Mr. Mohammad Mahroos. Do not help him and report him immediately. Absconding. Absconding! I don't know why that is so amusing, but it is. [From today's Arab News.]

Matthew has two good posts up. The man has a way with words! Most excellent snark, Matthew. Indeed, most excellent.

Caught in the rain. And hail!

2010-02-06T12:35:00.002+03:00

Forecast for today? Sunny. No rain expected. This morning was on the overcast side. It rained. Rain only lasts for a few minutes, here, so no big deal. DH has the day off and the golf course is closed on Saturday so no need to schedule our jaunts with The Kids around his having to go to work or his playing golf. I was busy in the kitchen and wanted to watch Glenn Beck so we decided to go afterward. Glenn is on from 10A to 11A. We left the house about 11:15.

As we were walking DH said, "Look at those clouds, it is going to rain again." Sure it is. We were almost home when it started to rain. Really rain. Enough to get wet but not soaked. Enough so that every ten steps or so The Pretty Princess wanted to "shake it off." We were a block from our house when it started to hail! Hail!! Little teeny tiny pieces of hail about the size of a quarter of a pea. Hail. What the??? Yeah. Global warming and all.

It was over just minutes later and now the sun is out. Still not "work" weather, that's for sure. I think it is about 55° outside. Leggings and sweatshirt weather.

Some Quick Loathing

2010-02-05T18:00:00.004+03:00

If you loathe with every fiber of your being the jugearedjackass currently residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as much as I do and if you only read one thing today, read this. Matthew pretty much covered it. Very well said! The actual feeling that I have about the man AND the current administration is NOT the same as Matthew feels about him. However, Matthew summarizes quite succinctly a few ways in which the jeja could begin an upward swing toward improvement. He won't of course. Narcissist's are just not capable of doing anything but for themselves.

My only comment would be to this: "Perhaps if you did these things, you might finally 'change the tone' in Washington." Have to disagree with you on that one little issue, Matthew. I don't know if there is anyone else who wants to see this man AND his policies fail as much as I do. He had his chance. He has had an entire year of chance. There is only one way to "change the tone" in Washington and that is to eliminate the jeja and his co-horts nancy and harry [along with many others]. One way or another. Just wipe the slate clean. Start over. Keep Michelle Bachmann and John Boehner. Oh, and Tom Coburn and John Barrasso. Maybe even Scott Brown - we will just have to wait and see what he is going to do before I'm ready to opine on him one way or another. Anyone else we should keep? Dayum. Out of all of them it is a pathetically short list.

Responsible when it isn't your fault.

2010-02-05T08:13:00.002+03:00

Makes all the sense in the world. A Saudi man has been sentenced to four months in prison and 50 lashes "for failing to try and prevent a friend from taking a fatal drug overdose." He won't be appealing the court's decision and has "confessed to having been with his friend and letting him take the lethal overdose." The short article does not specify what the drug was or how it was administered. Using that kind of logic I am responsible for my Sister's broken clavicle many years ago. She got on a bicycle that was too big for her [it was my Brother's bike] and ended up going down a hill and braking with the front brake instead of the rear brake or something like that. The result was her going over the handle bars and breaking her collar bone. I was the only one at home with her at the time. I should have stopped her. I didn't. It is my fault. I'm sorry that I ~~laughed so hard when it happened~~ didn't prevent you from getting in that bike accident. Dear Brother is also sorry I did not stop you. You screwed up his $500.00 bike big time. Wait. That's my fault, too.

In my never-ending quest to only blog "about how violent Saudis are" [read the comment an anonymous but "proud arabic (sic) woman" left] I found this: A woman has been sentenced to one-and-a half years in prison and will be given 300 lashes "for filing false complaints against government officials." [I think we can all agree that 300 lashes is pretty dayum "violent."] The complaints, whatever they were, are not detailed, but if it is true and she filed false complaints then she deserves a just punishment.* The woman's husband is demanding "the immediate release of his wife describing her detention as illegal." How is it that the woman is currently detained, in jail, with their baby? Why doesn't the husband have the baby? And why is it that in this particular case the husband has been identified by name? If the woman is not released immediately her husband plans to "file a case against them." Them, being the authorities. The verdict threatens to "strip her of her Saudi nationality" if she ever does whatever she did again. Hmmph. What nationality is the husband and what nationality is the woman, originally? "The woman was also charged with making visits to government offices, over a case against her husband, without the company of a legal male guardian." [Emphasis, mine.] Phfft. Who says women don't have rights, here?!

