Reflections of A Princess

Monday, October 31, 2005

3eedkum Embarak, Happy Birthday Samboose..Tagged

With a duplicate of a Marlyn Monroe voice...please join me as we sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our special Godess blogger Samboose...Have a wonderful birthday and may all your dreams come true...

Also a very warm 3eedkum Embarak to all the special bloggers out there..and speaking of special bloggers...I have been tagged by our Godess Delicately Realistic..yet again...so here goes:

Seven Things I Plan To Do:

1. Win a Million Dinars
2. Get married for love
3. Have children for the same reason
4. Own my own property
5. Make a difference in the world
6. Have a position in this world that will help me to achieve number 5
7. Get a nobel prize for having created the ideal method that saves the world from war, disease and poverty...(now if I can just think of what that method would be!)...

Seven Things I Can Do:

1. Write poetry
2. Do Yoga and meditation
3. Wake up at 5 o'clock in the morning and drive one hour to see the sunset on a remote beach south of Kuwait all alone
4. Stand in front of a large audience and give a speech, rap or say a poem
5. Stand infront of a video camera and talk for hours
6. Dance endlessly in front of my mirror in my room
7. Ball my eyes out crying when watching the news especially when related to kids

Seven Things I Can't Do:

1. Lie (God I wish I could!)
2. Stay mad at someone I care about for too long
3. Be rude
4. Be cruel
5. Take a decision without asking someone close to me their opinion
6. Be controlled
7. Socialize day in and day out without having any "me" time

Seven Things I Say Most Often:

1. How Exciting!
2. Exactly!
3. You're kidding!
4. Ba3ad Chabdi
5. Aham Shay!
6. Wanaaasa!
7. and the new one I'm begining to use...Liman Yajru2 faka9...comes in handy when you're pissed off at someone!

Seven People I Want to Pass This Tag To:
1. Samboose..our birthday girl!
2. Salted Caramel..the..now you see her..now you don't girl
3. Enterprenuer...the shopper in strange places..
4. William...the guy who hangs out with the guy bloggers
5. Unknown Entity...the gal that hangs out with the girl bloggers
6. Waterlili..the lili with the plant that has a baby face..
7. Sou...the one with the cute purple icon that sounds like fun..

Have a wonderful 3eeed!

Friday, October 28, 2005

Female Bloggers Gabga Results

Pssst....wanna hear about the Female Bloggers Gabga...you've come to the right place!

First, allow me to send a warm bloggers hello to all the Ladies who I was honored to meet! Ladies, it was a pleasure meeting you all and as agreed, you are now part of the Godess Clan so don't forget your brags for next time!

The restaurant was dimmed just the way we liked it, lest we are recognized..;)...(FBI meeting??)

The darkness didn't stop bloggers from recognizing each other. Some arrivals on the scene walked in nervously to the table. They were, however, welcomed by all with laughter and warm smiles. It took only two minutes for everyone to feel like they've known each other for years and nervousness went out the window.

We had two pisces, two scorpios and a few others. The table was indeed full of passionate women all happy to be bonding with each other. Time flew by too fast as it normally does when you're having fun!

Ladies, thank you for sharing your time and wonderful personalities with me.

I can't wait for next time!

You ROCK!

P.S. Names of Bloggers have remained anonymous...what? You didn't think I'd tell all did ya??

Monday, October 24, 2005

Journal of a Single Gal in Q8 - Episode Nine

From last episode..

"Maybe she should've known that they may not end up together based on the way they'd met. Sometimes it was hard to believe that they actually met that way.

It all began a few summers ago when she had been visiting her sister in the States."

It had been a fun summer. Her sister would attend her classes while she discovered that cooking for someone you love was actually fun. She was not one to cook but knowing that her sister would come back hungry from college made her motivated to actually enter the kitchen and make an attempt. She would read from her favorite Kuwaiti cook book knowing humuoursly that it was actually written for expatriates but it was perfect. She'd found it at the Kuwait Bookshop at Muthana and she loved the picture of the cover with the Dallah and coffee cups.

Her sister, who was a great cook would often compliment her on her cooking which used to make her laugh. She just couldn't see herself as a great cook. She believed her cooking was an expression of love and that was the only reason she was in the kitchen cooking. Other than that, she knew that cooking was just not for her. When her mother would ask her what she planned to do when she got married, she'd smile and say "Catering from my sister, of course!"

