My time in Kuwait

I left Kuwait in May of 2010 with so many "firsts" and "new experiences" that I am forever changed and so glad for that change! I will be posting some reflections and after thoughts now that some time has past. I have been able to fully absorb my experiences, compare & contrast to the prior self, and experience stateside life now with my new perspective. Travel is truly the cure for ignorance. Thank you Mark Twain.

Self Medicating

Here in Kuwait you can go to the pharmacy directly and tell them what is wrong, and they give you drugs. Through some recommendations from friends I have some very good stuff. I woke up this morning with a stiff neck. I have a back neck, losing the curve in it. So when I was giving myself a pedicure, it strained my neck looking forward and down for so long. And I have cramps, my period started. So I went to the bathroom and rubbed Fastum gel on my neck, shoulders, forehead, belly, and lower back. It's an anti-inflammatory. And now I am about to drink a glass with a dispersible tablet of Rofenac-D, another anti-inflammatory, analgesic. In about 10 to 15 minutes I should feel like the birds are singing and everything is right with the world.

a High Maintenance evening

I gave myself a pedicure and buffed my nails to high shine with a Sephora professional nail buffer. I highly recommend it for a natural shine. No polish required, so no nail polish to chip and look bad. Maintenance should be efficient and productive. Unlike nail polish which require too much time and attention for a limited time return. I talked to my Mom to tell her I was ok since I hadn't called in a while. I had some nutello by the spoonful. I don't know if they have nutello in the states - it's like chocolate icing and hazelnut spread. Yummm! And then I chatted on-line with 2 friends. One in the states and one in Iraq. And now I am listening to Prince's Sexy M.F. on my playlist. Yes I am.

overdue posting

Oh wow, I can't believe it's a month since I posted. I still have not recieved my civil ID which I need to buy a post paid phone plan that would include internet on my phone. Therefore I have not been able to post on the go. I am really frustrated not having my ID or my driver's license. After 5 months it's getting really old. I have lots to write about.
In brief - I broke up with my boyfriend, I was moved to a better job, I have a cool new boss and coworkers, I am moving soon to a nicer apartment, and I am working on a project to get a job in an awesome country that has nothing to do with the Middle East. Some things are still the same - the weather is weird, it's hot during the day, too many people here are retarded, my roommate is crazy, the uniform irritates me, the call to pray goes off at all hours and wakes me up, ...
to top it all off, the laundry service in the buidling talked to the building owner and the delivery laundry service is no longer allowed in the building. I finally found a service that I liked, that picked up and delivered, and now they are banned from entering the buidling. I had to carry my laundry down stairs, well, down the elevator. Where's the freedom of market? Consumer's choice? Oh right, this isn't a democracy.
I have a hair appointment tomorrow morning. Then I'll be back to update you all on my coming and goings of High Maintenance.

ditto

everything is the same as 2 Sept. Just add more good food, a awesome pair of shoes, a little Saturday morning antiquing...

Ha Ha!

Work is going well; as well as any circus. But that is an insult to any well organized, constantly on the go, happy to be there circus (not including ones with animals but I digress). I still have 3 supervisors fighting over me but at least I am getting my computer access. They can toss me around me around like a beach ball as long as I am going from office to office and out of the sun!!! I am permanent admin as of Sunday. I told myself that I just had to survive August and it would get better from there. And Vwallah! It's happening.
For all of you concerned about my health - worry no more. I am eating sprouted bean seeds, carrots, celery, and other raw fruit and vegetables. Full steam ahead in the health department. I am going to start working out a little again.
time for bed, buenos noches.

High Maintenance "HM"

HM does not like her new high maintenance phone because she hasn't figured out how to use it yet.
HM does not like her yappy roommate talking on the phone in her room right now ruining the classical music playing on WCPE.
HM does not like the hot dirty wind blowing in from the desert filling her lungs with dust, germs, bugs, pollen, garbage, animal carcass, and poop from the hundreds of years of things living and dying in this hell hole.
HM doesn't like the photo she took today for her new ID after sucking in truck exhaust fumes all day while she controlled her post.
HM does not like sitting in this hard chair every day and using her computer. Wishes she had a computer desk.
HM doesn't like the fact that her friend left without selling her his computer desk that she said she liked.
HM doesn't like it when all the nails break but one and now she has to cut it.
HM doesnt' like the shallow wide bowls for eating her cereal because it's too easy to spill the soy milk all over her robe and the floor.
HM doesn't like sitting in this flannel robe because it leaves railroad track marks on her butt.
HM doesn't like the constant prayers over the loud speaker during ramandan.
And that was just today....

Ghetto continued

The drip has spontaneously stopped in the shower ceiling! yeah!