Ut-oh. Crime of the century. The police are on it, "seeking to locate the whereabouts of a second man" involved with stealing blankets. Yes. Stealing blankets. One man, a foreign national, has been detained. "A police spokesman said that investigations with [him] would continue to 'establish the motives behind the theft of the blankets.'" Perhaps he was cold. Does that help?

*Lest someone think that I believe it is only over in the Sandbox that it would be possible for a woman to file false complaints, that is not so. Off the top of my head I can think of at least one hugely false complaint filed by a woman in the States, Crystal Gail Mangum. Was she ever punished for what she did? A year and a half in prison and 300 lashes would not have punished her severely enough.

Treated Better Than Family

2010-02-04T07:17:00.000+03:00

We have no reason to believe that the maid was treated any differently. We know they are all treated just like much loved and adored family members. Not a chance that they are abused in any way, shape or form, and they are paid handsomely and on time, always. Right. That is what the son of the murdered woman wants everyone to believe. His mother was the perfect employer so there was no reason for the maid to stab her with a kitchen knife while she was kneeling and praying. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the maid had to have a good reason for murdering her employer. Just a guess. When you have heard the same story for seven - going on eight - years you become somewhat immune to the "we don't abuse maids" line of crap and you ignore it.

The maid was abused. We will likely never know how badly. Bad enough for her to want to stab the woman she worked for with a knife, though. The woman's son "denied reports the killer was treated badly." Well of course he does. The man claims that his mother "shouted at her [the maid] only when she failed to take care of her grandchildren... One of them once ran toward the street. My mother shouted at her to run after him before a car hit him. It is only in these cases that my mother loses control of her temper..." Umm hmm. Sure, pal.

The man says, "his sister paid the maid's medical expenses when she broke her leg." Mighty generous, don't 'cha think? Do tell, how is it that she had a broken leg? Supposedly "investigations had revealed the maid had not be physically tortured as she claimed." I would be more than just a little bit skeptical of those "investigations." The maid was taken on vacation, with the family, for two months and he says, "If she was treated as badly as she laimed, then she could have escaped or at least called for help." Oh my gosh. Can you even believe?!? Escape, how? Who had her passport? When was the last time she was paid? Where was she supposed to escape to with no passport and no money? Who was she going to call? Did she have reason to fear repercussions? So many questions. No answers.

Proof that many of the maids, here, are abused? Do a search at Arab News or Saudi Gazette. Dozens and dozens of reports will come up. Dozens! I read on someone's blog not to long ago - Sand Gets In My Eyes - from a commenter - who said that "the bad stories flies very quickly to media, the good ones no one hear about them." Have to agree with Ameen that good news doesn't sell papers and thus doesn't get reported or published. But the fact remains that NONE of the maids should be abused!

[If you can stand it, read Ameen's comments to Sand Gets In My Eyes post about the little 12-year-old girl that is married to an 80-year-old pedophile. She says, "i have to educate the reader [in response to another commenter] that this is not the norms of the society." Really? Okay, so maybe it is not the "norms," but it is something that seems to happen fairly frequently, wouldn't you say. Continue reading about how America is so much worse because a rape happens every two minutes and how Austria has psychos because ONE man kept his daughter imprisoned in his basement and repeatedly raped her. I was going to respond, but don't need to. Just not worth the time and effort trying to educate someone who lives in this society that rape regularly happens and that pedophilia is alive and well, here. As is ~~slavery~~ the abuse of maids.]

See? Because this is what happens to abused maids who ~~runaway~~ escape from their sponsors. They get raped. And, I think we all know how that works out. The maid will be punished - given lashes and sent to prison. Then she will be deported. The men who raped her? The Saudi and the Jordanian? Absolutely nothing will happen to them and they will be out roaming the streets searching for their next victim.

Giving Buffoons Everywhere a Bad Name

2010-02-03T16:19:00.004+03:00

'S okay, Mr. Simmons. We understand what you meant and know that you did not mean any insult toward Baboons!

Saw it at WT's place first.

A little misleading. But, I told you so.

