Bus Trip to the Mall

Wasted morning. Why oh why oh why did I agree to a trip to the Mall?!? I probably could have taken a few pictures when we first got there, when it was "dead," but of course, didn't even think to take my camera. It would be close to impossible to take any pictures once the stores start opening and people start flocking in. I can only imagine the commotion it would cause - snapping pictures of throngs of people - the men all dressed in their long white dresses with their red-checkered head coverings would be easily identifiable and I am not going to risk posting photos of men's faces on my blog without their permission. That would only be inviting trouble. The women, however, would be a completely different story. No one would have a clue as to who they were. I'd say a good 85% of the women at the mall this morning were dressed head-to-toe in black with only slits in their face coverings so that they could see [even though they really only need one eye opening], I saw quite a few women who had no slit at all, but instead the "sheer" face covering that allows them to barely see and does not allow ANYONE to see them. [I am only assuming they were women. When someone is wearing a full - I mean FULL - covering of black like that it is impossible to know for sure what gender is beneath the black!]

We have lots of malls. Two big ones: Rashid Mall [worth clicking on to see the pictures!] and Mall of Dhahran [also worth clicking on for pictures]. I went to the Mall of Dhahran, this morning. It has two small department stores, Marks & Spencer being the larger of the two. [The directory says there is a Gap - and there is, "Baby Gap," there is NOT a Gap for "big people."] I was surprised to see two signs that said, "Banana Republic 2008." That will be the ONLY store worth going to at the Mall of Dhahran. I was looking for black towels and did find them. I should have gotten them in the States when I bought the cream colored towels, but I didn't know I wanted black towels at that time. I paid way too much for them. They will have to do for now. And they had better do for at least three years - or for however long it is that we remain in this house.

The decision to go to the mall with Nuffie's Mom was made spur of the moment when we were walking the "Girls." Nuffie is the Giant Schnauzer puppy that my Kids have been walking with for a couple of weeks now - although since I am doing two walks in the morning - the "Girls" go first - I take The Baby and then come back and take The Boy. So, Nuffie's Mom and I decide we'll go downtown - she wants to get a pair of capri's to wear to some party at the beach this weekend and I wanted to get a new dust-mop head, some file folders and paint. I called for a cab as soon as we were done walking and was told that there were no cabs available and to call back later. No problem. We'll take the bus. Mistake. We took the bus, which leaves at exactly 9:00 and got to the mall where NONE of the stores were even open yet! What is the purpose of having a bus that takes you down to the mall at 9:00 if nothing is open?!? Starbucks was open. I'm not a big Starbucks fan. We just kind of milled around until Marks & Spencer opened and then I got towels and Nuffie's Mom found some capri's - which she couldn't try on - as there are NO dressing rooms in the shops and stores, here, and of course they don't fit. [Nuffie's Mom went back to the mall on the 4:00 bus to exchange them - there was no way I was returning.] I've now been to the mall twice this year - once in February looking for shoes - which I bought and paid too much for to wear for a single occasion - they have been given to our version of the "Good Will" store. Unless Banana Republic opens before December 31st, I will have absolutely no reason to go to the mall again for 2008.

I was surprised that there is a women's smoking section at Starbucks. It was not there in February. The men could smoke in their area, but the women's area, designated for "families" was non-smoking. There were quite a few - no less than five, "local" looking women sitting there enjoying their coffee and smoking cigarettes along with a couple of other clearly Western women and Nuffie's Mom and me. The bus pick up time is 11:30 and as we were completely done shopping shortly after we arrived I didn't mind that we took the time to have coffee and chat. I would rather have had our own car and driver so I could get my other errands taken care of, but such was not the case.

Mid-morning prayer time is getting earlier an earlier every day. I think it must be at about 11:15 because we didn't leave to go for the bus until 11:21 [exactly] and the stores and shops in the mall were all putting their gates down to close before we left. As well, we were still sitting when the prayer call began. I do not know if there is a prayer room - rooms - one for the men and one for the women - they do not mix, you know - in the Mall of Dhahran. I know that there are prayer rooms in the Rashid Mall so it would be fair to presume there are prayer rooms at the Mall of Dhahran as well, although perhaps someone decided there was no need for them. There were an awful lot of people at the mall at 11:15 - all exiting out of the stores into the mall corridors - the "locals" far outnumbered us Westerner's - and if they were doing the prayer thing it certainly was NOT obvious! Why were there a couple hundred people hanging out waiting for prayer to be over in the open areas? This is just an observation on my part but it was clearly apparent that the mid-morning prayer is pretty much regarded as a smoking break at the Mall of Dhahran as that is exactly what ALL of the shop and store workers were doing, along with hordes of "local" men, with the "local" women accompanied by their entourage of children and maids taking advantage of the benches and sitting areas.

Houseboy - Still No Papers

I started a much longer post this morning - but it isn't done. It will be up later. I hope... In the meantime, I'm busy doing my own housework...

The houseboy I want to rehire - HB13 - remains in his "room" with no papers to be able to move about this part of the world freely. If he is caught outside on the street without his iqama [the papers that say he has a sponsor and is allowed to work here], then he will immediately be sent to jail. That is how it works. He likely would be fined some ridiculously massive amount - money which he will have no way to accumulate as he is unable to work - and money for which his family and friends will be unable to raise in order to pay his fine and get him out of jail.