When I came home tonight, there was a horrible smell in the lobby. I thought maybe there was a cat in heat that sprayed or somebody urinated. When the elevator opened, the wave of air was noxious. There was blood on the floor. Then I noticed the pattern - that the blood continued through the lobby in drips every so often. The whole place has a stench I can't describe.

where's my roommate? haven't seen her in a while...

ghetto style

my toilet has a slow leak at the base of it. I would guess that the rubber seal isn't seated properly. But if I pull the little carpet out a few inches, the water spreads out and then gets absorbed by the carpet. So I leave the exhaust fan on all the time and the water evaporates. It's a good system.
I got home today to a drip drip sound in the shower area. The ceiling looked wet and there was a dark spot. Upon closer inspection, it was a hole in the sheet rock. There was a damp mark encircling the hole. Apparently the drip started in the last day, soaked the sheet rock until the force of the drip from a hanging pipe above the ceiling slowly opened a hole about the size of a nickel. Now the drip comes straight through to the tub. "Nothing but net". Eventually the dry wall will dry out and the drip will just keep coming through the hole! No Worries.
I do plan on moving in the next few weeks so I don't care about getting this fixed because that would suck up my precious weekend. The handi-man would certainly make a mess in my bathroom too.
Living large in the ghetto!

tan line of all things

I can't believe I have a tan line. My hands and upper neck and face are exposed. I wear a long sleeve mock turtle neck rash guard with sunglasses and cap so that is all that shows. I work one hour out in the sun and one hour in the air conditioned shack. Hour on/Hour off for 9 of the 12 hours. I guess my SPF 70 met it's match here in Kuwait. I reapplied every time I went out. Keep in mind that I am pasty white, so the slightest little freckle creates a tan line. I'm not tan!
So my new boss said he talked to his boss and my new admin job is a done deal. My supervisor still has to release me tomorrow. I hesitate a little but I think it will be ok. My new boss covers a priority area, especially with the new threat level here with the 6 terrorists they caught planning to attack the military installation here. We are being cautious during Ramadan. I promise that I am being cautious too. NO Worries! It's really business as usual for me.
I really hope to start working the admin job soon and get out of this sun! Oh, the humidity has started. Apparently it will come and go for the next few weeks. All the while, the temperature is going up. I thought the sand storms were bad.. ugh. And you thought humidity would help me breathe and moisten my nose and eyes a little - oh no, not here in Kuwait. Again, their humidity has to be the worst humidity on the planet. It's horrible and going to ramp up to horrendous soon. It chokes you and coats you in sweat from head to toe and in every crevice.
I'll leave you with that.

maybe good news

i interviewed for a permanent admin job with some nice perks... I'll let you know soon. good night. it's late for me

alive and well

I have recuperated from my various illnesses. I had a busy high maintenance weekend eating the best food and shopping at the best stores and savoring the best chocolate you can find in Kuwait.

time for work though, good night.

do you remember in college when...

Do you remember in college when we used to throw food out the window? Some people did it trying to hit people with cans of beans. Some people were just having fun aiming for something. Or it was a combination of the 2 and add in old food that had gone bad.
I am on the top floor of my building. I am a lousy cook and worse at buying groceries. So I either buy too much or don't buy the right stuff.
Tonight I had fun throwing bread out of my window. I bought a loaf downstairs at the little store. I didn't think about it until after I bought it but it was warm to the touch and there was condensation inside the bag. Perfect breeding ground for mold. So out the window it went. Piece by piece. I tried throwing it like a frisby but it kept curling back towards the buidling. I guess it was catching too much air. So I started throwing it vertically and it got a lot further. I can't hear the bread hit and I can barely see it so ... not so much fun.
I also threw out some apricots that were too damaged to eat and I've already eaten 5 of them today. Fruit is more fun to throw. Its got weight and makes a noise when it hits. There is a dumpster across the street that I aim for. One, the dumpster is for garbage. Two, that's where the 2 legged and 4 legged scavengers will come at night to eat. They will find the fruit tonight.
I also started standing back from the window and really throwing it hard. I've almost made it to the little utility building down from the dumpster. Too much fun.
The poor little guards have got to wonder what the fuck is going on. Food falling from the sky. I do this as least once a week.
I am so easily amused. Can you imagine if I did drugs?