2010-02-03T07:45:00.004+03:00

The headline says, "Riyadh students attack teachers inside class." No where in the short article though is there any mention of a teacher actually being attacked. Threatened that they would be attacked but not attacked. Instead, the students vandalized vehicles owned by the teachers. Nice. No word yet from Sabria Jawhar about how the teachers should just take "the high road" and forgive the students for damaging property. Give it time for a report of a teacher actually being assaulted. Like I said, happens every year. Of course it is not the student's fault for having to cheat to take exams because holding someone personally responsible isn't an option. [Happens in the States, too - lack of personal responsibility. Not saying that that is something confined to this side of the world. Although I don't specifically recall hearing of reports where teachers were beat up because they gave out a bad grade.]

That couple who were almost forced to get a divorce? They won't have to, after all. Some sanity prevails albeit often minimal. They will be reuinted in a couple of days after being separated. The case has lingered through the court system for FOUR years! Why? Because the woman's half-brother thought he knew what was best for her and decided that her husband, who she was happily married to, was tribally incompatible. Rights for women in the Sandbox? What rights?!! And, they think that someday they will be able to drive? That is just never going to happen.

Just Another Day...

2010-02-02T17:43:00.004+03:00

My goodness. A report of an iman getting caught with some 50 p0nr0graphic video clips on his mobile phone? The irony. How many lashes is that going to be worth? This particular situation is going to require follow-up. Oh, please. The man is a primary school teacher and imam who was "arrested on charges of indulging in sorcery" when the "movies" were found on his phone. Those pesky mobile phones! He has also been "accused of sheltering and having under his sponsorship an Arab national who engaged in sorcery and practiced it inside [a] mosque." Kudos to Saudi Gazette for having the kahones to publish the man's nationality.

A man has been sentenced to 30 lashes for entering a girls' school. He is an Arab national who told the judge "he only wanted to enroll his daughter in the school." I can't muster up the right amount of snark for this. I'll just shake my head and mutter under my breath. The mindset that every single male in this country has some ulterior motive when it comes to the opposite xes is nothing shy of sheer astonishment.

That little 12-year-old girl married to an 80-year-old pedophile? The one who was going to have to testify before a judge before her divorce could be granted? Yeah, that one. "Not so fast, young lady!" You are going to remain married to that man who is SIXTY-EIGHT YEARS YOUR SENIOR whether you like it or not. Why? Reading between the lines, sounds to me like she is - oh, how to put this delicately? - damaged goods, now. The little girl's mother says that the child was raped by the old man. Hmmph. Imagine that. All kidding aside, there is no way you cannot not feel sorry for the little girl. The child's father got 85,000 riyals for selling his daughter to his cousin. Yep. Sold his child - his baby - a little girl - into the xes trade to his cousin for $22,788.20. Arab News reports that the case "has attracted a lot of interest." Gee. 'Ya think?! Hang in there little girl. The man is 80. According to this, the man has already outlived his life expectancy by your age. He can't possibly be around too much longer...

Who would have guessed that over half of a particular demographic of marriages would end in divorce? A rather stunning statistic, if you ask me. Must be something that has to do with the specific wedding hall where more than "50 percent of marriages celebrated... in 2008 have ended in divorce." Some of those "marriages had ended even before their first anniversary." Wow. You mean when marriages are arranged, and the bride and groom have never met, that they don't work out? No. Yep. Tis true. Adnan Al-Khudairi, a family counselor, says "the high rate of divorce could be attributed to a number of factors including 'surprise marriages' in which the couple only see each other on the night of the wedding." Hard to believe. And this - which won't hit the radar of womens' rights groups anywhere because it isn't a part of a political agenda - said by the same man - "Some wives are so high maintenance that their husbands may not be able to make them happy." [Emphasis, mine.] He said what?! Surely it has nothing to do with the fact that there is no way that an 80-year-old man is going to be able to keep a little 12-year-old girl happy. Happy happy happy. [Oh my gosh. Just imagine the lefty reaction if Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity said something like that! We'd be able to power rockets to the moon with the outrage.]

A trip to the Commissary this morning... Had to turn the beo-tch switch back on. No parking. Anywhere. Why? Because it rained. All of the men who typically ride their bikes to work drove cars, today. I jest. The only men who ride bikes, here in the Sandbox, are the houseboys. The adult men drive SUV's and Mercedes. I parked as far as possible away from the Commissary without actually leaving our compound. As I was walking the half-mile to the store I stopped to chat with two Security Guards standing at the edge of the parking lot smoking cigarettes. Caught them both off "guard" by asking why they were allowing so many cars to park in the Commissary parking lot as they stood - directly underneath the sign that says "ONE HOUR PARKING ONLY." "Oh, we cannot do anything. We are taking a break." Yeah, I see that, but someone needs to do something. "You must talk to the Commissary manager." Umm hmm. Sure. Like he can do anything about it. If he could, he would, but he can't. Thanks for your help, fellas. Get back to your smoke break. Oh, by the way. Smoking is bad for your health.