His name is Inam, I did not know how it was spelled until his uncle, Appuk, my gardener, spelled it for me. I called him Inom the whole time he worked for me. He answered to it and never corrected me. Inam has no money and for almost two months now, as his papers were not done, he has had no ability to earn any money by sitting in his room 24/7. His family at home, which counts on his measly monthly remittances, has had nothing from him in over two months. Appuk, his uncle, and Hadar, his brother, have been supporting him to the best of their ability. Appuk and Hadar do not make oodles of money. They are all here in order to make money as they are unable to do so in India. Your conditions have got to be pretty destitute to want to come here and work for next to nothing in fairly extreme conditions.

I spoke with Inam, HB13, earlier today. He has been told day after day after day that he will get his papers in two days. Today he said, "We are all waiting for them, Madam." I did not ask how many are involved in "we are all waiting." If the shoes were on the other feet, all hell would be breaking loose! But because "we all" are just imported workers virtually nothing is being done to rectify the situation for them. Honestly, I feel sorry for Inam and the "we all" who are in the same boat. It just is not right. And, today, when I spoke to Inam, he told me that he wants to work for me, and will work for me first [I suspect he has lost positions with other families as they have hired someone else in the interim - it is one thing to wait a week or three - or even through the entire month of Ramadan - but even I am tempted to find someone else to come work here as I am getting frustrated waiting]. I asked him if he was available for four days a week for four hours a day. Perhaps five days a week for four hours a day. 7A to 11A. I want this house to shine. If I am going to pay someone for that many hours, I want to be able to see my reflection in every piece of furniture, the tile floors and the carpet! I want this place to be so clean and sanitary that it smells like a hospital!!!

The poor guy, Inam, said that he will come work here first and that he is not going on vacation this year. I told him that I did understand that NONE of THIS is HIS fault and that he didn't need to cancel his vacation just to come and work for me. Heck, I've gotten by without him this long - I can get by a little longer. He responded, "Oh no, Madam. I must make some money. I must cancel my vacation for this year. Maybe I will go on vacation next year." Maybe??? How pathetic is that?!?

Ohh... As we were talking and I made it clear that we had things to discuss before he would be able to work for me again [and the most important thing we need to discuss is how he will interact with my Kids], he asked me, "How is The Baby, Madam, and how is The Baby's Brother?" How sweet was that?!? I realize that at this point I am probably his only prospect for any income whatsoever, so he is going to want to kiss my butt. I'm okay with that. Mostly I just want him to be able to "tolerate" my Kids, and do a good job cleaning - which he did do in the past - but at a pace just slightly faster than his former slower than a snail's pace. I believe we can make it work. If the poor "little" guy is ever able to get his f^k'ng papers!!!

Just why is this happening??? Because it would involve someone in some office somewhere actually doing some work instead of playing on his company's computer surfing the internet or talking on his mobile. These little guys - I know, I refer to them as the "little" workers, "little" guys - but I mean "little" in the sense of "the Underdog" - they have no recourse. They cannot just start screaming and shouting at someone to get the papers done. I am soooo thankful that I am an American and that our "status" [for lack of a better term] here enables us to make things happen. The "status" of these "little" guys is so far below that of everyone else they are not even on a "ladder," but instead have been buried and are using a teaspoon to shovel the sand off themselves one granule at a time just to get out of their ruts and be able to get out and make a living!!!

And what is even worse is that there is absolutely NOTHING that I can do about it to help Inam in order to help me - to get my house cleaned. Nope. Absolutely NOTHING at ALL!

Lots, Locally...

Two more Saudis were beheaded on Sunday; one for imprisoning, beating and killing a man, and the other for shooting a man. As much as I believe that "executing" criminals by beheading them is barbaric and primitive, and would much prefer something less so, such as lethal injection, this Country sets and example of how to deal with crime. I do not mean the legal system itself, here, per se. But instead, the severity of punishments that are meted out which, in my opinion, serve as a deterrent.

When the sign that "welcomes" visitors crossing the border from one country to here clearly says, "Drug Smugglers will be Executed" why do so many take the risk of being caught?

Interesting that there are 1,300 Pakistanis being held in jails here for a variety of reasons - most less than major crimes. According to this, "40 percent of the cases involved forged documents." Why would someone need a "forged document?" Perhaps because navigating the system, here, can seem so daunting and fraught with "red tape" it is overwhelming. [The former Houseboy I want to re-hire has been without his Iqama for over a month now. Can someone tell me why getting "documents" has to be so difficult?!?] Others that are languishing in jail are there for theft, "disputes with sponsors, traffic accidents, and drug trafficking." We know how drug traffickers are dealt with. However, throwing someone in jail because he has a "dispute" with his sponsor seems to me is a tad controversial and biased.

More crime... An Ethiopian has been detained for having "a suspiciously large amount of money in his possession." Three Bangladeshis have been arrested for robbing an old man "and stealing SR30,000" [$8,042.89]. And, two "criminals" are on the lam: A Sri Lankan driver has "disappeared with his truck-load of milk," and a Filipina housemaid who "stole money and jewelry from her sponsor."

There is a 14 year-old girl laying in a hospital bed fighting for her life because her father has allegedly "tortured" her. Yeah. "She was in a coma and was covered with bruises and had first-degree burns on her body. No part of her body is free from some injuries or marks of beating or other forms of torture." The father has been arrested and police are investigating whether the stepmother should be considered an accomplice. If it is determined that the stepmother was involved, Lady Tremaine will seem sugary sweet in comparison.

