Plushness

I just realised that the angst we're in as a nation is that there is no "norm" of social conduct. We're a relatively new society (post petrol) and do not know whats right from wrong. Some of us found Islam as the way to guide their actions, others found our old (mother labsa boshia & dad gone pearl diving) culture, and others are confused between everything they have seen Kuwait go through in the past 50 years. I guess thats why at Marina mall you find a teenager with his blue tooth hitting on a mu7ajaba in her skin tight clothes right next to a Salafi-looking person and his family and its OKAY. God Bless Kuwait and hopefully we will always have social tolerance.

Question: If the Islamist MPs are to take over and to change Kuwait into an Islamic State (expected v. soon), what would you do & why?

A. Choose to dissolve parliament
B. Go live elsewhere
C. Buckle up and put a 7ijab on
D. Take part in a coupe de ta
E. Other, explain pls.

This is to the friend (the one with buttoned down shirt) who asked me "how do we meet a girl in Kuwait?". Background of this friend (for any single girls out there reading this): He's intelligent & handsome, & wants to fall in love (i know not because he's a soppy sod, but because it was his new year's resolution), so here we go on how to meet a girl (hope it works):

1. Increase your circle of friends to increase the chances of meeting people.
2. Accept invitations which you normally wouldn't.
3. Change the places that you usually go to.
4. Take up a new hobby or anything new, like a new language where you would go to class for, or a new art, etc..
5. Be more receptive, she might be right there and you haven't noticed her.

Here is what not to do:
1. Do not follow or stalk her (not that you would).
2. Do not get to know her sister in efforts to reach to her :p
3. Do not beat around the bush, once you like her let her know (we like direct guys).
4. Do not (over) try to impress her, usually guys look silly when they do that.

Told my boss off, then apologized (kinda) and told him i'm burnt out-- he agreed! Had him sign my leave papers, took thurs-sat off this week. What a luxury, & here is how i spent my time (not in order):

* Went back to reading Veronica Decides to Die.
* Spent 2 hours beautifying myself.
* Cooked.
* Got on dad's nerves & vice versa.
* Took time to spend with my childhood friend who just moved back from NYC, God bless her.
* Took some time to get to know someone i've known.
* Fasted
* Ate a bowl of birhi for futoor
* Went to the gym to genuinely exercise.
* Told off im3alim 3a6iya (muqawel) for working on Friday (sighhhh)!
* Went to a friend's birthday- found out quiet a few interesting things, but cant say them cuz first & foremost, i found out that my identity is not anonymous :s [ THANK YOU Shesmek abu zarayer maftoo7a]
* Started watching the Sopranos.
* Checked fellow bloggers' blogs, but found nothing much there, which is a very good sign, indicating a GREAT weekend i hope!
* To no avail, went thru my old mobile phone collection to see if any work cuz my mobile kharban (i hate nokia, but will buy another tomorrow). [IQ question: "I say tomato & you say TomAto" is like: A. you say cell, i say mobile; B. I say sms, you say txt]
* More mundane stuff that i am not usually able to fit in a 1 day weekend & feel very privileged to be able to do [yah 7araaam, child labor- not quiet]
* Got stuck on a character from a MADM link for the weekend called 'HEEEELIUM' check it out http://www.strindbergandhelium.com

Aquarius

Jan 20 - Feb 18

Be willing to deal with old demands as well as new expectations. There may be a promotion in store for you before you know it.

I am busy today, i'm not bored, i don't want to kill anyone, and i'm not depressed today (maybe due to the machboos deyay & chocolate trifle i had last night). However, i do feel obliged to write! Does that mean i have become a serious blogger?

So what is it today,, its about this slow week, i was so bored that i found the perfect recipe for depression. In case you ever need it, here it is:

* Bump into an Ex who you havent gotten over yet, then make a fool of yourself.
* Keep reminding yourself what was last August like & that you're missing your friend's wedding (in Paris) because you have to stay with "M3alem 3a6iya", the Sa3eedy muqawel, while your (parent's) house is under renovation.
* M3alem 3a6iya calls you at 8 pm asking if he can start earlier tomorrow, you tell him no, but he comes earlier anyways. At the end of the day your house is leaking because he forgot to close the water pipe!
* You realise that your so called 'friends' are around you only when its convenient for them.
* Then to top it all of, you have insomnia & decide to read Paul Coelho's "Veronica Decides to Die"

Now this is the recipe for the opposite effect:
* Go to Danish Bakery and buy-to-try every single sandwich & dough they have. Their trifles are shay 3ajeeb btw.
* Then get together with your closest buddies over machboos deyay at 10 pm & loadsa desert & get collectively disgusted with the Videos on channel Mazzika.
* Tease each other about nothing worth while.
* Plan your new year's vacation.
* Blast Anastasia on the way back home.