I immediately went to find one of the manager's at the Commissary and told him that the entire parking lot was full and that there were NO parking spaces. NONE! He said he would go over to see his supervisor who just happened to be in a meeting in a neighboring building. The problem will never be resolved. At this point, after seven years, here, I should know better. No sense even complaining about it.

Remember those Cheetos that I bought and paid $9.11 a bag for? Today I bought two bags of chips and paid that much. Sometimes that is just the cost of living on this side of the world and there is nothing you can do about it. Accept it. Pay the price.

For a couple of weeks I've had a craving for chips and cheese dip or hot sauce. Finally! So what that I paid $24.00 for a couple of bags of chips? 44.95 riyals - round it off - 45 riyals per bag! $12.06, each. Outrageous. Just simply outrageous. Tonight we are going to enjoy them with the "proper" accompanying beverage.

That white sticker? Just a list of the ingredients.

A sticker pretty much guaranteed to be reserved for placing smack dab over either the directions for mixing and the list of ingredients required OR the cooking instructions. Sometimes you get really lucky. The sticker covers both.

Chili:

Beef Stew:

The news from the other side of the world certainly isn't worthy of a happy dance [the same happy dance that little 12-year-old girl is doing, being married to an 80-year old pedophile!]. What the jugearedjackass and his co-horts are doing to America. When is enough going to finally be enough? What is it going to take?!! I need to quit watching Glenn Beck. I can't. It is like a car accident. You don't want to look, but you have to. Glenn is right in so so many ways. And, as much as I hate to admit it, the blame cannot be placed squarely on the shoulders of one man [the jeja]. Several administrations are responsible. Progressives. I foresee another "north south" kind of situation is likely going to be necessary to do the clean up. Just seeing what is happening and going on - right in front of our eyes - makes my head want to explode! Passing the buck. "I didn't do it. Congress did." Liar in chief is what he is. Along with a jugearedjackass. Someone explain to me what he was doing bowing to a Florida major! Unfreakingbelievable. Whatever. I am thankful that health care hasn't been shoved all the way up our butts and that plastic surgeons prevailed with regard to a special tax. Give it time. They are not done yet. If they can realize just a little more revenue by squeezing that last molecular particle of blood out of a taxpayer, it is going to happen.

Oh, and just for giggles, someone explain to me why it is that if you hate the jugearedjackass as much as I do - which, I never thought even remotely possible - that I must be racist and hate blacks? My own sister thinks that! My own sister. [She and her husband voted for "him," and we've taken their kids out of our Will. Petty? Maybe. But what the phukk. Let the jeja and his policies take care of them like he promised. Let us know how that works out for you, Sis!] We have a multi-race family!!! No. I don't hate him because he is black. I have said it before and I'll say it again, I don't care what color he is. I care what he is doing to MY country! And he, along with a handful of others, are ruining it!!! But, it has nothing to do with him being a HALF black man. Really. It doesn't.

Can't beo-tch about everything...

2010-02-01T14:28:00.004+03:00

...so the morning starts out "on the wrong side of the bed." The day went uphill from there, though. Hadar won't make a mistake with the towels and the rags, again. Hadar will be on time from now on. I'm over that.

Got a call from UPS. My VSC delivery is here. That was quick! I only just placed the order last week. Everything fits and only two dresses need to be returned because I just don't like them. Three new dresses and two new bathing suits to wear. I'll share more on this tomorrow [I need to do some scanning].

Here is the best thing. A few months ago Showtime and Orbit merged. Up until then, if you wanted certain channels you ordered one, and if you wanted other channels you ordered the other. If you wanted both [and we did] then you paid a small fortune for both satellite networks. Just the cost of living over in the Sandbox. Sometime during the night the channels all changed. What used to be on channel 295 is now something completely different. I knew the channels I needed and I knew exactly where to find them. Fox News, Showtime Comedy, Discovery Channel and History Channel. So, this morning, I turned the television on - what the ?!? Getting all ready to continue the conniption fit I started earlier with the towel situation and whoa!!! We have a NEW channel.