Population control Road carnage. Four dead. Four injured.

Finally, this. It is just sad and illustrates the societal injustices here in the Sandbox. A Turkish man, involved in a "dispute with his sponsor," was unable to attend his own Mother's funeral! The article is not short - but definitely worth reading for an understanding of how the "system" operates, here, and the mentality of one such company to resolve labor "disputes." When asked by Arab News about the matter, the company's owner said, "The case is now in the Court of Grievances and in the Labor Office. I have nothing further to say or add. Why do you care about this anyway?" And, that, in my humble opinion, speaks volumes...

I'm So Excited!

I have very bland and predictable taste. Walls have always been white - with the exception of one wall in our bedroom in the house we had in the states - all of the walls were painted "Plum Black Absence." Doesn't that sound like a beautiful color? What color is it, you might ask. It is the "absence" of color and was basically a shade of "white" - one that would be the same color white as the inside of a fresh mushroom that you'd cut - like the kinds that come in packages in the produce department. The one wall that had color, in the bedroom, was painted a medium lavender. Not a whole lot different than the color I chose to paint the walls of the bedroom at our house, here, in the Sandbox. Everything was white - or a variation of white. White-washed oak floors, white tile, white [oatmeal] carpet.

Even my DH has said to me in the past, "You are so narrow-minded when it comes to decorating." What? That from a man that has never chosen a color of paint in his life - for anything - and instead says, "Okay, Dear. That's fine." Or, "If you like it then I like it." Speak up, DH. I'd be VERY interested to know what color we should paint the bedroom or the living room / dining room or the hallway... [What? Did you say leave it white?!?]

When we moved into this house, from the townhouse - over here - where, once again, everything was white, I had the living room / dining room painted a light taupe. People that walk in don't even realize that I put color on the walls - even though I did - it is that light. And I don't like it. It must be redone. So, I went downtown the other day for some paint samples. They won't do. And I went to the library for books on window treatments. I found the window treatments I want to do - they will be perfect! But I can't get the colors right...

So, even though I think I have impeccable taste [but, of course!], I have difficulty putting it together. I have hired a professional! Someone that knows what she is doing. She came today. Oh My Gosh! Her ideas for my living room / dining room about blew me away. I cannot wait to post before and after photos. I do, however, promise not to use Rev and his crew to do any of the work - Iray - the decorator - has people she likes to use [she gets a kickback or something, I bet] - and I also promise not to bore everyone to tears with a day-to-day update on the progress - or, in the case of the bedroom - lack of progress.

I am so excited about the new plans I cannot believe that I didn't come up with it - the colors I love - actual "color" and not shades of white - and it is going to look absolutely stunningly beautiful. It should be done the last week of October. Oh sure. In Shallah...*

*In Shallah: Arabic for "God Willing"

Locally...

This whole thing is almost too much to comprehend... That a couple was chased down by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice because of someone's assumption that they were together and they were not married is enough to make you shake your head. Add to that that they were accused of "switching" the woman for the real wife - or something like that - and it just becomes bizarre. The couple involved is not backing down and they are taking their case to the governor's office. I don't know what will be accomplished by their doing so, but that they are not letting themselves be intimidated by an authoritative body is a good thing. Perhaps they might just be able to bring about some much needed change.

The moral of this story is pay your debts... For goodness sake, really, was it necessary to go to such lengths to get $536? "A relative of a groom threatened to walk out of the [wedding] ceremony if he didn't settle a SR2,000 debt owed by his father." Apparently he "even showed up with the paperwork proving the father's debt." Whatever. "The groom tried to quietly assure him that they could discuss the issue later, but the man would not budge and even threatened to leave right then and there." And the point of that would be? If it would have been me, I'd have said, "buh-bye." It would have been one less diner to pay for at the reception, right?

Five young "African" theft suspects have been arrested. "The group was apprehended after the ringleader was nabbed in an ambush, and subsequently confessed and gave police details of his colleagues."

"An Indian national has swindled hundreds of thousand of riyals out of a number of compatriots... and probably fled..." The report says he had a "chit-fund" going. I had to go to Wikipedia to find out what a "chit-fund" was.

This is just sad. A young woman, along with her sister, claimed to have been "verbally, physically and sexually abused" by their family and sought refuge at a shelter. Officials examined the two girls and spoke to their family and determined "that there were no signs of abuse whatsoever." Then, one of the young women, tried to commit suicide after being given the choice of going back to her home or going to jail. Why? Because "the shelter staff told her that because she was not a Saudi citizen, she should not have been allowed to remain at the center for more than 15 days." Uh-huh. Really.

Outside the house... Danger in the Pool!

A few months ago one of the families in the house directly next to ours packed up their belongings, their half-dozen children and two maids and moved. This is the same family that, before we had our privacy wall extended by three feet, would stand in their windows and watch us while we were outside in our back yard and in the pool.

[The first photo, above, was taken during the house renovations, before we moved in. That is the house that the entire family would line up in, at the three windows that faced our side-yard and pool, to watch us! It isn't a very good depiction of the scenario, but you can get the general idea. The second photo shows the three windows of the house next door.]