(Review: Both recipes have been tried for success, & if you have any problems, please contact author).

Disclaimer: if you are or have been on anti-depressants or are PMSing then please do not try 1st recipe.

Was talking to a friend, also a generation Xer & we were bashing our predessors (yuppies & yuppie wanabes) & what happens to members of that generation of workaholic drug/alcohol/substance abusers when they do not turn as successful as their peers? The answer is they just become junkies. Right. Now I am aware that these categories of generations do not apply to us (in the ME) because we went thru different demographic distinctions, but the broad lines are almost similar.

Yuppie Gen are in their 40's, they had their mom's to look after them and none of their parents are divorced (well, almost none). They had funny (uncommon) names, and their parents were very much into Arab solidarity when they were growing up and subscribed to some socialist creeds.

Generation X: are 30 something, Marry/Esperance & Margrate raised us. We went to church every Sunday (no joke), and we travelled alone (as children). I dream holiday was to go with the Nanny to Goa. We had a lot of emphasis put on our education (as over compensation from our biological parents) & we constantly complain. Sadly, our parents still see us as children and sometimes even give us pocket money. (They feel guilty for not having any pictures with us as children, and think its their fault that we turned the way we are- which is great for us). if we were Americans, we'd be in therapy blaming our parents for neglect, but we're actually envied by our ciblings so we feel lucky for everything we have.

Generation Y: Have younger parents, both mom & dad have/had careers and they actually listen to their parents and take part in family events. The daughters have boyfriends from a tender age and its okay with the brothers. The mom comes to the son's parent/teacher meetings and its okay. Dad had an affair at one point and the whole family knows. The mum got fed up with her balding husband and decided its time for a split.

Philipina maid generation: (at one point the philipina will hit on the teenager in the house); the kids eat out (or order in) every single night. There's a playstation in every room in the house. Their 6th bday gift is a Nokia mobile (contract). The mother takes out the kids every weekend to a mall while the dad disappears to (i still don't know where, but i'm assuming Dubai). The mom has a boyfriend and elopes with him.

O'right the mood is foul again today. I put myself to sleep yesterday with negative thoughts & i woke up today being negative & fat! I didn't know i was so good in hypnosis!

*I want to overthrow my boss and turn this company into a blue chip company.
*Slept myself last night with the thought of my X's arrogance & woke up hating him.
*I'm sick of all this talk about Kuwait & Kuwaties. We think the world revolves around us.
*Was counting on Mosan's entry to cheer me up, or on Master Zaydoun & Lord Mad M to keep my mind & fingers busy.
*Ok bitching on bloggeroff.com works! I feel positive vibes already!

I feel like having Zeit w Zaatar's eggs & cheese melt in a clay pot. Simply the best casual dining rest in the M Cresent.

Somewhat Taboo yet very common. Need your inputs on the following. It would be nice if we could get a bi-sexual view (that is: a view from the ladies & a view from the gentlemen):

1. What is the etiquette of dating in Kuwait from A-Z. What is an acceptable approach? Does the guy call the girl or the girl call the guy? When are the couple officially dating? With the first call? Or with the first date? Or other?

2. When does dating turn into a relationship? With the first kiss? Or with an understanding (that they have exclusive rights)?

3. Where do they rendez vous?

4. How long is it in the relationship when the girl pops up the Big C (commitment for all you relationship virgins).

5. When do you meet the friends and the gazillion cousins, if ever?

Okay, here are some of my inputs on the best of anything that comes to mind (found in q8):

1. Savory breads at Bread Talk (to die for), at al-Bustan mall in Salmiah.
2. Lexus dealership (Al-Sayer), excellent customer service & nice lobby.
3. Cooperative societies. Yes its a very socialist/welfare notion, but we all enjoy its benefits.
4. Share3 al-7ub (Love St.) although i haven't seen any 7ub (love) in or on it, but for some reason its "shar7".
5. Irani bakeries.
6. McDonald's (its the best i think), any junk food addicts can contest this if they like, but the fries in Germany are better (probably have lard in their oil).
7. Best Winters.

to be continued..