During the free hours she'd have, while she'd finished cooking and waiting for her sister, she'd often log on the net and explore sites. On occasion she'd even visit chat rooms. She would judge her interest with the people she chatted with based on the first three sentences. If they asked the right questions, she'd continue chatting but if they asked lame questions, she'd just disconnect. It didn't take long that she found one particular nickname that caught her interest.

They'd discuss various issues like politics, music, career and everthing else that she felt passionate towards. They would agree on so many things and argue for hours on other things and she loved it. He was intelligent, patient and interesting. A combination that no doubt caught her attention.

When it was time for her to leave the States, she'd shared her secret admirer story with her sister. They were driving down the highway heading to the airport as she spilt the beans.

"I told you never to give up, someone is out there for you. Maybe it's him," said her sister with a smirk on her face. "Like I said, I believe that story about the coins. You know, the one that God threw half coins from the sky and for every half coin there's the other half that you have to find. Maybe he's your other half, who knows" she comforted her.

Her sister knew that lately she'd been feeling very down about finding someone special in her life and that she was on the verge of giving up. It had only been a few weeks ago that she'd given her a lecture about never giving up. "He's out there somewhere," she'd say but that was always her, the optimist.

When she'd finally reached Kuwait, she kept roaming the streets wondering what he looked like. They continued to chat on line for six months when they'd finally agreed to meet. Luckily, it was Christmas time and her sister was home for the holidays and they were both excited that she was finally going to meet him. She needed the comfort of her sister.

"What do you think I should wear?" she desperately asked.

"Just be yourself, wear what makes you comfortable," answered her sister.

"Then it's got to be jeans," she replied.

She stood infront of the mirror as her heart began to pound. She wore her stone washed jeans, a black top with a black blazer and her favorite black cowboy boats.

"You're going to wear your cowboy boats?!" asked her sister looking horrified.

"You said wear what makes you comfortable and besides, if he doesn't like my style then he aint my style! Right?!" she replied.

Her sister smiled, nodded her head in agreement and finally added "Call me as soon as you're heading home. Oh and where are you meeting exactly? How are you gonna know each other? Shall I follow you, just in case?"

"We're meeting at the club by the Squash courts so it's a public place and so I'm safe. He told me he'll be carrying a red rose with him. Oh my God, how cliche! I can't believe I'm doing this! God! Ok, one more question and I'm gonna chicken out." she replied.

It was time she was on her way and she quickly kissed her sister goodbye and heard her yell out behind her "Good luck!".

As she drove to her destination, she could hear herself think. "Oh God, what if he's ugly? Looks aren't everything but what if he's gross? Looks aren't everything. What if he stinks? Looks aren't everything. OK. I can't breath. Damn it. Please God, let him be cute. Don't be so superficial for heaven's sake. I know. I know but please, make him cute anyway!" Her mind was going so fast that she couldn't keep up with it.

By the time she parked her car outside the club, she was a bundle of nerves. She took a deep breath and had her final conversation with God. "Whatever happens God, please don't let him be a psychopath!"

She stepped out of her car and walked slowly towards the entrance of the club. "Slowly, slowly, don't look rushed" she heard herself say.

From a distance, she could see someone standing at the reception and he looked like he was waiting for someone.

To be continued....

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Far From the Maddening Crowd

Right after Fu6oor my friend past by to ask if I felt like going out. The thought of all that traffic gave me a headache so we came up with the idea of heading South. We drove down highway 40 as the Americans would call it and ended up at Al-Kot Mall in Fahaheel. I honestly felt like I'd travelled out of Kuwait. It was amazing. We sat infront of the singing water fountains, the weather was brilliant and the sound of music was the perfect addition to an Arabian night. As I watched the fountains dance away, I could see the reflection of the moon on the water and what a lovely sight that was. Picture perfect, right out of a postcard.

The amazing thing was everybody was so civil. There were no loud kids you'd normaly see walking around Marina Mall. Just everyone going about their business and nobody hassled us or stared at us or anything. It was an enlightening experience that I highly recommend for anyone wanting to get away from it all. Oh and in case you needed to shop for Eid, they had some nice shops too without the crazy crowd.

And they say you have to get on a flight for a change of scene...hey...it took 25 minutes and I came back refreshed...much cheaper...wouldn't you say?