When they could no longer see out their windows because we had the wall extended to prevent them from doing so [photo, above], the maids would take turns standing on a wall outside which separated their yard and our driveway by holding the kids up to see over our wall. So much for the whole purpose of having "privacy walls." Trust me, had the situation been reversed, and had it been us standing on the wall looking in, there would have been screaming and shouting. But, since we are Westerner's, that our privacy was being violated, well, then, it's no biggie. Yes, of course I complained to Security, here, but I also didn't want the two maids being horribly beaten so I didn't make an issue out of it like I could have. No matter. Like I said, they moved out.

The family in the house directly behind us [photo, above] had two teenage boys. There were problems with them, as well. Too numerous to mention or get into. I'm pretty sure that they were the boys who spent one night throwing rocks over the wall into the pool, and the next night throwing rolls of toilet paper in it. Unfortunately I could never prove that it was them. We had issues. Lots of issues. Security was called on numerous occasions. On Wednesday I saw the moving trucks at their house - and they are gone! Happy! Happy! Happy!!!

[Unfortunately, we still have the four or five pre-teen and teenage boys who live down the street - and they will, no doubt, continue to harass my Kids and me, but I think because Security has been called so many times, now, that some warning must have been issued, because they are not nearly the tyrants they used to be. Thankfully!]

I keep a very close eye on my Kids. They are not even allowed in the back yard, unattended. That is not to say that I don't let them out - and then come inside and load the dishwasher - or something - but for the most part I am either outside with them, or where I can keep an eye on them out the windows... And because I do not want to be a problem - or disturbance - there is no "oofing" allowed. I call it "oofing" when The Boy starts his barking - loud and deep - for no acceptable reason. An acceptable reason is if someone is trying to come through one of the three gates. If The Boy and The Baby are both outside and The Boy starts in with his "oofing," then The Baby must chime in, as well, with her high-pitched "yelps." It is when the "oofing" starts that I immediately head out the back door to silence it. Of course, it is one thing if it is in the middle of the day. Chances are good that neighbors are not to awfully disturbed with The Boy's "oofing" at three o'clock in the afternoon. If, however, there is any "oofing" at night - say after eight or nine o'clock - then I make sure it stops immediately, and The Boy is brought inside and scolded. "Bad Boy. You cannot go outside and "oof" at nothing and for no reason when people are trying to sleep." Um-hmm. My "scolding" is quite effective. Until the next time, an hour later.

Last night The Boy scratched on the door - which means, "I have to go out to do business, or something" and I let him out. I was right there in the kitchen - and from there I can see the entire back yard. The Boy does his business and as he is prancing to come back in - he did a quick little pirouette and started "oofing" at the pool. I immediately raced outside to tell him that he is not allowed to "oof" and "come." We're going in. The Boy looks up at me - as if to say, "I heard what you said. And I choose to ignore you." The "oofing" stopped. And then I realized what was causing him so much distress. No wonder he was "oofing!" He saw the alligator toy in the pool - which I assume, to him, looks much like his nemesis, the lizards! They are - the toy and the lizards - much the same shape. I kept the "oofing" to minimum - but found that I was quite amused by his antics - so HAD to take pictures!

At one point, when I thought for sure The Boy was going to be going in the pool - after the "alligator that looks like a lizard," and that I would have to go in after him, I decided that enough was enough and brought him inside. He continued to scratch at the door - desperately wanting back outside to go and protect the pool - but because it was getting late - and because there was too much "oofing" in connection to the "alligator that looks like a lizard," I ended his my fun.

Locally...

Daily road carnage. I'm not even going to bother with my usual "why don't the authorities do something" spiel. From now on, I am going to look at road carnage, here, as one way of keeping population growth from spiraling out of control. Ten killed. It's a start... Three more, here.

Deadbeat dad's are something I have little tolerance for. Regardless of the fact that you left your wife or divorced her or whatever you did, you had six children with her and you STILL have a responsibility to support them. Hopefully authorities, here, will look into this and throw the schmuck in jail. Or something. A perfect example for forced-castration if there ever was one!

Ten years in jail and 1,500 lashes is a fairly hefty penalty for stealing electric cables, but the man did assault and hand-cuff the guard on duty at the construction site. On the plus side, at least he isn't having a hand chopped off.

An "Arab illegal alien" has been arrested trying to leave the Sandbox, and a 20-year old swimmer was killed "under a boat."

Here's an interesting twist and an update to the blurb I posted the other day about the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice that chased down a couple they believed were in "khulwa." The Commission claims that the "young man arrested... replaced the woman caught with him with his wife in order to avoid punishment." Newsflash! If the man was in fact with another woman who was not his wife, I can pretty much guarantee you that the punishment meted out by his wife is going to be more severe than any punishment the Courts could give him!

Lastly... A drug peddler has been beheaded executed. I've lost count as to how many we're up to so far this year... A lot.

Prostitution, disguised.

I've blogged before that there are four different types of marriage available to men and women, here, in the Sandbox. The "misyar" marriage is a temporary marriage and according to this article, "In many misyar marriages the husband usually doesn't live with the woman and tends to visit his wife whenever it is convenient." The definition for a "misyar" marriage according to Wikipedia is here. It is a bit confusing as to how valid or invalid the actual marriage is, as Wikipedia would lead one to believe that it is as valid as any other "marriage contract," but according to today's article in the Arab News the contract for a "misyar" marriage does not have to be registered with the court.

