Tuesday, October 07, 2008

My cow is dead. Why do I need your bull?

Let me begin with the good thing:

I saw something nice on my way to work today: There is a grey-haired traffic policeman who stands at the U-turn between the fire brigade and the gas station on 4th Ring Road every morning. He stops traffic on 4th ring towards Fahaheel Expressway/Shuwaikh so that people at the U-turn can get into traffic. My car was one of the first 3 that was stopped to let them through. I watched as car after car of people of different nationalities (from Kuwait and other nations) waved and smiled at him. He waved back to a few. It was just such a small gesture of kindness and totally random by everyone in the line. It made my day.

I needed that today, as I’ve been hit by stress on all fronts lately - both personal and business related.

The Bull...

Work is hurling some rather nasty large obstacles… but fortunately, they seem to be counter-weighted by knights in shining armor coming to my rescue. What a chess game you play here at work! So much drama and intrigue for silly things. Why can’t we all just get the job done?

I’m still looking for a home (that isn’t a box under the highway somewhere). I can’t believe how difficult it is! I’ve asked The Man to help me – as he was my good luck charm prior to my trip to the US – but unfortunately, I believe the blush is off the rose; the charm has worn off. He seems reluctant now and I can’t really blame him. We have no connections now. I have gone to look at apartments every night after work and I have seen tiny, dirty, disgusting, poorly-lit, poorly-maintained crappy Pigeon Holes for People. I’ve seen holes in the wall, holes in the floor, mold growing all over the place like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, trash, broken things, BLUE toilets, PINK kitchens, and many many offensive smells. Realtors here are liars for the most part; There are different layers of them. I have found that the female realtors are the most sincere and direct. Egyptian men - not so much. And the PRICES! In my neighborhood (which is ugly by my standards), the 2 bedroom apartments have risen from 250 kd/mo to 650 and up. I go home and cry.

… and cry to who? Well, Bunny is my rock. He’s my Big Shoulder to cry on. Desert Dawg is my constant companion. I am just wondering what the hell I’m doing here, waking up every morning alone, when I could be in a beautiful home that smells sweet, deer running by in the evenings, fat free/low carb meals, with my family. Why am I doing this to myself? Sometimes I just reach a low point.

The Eid break was just too long and upsetting for me. I shoulda gone somewhere, but I didn’t want to spend the money with the move coming up.

During Ramadan, I didn’t see much of Bu Merdas (who I now refer to as “Mr. Excuse”). I got lots of hachi about the religious ramifications… and how he would see me after … It didn’t amount to a hill of beans; a bunch of hooey. Bu Merdas (who I could probably refer to as “BM” and make it equally as “expressive”) had been planning a big dinner for me and my criminal elements for the 2nd day of Eid. I asked Sheikha Minor to invite our other peripheral friends. She promised me and BM they would all be there. BM made plans, ordered food, cleaned for several days (he doesn’t have a hariss at the jkhoor). He was really happy about it. Skip to the day of the event: The Romanian and I called Sheikha Minor and she was in Bahrain. She said that no one else wanted to come. So began The Depression.

We are both depressed. We usually bounce back after a day or two with the help of Mr. Jose Cuervo and/or sushi; however, this is lasting longtime. Both The Romanian and evaluate our friendships on an annual basis. We know that we are both cool, but sometimes you take a look at the other friends around you and wonder who you can really rely on. Who are your real friends – even after you have spent many evenings together for the past year? When you really need them the most – will they be there; or ditch you when something better comes along?

Everything is temporary written on the sand.

Bu Medas cancelled the dinner. I ended up with machboos for 20 people and a whole lot of salads. He stopped by the next night to pick up the trays. Since then, I haven’t seen him and he continues to call me 5 or 6 times a day to ask me where I am; in some pathetically lame attempt at controlling me: “Where were you?! Why didn’t you answer the phone?!” I think of evil things to say in retaliation, but it just isn’t worth the effort. Sigh... BM hasn’t offered to help me with my apartment hunt. If I feel tired or sick, he one-ups me with something bigger, “Aaaah – my back hurts!” He’s like a Jewish grandmother. He has 4 million excuses why he can’t come see me, why he can’t come stay with me, why I can’t go stay with him, why why why…. Zzzzzzzzzzzz. It makes me tired just thinking about it. I’ve stopped answering my phone now.