Iran

I've been told that we can see the coast of Iran from Kuwait on a clear day. I am close enough to the city and industry that the pollution prevents any clear days that would allow me to see that far. When the weather breaks in September, I will go down to the beaches south of here where some of my co-workers live and see what we can see. Something to look forward to... ha ha

respiratory infection

I have basicly been home most of the weekend with a cough, aches, chills, and today added runny nose, sneezing and the whole respiratory works. I already had a doctor's appointment to follow up on the heat exhaustion so I am now diagnosed with upper respiratory infection. This infection is from the sand storm last Monday. I still got it after the other antibiotic I was on. I've got 3 meds I'm taking. Another antibiotic, cough syrup, and decongestant. The doctor gave me another 3 days off of work. I want to know what my new job is but I ache all over, cough often enough that I won't sleep, so no, I'm not going in.
Plus, the cough is like acid reflux. If I sleep flat on my back, I cough more because it's easier for it to come up. I discovered that if I put the pillows in a wedge shape propping myself up, i sleep easier. I still wake up thirsty or needing something after 4 hours but I'm not in the middle of a coughing fit when I do wake up.
I think tomorrow I'm going the pharmacy to get some oxygen. Yes, an oxygen tank. I need to breathe some clean air. Oxygen is a proven and otherwise well touted method to retain your youth. Michael Jackson is said to have slept in an oxygen tank. And see how well that worked!
I love being able to go to the pharmacy and get whatever you want. But Kuwait is like that. If you got the money, you name it, you can have it.
I wish I could buy some sleep right now!

still coughing so I quarantined myself

It's Saturday night. I am still coughing from the sand storm on Monday. I have a doctor's appointment in the morning to follow up on the heat exhaustion. There is a nasty but highly effective cough syrup I was told about so I will ask the doctor for it. Today I boiled some water and put a spoon of tiger balm (menthol) in the water to breathe the steam. It worked for a while and cleared out my upper respiratory troubles. but now I ache all over. I hope a good nights sleep will make me feel better. I just can't believe that another weekend is going by and I have done nothing fun, spent it sick or alone. Somebody should be taking care of me.
I started the day on IM with a friend. Which was nice because I didn't have to talk and therefore did not induce a coughing spell. I spent the day playing with paypal trying to figure out how my friend can pay me back some money he owes me. He's going to the bank tomorrow. Then I spent a couple of hours helping another friend book a flight on Delta to go home on an emergency situation. I got 2 phone calls and an e-mail from co-workers checking on me to see if I was still alive. That's a good feeling.
I was going to get a massage today at the Hilton. I was going to have the therapist massage the space in between the ribs. There are tiny muscles there. Massaging my ribs would help release the crud in my lungs. But I realized that I would be taking the chance of being quarantined. I had a co-worker quarantined for 3 days against his will about a month ago. As an American contractor, we are the source of Swine Flu in case you didn't know. If I went in there asking them to help with my cough, there was the remote possibility that I could get turned in to the Ministry of "who knows what it's called but the end result is the same" - QUARANTINED!
So Sunday will be chore day since I did none today. Groceries, Laundry, Doctor. No massage for me...

little trick

I had a bottle of apple spritzer from Apollinaris in my fridge. I was introduced to this little treat by a high maintenance friend of mine. It's labeled "the queen of table water". So I couldn't open the metal twist cap with my little highly moisterized hands. I hit it with a knife a few times but it still wouldn't come off.
So I went for something else. You may or may not have seen these shoe inserts but there are clear rubbery shoe inserts to pad the ball of your foot in high heals. They look like silicone and are slightly sticky to stay in place. Being high maintenance, I have a collection of 3 pairs of varying shapes for different shoes. All clean of course, ready for the next wearing.
It did the trick. Came right open. Cheers!

Friday Night

I survived another day at work outside. I took lots of breaks and ate through out the day. My co-worker was cool and kept checking in on me through out the day.
But an interesting thing has developed. I had a little cough, kinda tickle in the throat that started yesterday. My co-worker pointed out the very bad sand storm on Monday that I worked through for 4 hours. Tuesday it layed dormant in my lungs. Wednesday it layed dormant in my lungs. Finally Thursday my lung began to expell the sand and dust. I have been coughing all day and have a hoarse voice off and on depending on how much phlegm is in my throat. I didn't want to believe it at first but he's right. It's the crap from Monday just coming up now. It's the same cough and feeling as the last time I worked through a sand storm.
Every person I talk to that has worked through the Middle East or any other shit hole that military are sent to, tell me that this is the worst climate they have ever experienced.
Living the dream every day....

I was thinking more about my internal struggle of what to do with my life. I am choosing between working against evil, trying to stop evil; and working to support good and healthy causes. We need people to fight the bad in the world.

well rested

I am well rested after 3 days of sick leave. I think tomorrow at work shouldn't be too bad based on my duty assignment. I hoping to hear something in the way of good news. Maybe they miss me. LOL
I stayed off the computer these last few days too. Just relaxing.
so good night all.