Regardless of what the definition is, it would appear to me that some "misyar" marriages are really nothing more than legal prostitution. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I guess... Two consenting adults should be able to do whatever it is that they want to do. Still, it is somewhat of a surprise that "legal prostitution" would be allowed, here. On the other hand, if there was no "misyar" marriage then unrelated men and women would be guilty of the crime of "being in seclusion," or "khulwa" and we cannot have that, now, can we?!?

You can't tell me that the "minority of women" who "have turned misyar into a business" are nothing more than paid - oh, how to put this delicately - screw it - they are prostitutes. I am certainly not begrudging them that they have decided to engage in the world's oldest profession. Hey, if they are making money and that is what works for them - sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do...

Siham has been married six times (once traditionally, and five misyars). She says, "men who are 'scared to death of their wives' are exactly the type she seeks" for her misyar marriages. "I only marry men who are afraid of their first wives and are financially well off." When she hears that a man is looking for a misyar marriage she checks two things, "whether he is wealthy and whether he is afraid of his wife." She takes nothing less than SR30,000 for a dowery, which is $8042.89, in U.S. currency. Forget the money aspect for a second; I want to know how she finds out that the men are afraid of their wives. What kind of man - a "real man" - would admit to being afraid of his wife? Anyone???

Since the husband doesn't usually live with the woman in a "misyar" marriage, he "tends to visit his wife whenever it is convenient." I guess another way of saying that would be to say he "visits when the urge strikes." Siham convinces that her husband-to-be "that no financial support will be required of him, and that all the marriage will cost him is the dowry." Sucka! After the marriage she "reveals her true color" and when her husband "wants to visit her (once in a week or two) she fleeces anything between SR5,000 and SR7,000 from him." Hmmph. That is some expensive nookie! SR5,000 is $1,340.48; SR7,000 is $1,876.67. Still, it is quite a bit less than what the former governor of New York was paying.

Siham makes her husband - let's call him John - pay all her expenses, and if he won't then he doesn't get any... She says, "I believe men have been taking advantage of women in misyar marriages. [Duh! Ya think?] They take so much from women and give so little, but I've turned the tables on them." Hard to argue with that logic. There are periods of "unemployment" however in Siham's profession. After she gets divorced she has to complete the "waiting period of four months and 10 days" before she can marry the next unsuspecting sucka named John.

Just Another Irritation...

Can someone explain to me what would make someone think it is okay to cut pictures and pages out of library books? There is not a single decorating / window treatment book in our library that has not had something removed from it - either pictures have been neatly - and some not so neatly - cut out, or entire pages are missing. And, not because the books have been censored, either. But, instead, because some selfish twerp couldn't be bothered enough to make a copy of that page or idea - thus denying the rest of us from the benefit of seeing whatever it was. I have zero respect for "those" people, whoever they are! Copies at the library are FREE!!! What home is without a color printer/copier/scanner in this day and age? You couldn't somehow get a copy of that page or picture and instead, arrogantly and pathetically removed it from a book that doesn't belong to you?

If I was in charge of our library, I would hire some little worker to go through the books - the cookbooks, the decorating books, the sewing / quilting books - whatever books have beautiful glossy photos and colored pages... Each book would be checked out to a patron in its pristine condition, and when returned the little worker would turn every page looking for missing pages or pictures. Regardless of whether or not you admit to the damage - removing a page or photo - your library privileges would be suspended for three months and you would be required to pay for the replacement of the book, and an additional sum as a penalty or fine. If it happened a second time, your library privileges would be revoked forever.

We have a very nice library. I would be lost without it. Seriously. It is not like you can go to a bookstore here and just get any book you want. Out of the question. Jarir - our largest bookstore - has a decent selection. Not great, but decent. The library has a good selection. It constantly has a selection of the newest books. Admittedly it leans far left, so that are many books that I would like to read that will never be available to me from the library, but I can almost always find something there that I know I will enjoy reading.

Yesterday I went to get books on window treatments, because I know I want to do something with my living room / dining room windows, but I am just not exactly quite sure what I want to do. I checked out eleven decorating books and have turned every single page of all but two of those books. It is just beyond my comprehension that so many parts of pages and entire pages are missing. This is not the first time I have checked out books that had pages that had been "altered," or removed. Honestly, I just do not understand the mentality of some people, here. I am irritated that the library does nothing about it - when I think they could.

Oh well...

A few days ago I finished reading The Last Patriot by Brad Thor. It was very, very good. I'd be willing to bet that it is a book that will never been seen on the shelves of our library - and I doubt very much that Jarir Bookstore will carry it, either. I rarely read non-fiction, but the book was highly recommend on a blog [and I would credit that blog if I could remember which one it was, but I can't] so I purchased it in the States and hand-carried it back to the Sandbox a month ago. It is not only the first non-fiction book I have read in quite sometime, but it is also the first book by Brad Thor that I have ever read. Brad Thor has written quite a few others, and it came as a pleasant surprise to find three of them on the shelf at the library: The Lions of Lucerne, State of the Union, and Blowback were available. I checked out The Lions of Lucerne and will read it this week while I am "working."

More Non-Payment of Salaries

Ahh. Same old, same old. Different day, different company.

I do believe authorities have the ability to stop this vicious cycle but for some unbeknownst reason refuse to do so. Imagine if all companies, here, just stopped paying all employees. There would be outrage and civil unrest. But, because the 180 workers that were unpaid were slaves imported laborers, who cares, right? [Although in fairness and to be accurate, I must add that the fact that these men were imported laborers is a presumption on my part; there is nothing in the article, itself, which indicates that they are or are not.]