By the way, if you have a Zain line and you are practicing blondeness and you ever F up using the online payment system and put in an incorrect digit by mistake paying your bill, you are in for a world of trouble. I paid my bill – to the wrong number – and it has taken forever and with many calls to Zain to fix. They promise – they just haven’t delivered. I’ve been their customer for 11 years. One customer “service” rep actually had the balls to tell me, “well, you CHOSE to pay to the wrong number”. I’m like, “Yeah, I CHOSE to give some other subscriber 200 KD. I do that all time.”

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

this is in no way meant to be snide or rude, but curious.. what makes you stay here for so long without any of your family? especially since there are many elements of the society you dont like?

Anonymous said...

I have read your blog for the past several months upon my recent arrival here to Kuwait from the states. After reading this last blog, I truly feel the need to respond. Your thoughts are admirable and I just wanted to let you know that I think you are doing great things and come off as someone that genuinely cares. Please do not worry too much about the things you can't control because that energy will be needed by someone/somebody that truly needs/appreciates your positive energy. What you are going through will only make you two times as better than you were yesterday. Take care of yourself and Mr. Cuervo. Caliboy

Desert Girl said...

Anonymous (1): Thanks for your comment. Like anywhere, Kuwait has pros and cons. The pros for me have always outweighed the cons; have for the past 12 years. What would make me stay here? 800 contacts on my Nokia; both personal and professional - friends and associates that make up a very large surrogate family. The desert, the sea, the culture, the way of life (that seems to be eroding now, unfortunately). Read back through some of my posts and you'll probably get a better understanding of what keeps me here. And no - trust me when I say it is not about money. It never has been.

Caliboy: Thank you for your very nice compliments. Retaining positive energy is what it is all about, isn't it? :) Thank you and bless you for making my day. I think that everything happens for a reason - we just don't find out till later (sometimes) why. Ironically, you posted at "my time" - 11:11.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about your apartment hunting tragedy. I know it's not easy. Have you considered Sha'ab? I once lived in the Reem building (behind the Sheikh's house and Shalaweet and right on 30). Small building, great building hariss, indoor pool, small gym, 2 bedroom, 2 fulll bath, furnished, modern (meaning no pink bathrooms), washer/dryer, maid's room, all appliances, DSL and basic cable included, and I believe it was about KD350 or KD400. They're managed by York Properties. Unfortunately I don't have a number available, but you can really just drive back there and talk to the hariss, he's awesome.

Good luck!

Desert Girl said...

Thanks, Anonymous (3). I'll check it out. I've been working with York and so far, they have only managed to show me 2 dirty small places.

Another thing about Anonymous (1)'s post: I think if you love any country, you want to see it improve and progress.

Desert Girl said...

Sir Banastre Tarelton left a vulgar comment and I have chosen not to publish it.

Anonymous said...

hey! whats your budget for the rent? and which area do you prefer? may be i can help since i just moved into an appartment (that works for me) after spending one year looking through a whole load of Sh*$.

Desert Girl said...

Incase anyone comes across something:

I'm looking for a 2(+) bedroom. It MUST have a balcony because I'm away most of the day and Desert Dawg hasn't learned to flush the toilet (yet). I'm looking in Salmiya, Salwa, Bnaid Al Gar, Shaab, Maidan Hawalli; or even areas closeby (Mishref, Bayan or other residential areas). The maximum I want to spend is around 350 kd/mo - Unfurnished.

Thanks so much for all your responses!

Desert Girl said...

Incase anyone comes across something:

I'm looking for a 2(+) bedroom. It MUST have a balcony because I'm away most of the day and Desert Dawg hasn't learned to flush the toilet (yet). I'm looking in Salmiya, Salwa, Bnaid Al Gar, Shaab, Maidan Hawalli; or even areas closeby (Mishref, Bayan or other residential areas). The maximum I want to spend is around 350 kd/mo - Unfurnished.

Thanks so much for all your responses!