Mosanmosan.blogspot.com has inspired me to write this morning! Was in a foul mood till i read his weekday prayer! O'right now, as i go thru blogs, i realize that as much as we bitch about Q8 & Q80s, we love being Q80 for many reasons: (1), for our sense of humour, (2) because deep down we do believe we're the best (which explains our angst when things arent perfect), (3) because deep down although hailag are a growing majority, we do believe that the non-hailags are canceling out hailags, (4) we are more Q80 than we are 'arab'& therefore are more independent in our thinking & we've liberated our selves from the false notion of Arab solidarity (thank you Saddam!), (5) our Crown Prince is black & his daughter eloped and modeled professionally & is still loved by her parents & (royal) family (no biggy, while our neighbors would kill for that), (6) gays are socially accepted, (7) we had a red light district way before we had electricity (called Rumaila i think), (8) we have the sound 'ch' and use it to replace every 'k' almost (chalb = kalb)!, (9) our cuisine & dialect have influences of Najd, Persia, Iraq, India, & Turkey and therefore almost impossible to pick up by non-natives, (10) 'bye bye landan', (11) we assume that everyone knows that Q8 is short for Kuwait, (12) we made it, as small as we are (~800,000 q80s), in several records: highest accident rates, highest childhood obesity rates, hottest inhabited area in the world, 2nd highest visa card expenditure in the world. (Note: can think of more of course but dont want to be accused of being too arrogant)

And how old does that make me? Have our ages changed? If not, then maybe they should. In my youth i always dreamed of being in my 30s, i admired women in their thirties because they had a sexy-classy air about them which was a mixture of experience, wisdome, self assurance, and little laugh lines around their eyes. So why don't i feel that i have become that yet? Why don't any of my 30 something friends have that about them? Or do i not notice it since i am here now? Is it because generation X is more laid back than our predecessors and hence less sophisticated? Is it because of ROC and their new anti-aging creams? Is it because we were late bloomers? Is it because we truely did not experience everything that earlier generations would have experienced in their 30 something years?

So is age a culmination of experience? The answer has to be general because being 40 has been pushed back a decade universally, and i need to know when would i attain that sexy-classy aura and when should i celebrate my 30th birthday again!

Had a quick chance to glance at the headlines of 1 news paper today as i was watching the news, changing, and drinking my chai haleeb before work (or should i say, during work since it was 9:30 a.m.). Quick thought, Minister of Communication says that Kuwaities do not need to have opposition factions in exile because they are free to say and believe in whatever we want to in Kuwait. First thing that came to my mind is that no, i am not free to do what i want in my country, but then i remembered its because our pseudo, yet very powerful, democracy is in control and that is made up of mainly conservative and religious members-- elected, yes elected, by roughly 20% of the population. Lets say we double that to include women in the count, would the votes change? I doubt. So i say, buckle up and smile, at least we can bitch about the bearded MPs and the non-bearded government (i.e. ruling family).

A quick blog to say that I am ecstatic about having learnt to make gaboot (gaboo6) from no one but my grandma, may God bless her! The dish is mainly whole wheat dumplings lightly stuffed with onions in chicken or meat curry. The secret is in the simmering (2 hours min!) and simplicity of ingredients! So anyone interested in the recipe or in the experience of learning a Kuwaiti dish, msg me.

Btw, i don't know whether my blissful feeling this morning was due to standing by grandma in the kitchen last night or actually succeeding in the execution of the recipe! Mind you, my scale wasn't so approving this morning but i don't care :>

2 minutes after posting my 1st blog, i am writing my 2nd! No one told me blogging is addictive. I guess it comes from my childhood days of keeping a diary? Or the fact that we are social animals and like to share our experiences?

Time for some substance on this blog. And yes, i do wish i could be the next Carrey of Sex in the City (writing NOT from NYC and not writing about sex, obviously) but we'll see about that.

Yesterday i gathered my 3 friends who are actually in August in Kuwait for some reason, and tried hard to find a restaurant with ambiance. In the exercise i engaged everyone i knew to help me and yet we failed. You’d think that restaurants being our only evening, outdoor entertainment in Kuwait, that more attention is paid (literally paid $$) towards the costs of decoration. Are we living in a tacky country? Driving back from Sakura (in the Crown Plaza) i decided that the answer is yes, sadly.

Note: what drove us to Sakura was actually the food, which is also more than i can say about most restaurants in Kuwait too. Depressing!

I literally stumbled upon this blog business by mistake. Okay so what will this by-chance of a blogger blogger off about? Everything in plushness. Yes, plushness is the term i (newly) use for everything i like or feel strongly about. How about that? So what comes under my plushness for the day? Blogger.com! I think this is the best indoor non-active activity for August in Kuwait, when your boss and everyone around you has deserted you to spend their vacations on the Med. (sighhhh..).

I warn you that i will not use a spell checker nor will i use a grammar checker. So if you're the likes of me, i.e. anal about reading spotless English, then please close this page.

Other warnings: I love junk food. I love gourmet food. And I am on Atkins to test how much will power i actually can endure!

Other other warnings: I am an Aquarian by nature and an Aquarian by birth.

Alright now, lets see how this goes :)