The employees of the company - a company which shall remain unnamed - said that "the company has a habit of delaying salaries and has become notorious in this regard." Is it not just a bit interesting how there is no mention of the company's name, but no hesitation whatsoever of reporting an employee's full name? "Sa'eed Al-Qarni, a protesting employee at the port's gate, said the company has a considerable record of violations regarding labor laws: It does not provide health insurance, has increased working hours without paying overtime, and has cut the annual vacation to 15 days instead of 21 days which is the minimum period guaranteed under labor laws." Hmmph. Imagine that. A company - which shall remain unnamed - with a considerable record of violations regarding labor laws and virtually nothing being done to quell the situation...

Three more employees, all identified by their full names, along with other staff members "complained that they were not paid their salaries even when Eid was approaching. They said the company's manager at the port put the blame on a delay from the bank." Excuses, excuses... The employees were diligent and have been able to refute the company's "excuse" as they "have a letter from the bank indicating that the company's account was empty." Just speculation on my part, but I'd guess that it would be somewhat difficult to issue paychecks from an empty bank account...

A Port Manager, who is identified in the article, said "the company will be forced to pay the salaries within the next two days after discussing the issue with its director." If the company's bank account was empty, exactly where is the money going to come from?

Keeping up with the Fatwa's

One days it's the veil with a slit for only one eye and killing Mickey Mouse. The next day "it's banning engaged men from viewing photos of their fiancees online... for fear that other surfers would be able to see them before they are married." How do you keep up with all the fatwa's? Especially when they are changed on a day-to-day basis? The man banning engaged men from viewing their betrothed is the same man who previously issued a fatwa that permitted "couples to view each other via instant messaging programs, stating that this was preferable to home visits."*

I tried to find a source for fatwa's on-line - a source one could go to to get updates on what is and isn't allowed. There are plenty of sites out there. There is, apparently, a fatwa for just about everything. And, by "everything," I mean things that I, personally, have not even given a mere inkling to. Here is an example. [Warning: probably not safe for work.] I found one about "touching a woman," it certainly explains the reluctance of Mr. Security shaking my hand a week or so ago. Oops. My bad.

*Borrowed from the guy who "scours the bowels of the internet so you don't have to." Thanks, WZ!

Downtown for Paint

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

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

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

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

Locally...

Yep, now that Ramadan and Eid are over, things are back to "normal" in the Sandbox...

A little story about how the "US may be losing its luster on the world's stage," here. Guess you have to have something to grab reader's attention with, but I'm pretty sure that the US isn't losing its luster and just because some woman is changing her name from America to "something else" doesn't make it so...

The announcement that a lawsuit is going to be filed didn't take long. I didn't even know we had 1-800-IAM-HURT law firms, here. On Sunday a fan fell on top of two men while they were stopped at Customs on the Causeway. It was reported in the paper yesterday [?]. Today, it is reported that the "Families of the two Saudis who were injured in an accident... were planning to sue the causeway authority for negligence." I'm not going to make light of the fact that two people were fairly seriously injured during a Customs inspection, but I do question the necessity of why the Customs inspection has to be such a horrendous procedure for everyone involved. And, what could you possibly want to smuggle "into" Bahrain, anyway??? Crossing the Causeway has become a living nightmare... and I so want to go there this week to go to the new mall. Note to self: stay in the car!

Just as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice was starting to try to clear its name and reputation it makes the news, again. They have done it again. They went and chased a couple down in a vehicle, and accused them of not being married. The couple insists that they are married, but a member of the Commission told them that even if the couple brings their entire family in to verify that they are, indeed, duly wed, he will refuse to believe it. My goodness. And, we ALL know that you can't have khulwa* happening!!! Read the article. It is comical. And, something like this can only happen here! E-Gads!

Saudi Border guards have arrested an unknown number of suspects. Not only do they not know how many suspects they have arrested, but they do not know their suspects nationality, either. The unknown number of suspects with the unknown nationalities had "about one million pills of Captagon."

I was under the impression that fireworks are illegal in the Sandbox. Whether they are or aren't... The King Khaled Specialist Eye Hospital dealt with more than 20 cases of injury caused by fireworks during the Eid holidays, most involving children "around 10 years old." The Red Crescent was very busy over the Eid holidays, as well, reporting that the charity dealt with 856 cases of which 33 were caused by fireworks... There was lots and lots of road carnage with 254 accidents. Oh, and quite a few fights - 103.

The cost of obtaining domestic help is going up. Nothing about the maid's being paid more, just the recruiters. And, it is definitely the maids who deserve the increased pay, NOT the recruiters!

*khulwa: illegal state of seclusion between a man and an unrelated woman

Out and About

Will do my "Locally..." post later. Lots going on in the Sandbox!

Heading out to walk the Kids, now. Apparently I wasn't injured enough on Saturday...

Also, going downtown this morning. Taking the camera. I know, I keep saying I'm going to, and I forget. You have GOT to see the pictures of the butcher shops, here. And the "landscape" in general. Look for photos this afternoon.

WHOA!