Discovery I.D. Crime "stuff" 24/7 - 365. How exciting is that?!! I saw the channel advertised some months back but didn't know that we had it. For all I know, it has been there all along and I just didn't know where to find it. [Not really a surprise considering how technically challenged I am.] Now? The channel is programmed into favorites. It IS the prefect knitting / sewing channel along with Fox News. Does life get any better? No. Sometimes it is just perfect.

The "Beo-tch" switch is on.

2010-02-01T07:12:00.006+03:00

And it is stuck!

Sometimes having household help is more trouble than it is worth. Inam and I have gotten into a routine. He does what I tell him. He doesn't talk back. He was fired once and he doesn't want to be fired again. That works out well for us. Inam is on vacation. He'll be back in a couple of months. He arranged for his brother, Hadar, to clean for us while he is on vacation. Hadar is only coming three days a week instead of four, like Inam. That is fine. Three actually works and I will cut Inam back to three - maybe even just two - when he returns. Having someone here four days a week can seem intrusive, at times.

This morning I washed the rags. I do it once a week. The rags get set aside in a bag and then I wash them and Inam - or Hadar - take them out of the dryer when they are done and fold them. Apparently I am going to have to be much more careful with the rags. What possessed Hadar to take one of the cream colored hand-towels and a wash cloth from DH's bathroom and put them in the rag bag is beyond me. Now? They're ruined. I bleached them. They are no longer a nice creamy vanilla color. They are off-white. Several shades lighter than they were. I had no idea they were in the rag bag. I am NOT pleased about it, either. Carelessness on Hadar's part. He seems to be in such a hurry to get done that he isn't really paying attention. [Okay, so neither Hadar or Inam are Mensa candidates. I don't hold that against them.] [You reading this Delirious? Can I get a second award from you? It has been at least a week since your last post, though, so apparently you are not much of a blogger. Oh, and just for the record, I still don't care about Haiti.]

The hand towel and wash cloth are now ruined. Completely different color than the rest of the towels. Big deal. They are only towels. I can get new ones. That isn't the point. The point is that Hadar is being careless. Totally unacceptable.

One morning last week Hadar was almost a half an hour late. It was 7:25 in the morning when he finally showed up. I didn't say anything. Should have. Work, at this household, starts at 7. Not 7:25. If he starts at 7:25 that means he is still here at 11:15. I want these guys in and out by 11. It was almost noon when he finally left. Unacceptable. I realize that I'm on the rampage this morning with the whole towel thing and I so wanted to just let it go, but I couldn't. This morning it was 7:15 when he finally wandered in. "Hadar, I expect you here at 7:00. If you are can't be here at 7:00 do not bother coming." He actually started to say, "But..." and I cut him off. "Seven o'clock. Be here at seven o'clock."

We discussed the towel situation - he was totally clueless. And what time work starts. "Yes, Madam." There. Got that out of the way. Still fuming about the towels, though. Inam never would have let that happen. Tell you what, though. Hadar won't be late for work on Tuesday!

Probably a good thing I am getting ready to leave for a while. When I start getting like this, it is time to step away. I really don't want to be like this, but I feel as though I have a right to. This is my house. These are my things. I pay for help - and I pay quite decently. I get to make the rules. That is just the way it is.

I think when Inam finally returns he and I will have another one of our "little chats." I want certain things done - the bathrooms cleaned, the tile floors washed, the windows cleaned, and the patio furniture taken care of. I can do the rest of it. As it is now, I clean the kitchen - I cannot trust anyone else to do that job, I take care of all the laundry - another job I wouldn't trust anyone with. I make the bed in the morning. And all the rest of the day-to-day "stuff." I am going to cut Inam's hours back and he can come two days a week to just do the big stuff. I'll take care of the rest. Inam probably won't be real happy because I will cut his pay. I am not going to pay him what I am paying him and let him come half the hours. Such is life.

Hadar doesn't know it, right now, but while I am gone next month, he won't be coming to take care of things. DH isn't going to get up early enough to let him in and DH certainly isn't going to supervise closely enough. I'll get our "sitter" to come once a week to help DH. Normally I would pay Inam for that time but I don't feel the same obligation to his brother who is not doing nearly as good of a job...

Oh yeah. The bitch switch is on, today. And it is stuck. I'm thinking today would be a good day for someone to try to cut in front of me at the grocery store. Or park behind me so that I can't get out. Or something.