Oh my gosh! Got a little mention on one of the big player's blogs. That little mention has put my Sitemeter off the dials, for me! I was slowly approaching 10,000 visitors since I installed it in April - Sitemeter, that is. I figured I would meet the 10,000 mark sometime in November or December. Nope. Already happened. And surpassed.

WELCOME ACE READERS!!!

I am honored and humbled to have Ace of Spades HQ readers come see my site. I am NO where near the caliber that the Ace of Spades bloggers are...

For regulars that come here - the five or six of you [you know who you are], check this video out. If it doesn't bring tears of joy to your eyes, I don't know what will!!! Heartwarming beyond belief...

A "Personal" Observation

I make no secret about rooting for the underdogs, here. And unfortunately, there are a lot of underdogs. The maids, the "little" workers... It is difficult for me to understand how it is that a society - in general - no, not everyone - but in general - can treat the people that work so hard to effectuate its success so badly.

Having come from that "middle-class family" background generality in the States where I had never traveled outside of the country, to living here, on the other side of the world and seeing that in fact slavery is still alive and thriving was an eye-opener. No. It was more of a shock, not an eye-opener. It will be a shock, again, for me, to go home to the States and not have the same "help" that I have, here. It is just not a part of the middle-class mentality in the States. Sure, we have house-keepers in the States - we don't - or I didn't - call them maids. Many have landscaping services or gardeners - we didn't, but we have friends that do. The people that perform those services were well-paid; they would not have continued to work if they were not compensated. Here, the people that perform those services rarely have a choice. So they go unpaid for months at a time. Who cares?!?

I have blogged on the matter time and time and time again of workers going unpaid and/or being abused in some manner. There really is just no excuse for this behavior. None. You have brought people to this country to perform work and they dutifully do so. And then, somehow, you can justify NOT paying them or taking care of them? How? How do you even sleep at night knowing that you have wronged someone like that?

The month-long observance of Ramadan has just ended, followed by a three-day Eid celebration. I'm no expert on the religious aspects of these occasions, and would never purport to be, but I did do a quick search on the internet to find a simple explanation of Ramadan, and found this, which, in part says, "Ramadan is a time of reflecting and worshiping God. ...it also allows Muslims to practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and sympathy for those who are less fortunate." Seems to me, then, that somehow, something went missing in the translation when an "Indian cleaner... has not been paid his salary for many months." The Eid celebration has "no meaning for some of the destitute expatriate workers who have either not received their salaries or are recuperating in hospitals after receiving on-the-job injuries."

Maybe, it's just me...

On the plus side, however, things are returning to "normal" now that Ramadan has ended and Eid is over. I commented on another blog, not too long ago, that I was looking forward to things returning to "normal." The response I got was, "What is normal?" Hmmph. Good question. Good question...

Hit By A Truck!

Yesterday was a wasted day. Totally and completely. I could barely move. For a while I considered a trip to the clinic to get an x-ray of my right arm/shoulder to make sure I didn't break anything. I could barely lift my right arm - with the pain mostly radiating from my shoulder. DH had to help me just to put a shirt on. I couldn't do it - couldn't make that total arm movement to do it. My left thigh, although it shows no evidence of being "injured" with bruises or scrapes, was just sore. Tender to even touch. And the black and blue on my right hip? Honestly, I do not think I have EVER had such a large bruise in my life! It is quite colorful! My entire "abdomen" area felt as though I had done a record number of "crunches" the day before - and I've never done a "crunch" in my life... I could not allow my right arm/elbow to touch anything - nothing - not the sleeve of my bathrobe, not the arm of the couch - nothing! Lots of rest yesterday, Aleve, Neosporin... and whining. I think when you take a "Mother-Fall" like I took, and feel as though you got hit by a truck then you are allowed to whine.

I am so glad I got the freezer cleaned out last week to take care of the forty-plus cartons of Kool Super Longs that came in our shipment:

I cleaned off the shelves to make room for the canned crab meat and canned potatoes [and the Reeses' Peanut Butter]:

Treats for the Kids got put away:

Shampoo, conditioner, suntan lotion / oil and moisturizer, were all neatly put in their places:

The Tide liquid detergent takes up an entire shelf:

And I cleaned out the kitchen pantry closet to make room for the Kids' food from The Honest Kitchen:

I never could have done ANY of those things yesterday. As a matter of fact, I didn't do anything worthwhile yesterday but lay around and nurse my wounds. My Kids were not quite as understanding as I had hoped they would be... Oh, no. They didn't understand at all. All morning The Baby raced back and forth from wherever I was to her leash as if to say, "Did you forget that we go for a walk in the morning?" "Are we going for our walk, now?" "Here's my leash!" After several such "gentle" reminders that that is a part of our daily routine, DH said, "What? You didn't do enough damage to Mommy yesterday, and you want to finish her off today?"

Newsflash for my two absolutely adorable four-legged Kids: There will be no walk, today, either! We will have Nuffie come over to play in the back yard, though, and that will allow them all to burn off some of their energy. I'll try to get pictures...

The Evil Eye & Just One Eye

Interesting article in today's Arab News, "Effects of evil eye exaggerated, says psychiatrist." Yeah. Really. It is absolutely astounding what some people will choose to believe. No different than superstitions, though, like Friday the 13th being bad luck, or breaking a mirror being seven years of bad luck...

This has made the rounds on the internet already. I've seen it at a couple of different sites. No more slits in face veils that show both eyes. You only need one, "just enough to be able to see." I'm not even gonna comment on it...

Baby Killer Maid

The infamous young Sri Lankan woman that was recruited, illegally as she was a minor, to come to the Sandbox as a maid and accidentally had a four-month old infant die while he was in her care, along with nine other children, may avoid the death penalty. My original post on Rizana Nafeek is here, and a subsequent post, here.

The father of the infant, "has expressed his desire to forgive the maid." However the mother has not. So, let's see. In a country where a woman is not allowed to decide for herself whether or not she requires medical treatment - but must allow a man to do so for her, where women are not allowed to drive - only men are allowed to drive here, and where a woman is not allowed to travel without her husband's permission, a woman is allowed to make a "legal" decision? No. You can't have it both ways. Either women, here, have rights or they do not. Giving the mother the opportunity to decide whether or not she will forgive the young maid should not be a part of the legal process, but then, courts here operate totally different to what is the norm in the States. Nafeek is either guilty or she is innocent. Whether the family chooses to forgive the young woman is a whole separate matter.

Do I think Rizana Nafeek is guilty of murder? No. Perhaps a lesser charge. Maybe. But I think there is plenty of guilt to go around and that the parents are just as guilty for leaving such a young woman in charge of ten children! And, the recruiting agency who illegally brought her to the Sandbox while she was a minor on a forged passport needs to accept some responsibility for this tragic accident as well. Whatever happened was clearly an accidentt - not murder!

In the meantime, this unfortunate young woman, Rizana Nafeek, has languished in jail for three years now. She was found guilty after signing a confession written in Arabic - which she could not read - and which was never translated for her. She was not even given the benefit of legal counsel during the initial proceedings or throughout her trial. Hopefully, the case will be resolved one way or another soon. There is a hearing scheduled for November 5th. May justice prevail... Rizana wrote a letter to her parents and said, "this would be her last Eid in the Kingdom since she would either be released and sent home or executed before Eid 2009." How very, very sad.

In Agony!!!

And I mean pain! This morning I took the Mother-Fall. A big time Mother-Fall!!!

The Boy was on his leash in my left hand, and The Baby was on her leash in my right hand. We were casually sauntering along on our walk on a very pleasant, beautiful morning. Nuffie and her Mom were walking with us - as they have for the past couple of mornings. And as we came around a corner - from out of nowhere - a man in a purple shirt had the biggest German Shepard I have ever seen! I didn't see him until it was too late - my two very naughty Kids lunged for the German Shepard - pulling me through the bushes and across the pavement - and I went down - dragged over the asphalt of the parking lot. Somehow, and I do NOT know how, I managed to keep The Boy's leash in my left hand, but The Baby's leash came out of my right hand and she headed straight for the teeth of the German Shepard. The man was as startled as I was - and thankfully - he was able to keep control of his dog AND grab The Baby's leash and keep the two of them - The Baby and the Shepard separated. Oh, thank you! [My gosh, Pretty Princess! What the hell were you thinking?!? There is NO way you could have survived in a scuffle with him!]

Nuffie's Mom grabbed The Boy's leash from me as I collected myself and raised my tattered, bruised and bloodied body from the pavement and limped over and grabbed The Baby. The poor guy - with the purple shirt and the humongous German Shepard - asked me if I was alright. Yeah. Sure. My light blue shirt is permanently the color of the asphalt, the little plastic bowl that I carry ripped through the nylon of the fanny pack I carry it in - and thankfully didn't injure me - how it didn't, is a miracle - and there is blood oozing from my right shoulder, elbow and knee and thigh. It must have been when my elbow made contact and was raked over the pavement that I let go of The Baby's leash.

We were as far out in our walk as we could possibly have been. I should have called DH to come and get us. I didn't. I limped all the way home, pulling both Kids and telling them how bad they were and how if they were going to behave like that then there would be no more walks. They heard: "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah..." None of it was pretty. It is even uglier now - my injured body - swollen and turning funky colors. I am still furious at my two Kids for behaving like that. And, I can assure you we won't be walking anywhere tomorrow. My left thigh must have hit the pavement first - even though there is no ripped skin - it is just sore. Sore as in hurting sore. The right side of my body took the brunt of the abuse. My right shoulder hurts. I cannot lift my right arm or put it out straight - and it hurts no matter what position it is in - bending it is about impossible, but so is keeping it straight. How I didn't break a bone is beyond me. And, of course, don't cha' know, it is my bad right knee that is cut, banged up and swollen. And my right hip - I've got a huge purple and green "black and blue." The ride across the pavement scraped the leather off from the tops of my sneakers.

It all happened so quickly and in slow motion at the same time. I am in an awful shape. Thanks to my two dear, sweet Kids! Couch material. That's all I am going to be good for for the rest of the day, I'm afraid. Thankfully I'm reading a great book, and now, I truly have an excuse NOT to do any housework. I'm sure I am going to live - even though it will be an uncomfortable day - and probably a pretty uncomfortable night, too.

I'm going to take a picture of my shirt. Whether it will come clean or not remains to be seen.

My elbow, this afternoon, after this morning's Mother-Fall:

It IS one NASTY boo boo, that's for sure.

And, my leg, too. The picture doesn't do it justice. It is swollen... I'm betting it will turn purple and green like my hip. It doesn't hurt nearly as much as my shoulder and elbow, though.

Poor, poor me. Yes. I am willing to accept sympathy...