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Female Bloggers Gabga

After surfing a few blogs and noticing that most of my favourites are bored, frustrated or depressed...myself included..I feel that something's gotta give..so Ladies...anybody interested in getting together for a female blogger gabga?...(no dara3as necessary). I know that there are some female bloggers that wish to remain anonymous...so the rule is that you can show up but you don't have to give your bloggers name..nor your real name...just show up and we'll have a table reserved under the name "female blogger"..we all vote on a location and time...we all meet without saying who we are..what do you say? and sorry...no men allowed...female bonding bloggers only...Ladies...you game?

P.S. It's proven that female bonding can relieve women of stress, depression or boredom...(given that you end up liking the women of course!) What say you?

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Journal of a Single Gal in Q8 - Episode Eight

From last episode..

"She found the whole episode embarrassing and told her friend that it was time to leave so she said her goodbyes as she and her friend went inside the nearby mall. She didn't need to turn around to figure out that he was following them as they entered Liz Claiborne. She had just grabbed one of the shirts on display when she sensed his presence right next to her."

"Excuse me, I believe you dropped something," she heard him say as she turned to face him. Her heart began to race. She hated embarressing moments when she just didn't know how to act. He quickly handed her a pen with a piece of paper attached to it then turned and walked away. Her friend had been eyeing the situation from the other side of the shop and paced hurridly towards her to ask her what he'd said. She slipped the pen in her bag and told her that she'd forgotten her pen and he'd past it to her. She didn't like to lie to her friend but she'd just been complaining about Mr. Big and she didn't want to look like a hypocrite.

It had been two weeks since she'd last spoken to Mr. Big. The year was coming to an end so she'd told him that it was time they dealt with reality and that they should break up.

"What do you mean you want to break up?" his voice aggrivated "People "break up" when they're teenagers which we're not. Besides it takes two people to break up and I'm not agreeing to this." She knew it wasn't going to be easy. Maybe she should've just made up her mind and stopped answering his calls but she knew that everytime she'd see his number, she'd pick it up.

If her Mom hadn't yelled and screamed when she'd first approached her about the idea of getting married to him, things might've been different but ever since then, her Mom had changed with her and she just didn't feel happy about it. The stress had been too much for her and she just wanted to stop feeling guilty and the only thing she could do was try to leave him.

She needed something to preoccupy herself from calling him and maybe this guy could do that. These were her thoughts when she finally was alone in her room and was staring at the number.

"Hello. Thank you for returning the pen that was originally not mine" she told him. Let's hope he has a sense of humour she thought to herself.

"Hello! No problem" he laughed. (So far so good, she thought)"You're very pretty by the way," he continued.

"Thank you," she could feel herself blush.

"I also like you're style," he said and she thanked him again.

"Do you know any other words besides thank you?" he asked.

He was being sarcastic and she wasn't sure whether to be sarcastic back or just ignore it.

"Sorry but I don't know what else to say when someone compliments me. So tell me more about you. I noticed that you gave me two numbers; a mobile and a house number" she answered.

"Yes, I live alone. I used to be married but I'm divorced now and live by myself. My ex-wife and kids don't live in Kuwait."

"I see" she said.

"I'd rather talk about you and I'd like to give you a few words of advise. I do like you're style but it needs a bit of work. For instance, I noticed that when you were sitting down that you had your handbag on the floor. That's very bad" he said.

"Excuse me?" she asked. (WTF, she thought to herself)

"Yes, it's not becoming at all. How can you put your bag on the floor. First, it's a very uncivilized thing to do, second it's bad luck." he retorted.

"Uncivilized?" her blood was begining to boil but her curiosity was getting the better of her and she wanted to hear more of what he had to say.

"Yes. I mean you spoilt the entire image of yourself when you put your bag on the floor and even though I liked what you were wearing it was more wintery and it's not even winter yet. I know you'll appreciate my advise. I think it's important to take care of your image and of course I'm letting you know what I like in women. The most important thing for me when I'm sitting with a woman is the way she carries herself. Image is everything," he said quite frankly.

That was all he needed to say.

"Forgive me for interrupting your session of consultation but first, I believe you've mistaken me for a bimbo, which I'm not. You know, the ones that put their teeny weeny prada bags on their laps and need someone like you to run their lives. Second, I'd much rather be sitting crosslegged and I mean like my ancestors used to sit, yoga style than to sit like the "little lady" your describing. Third, I'm not your ex-wife for you to advise me on anything and I am definately not surprised you have an ex since you have issues and definately need therapy yourself. If you'll excuse me, I believe I have much more intelligent things to do than to scrutinize my personality based on where I put my bag. Thank you and good bye".

She hung up and threw her mobile on the bed. "Of all the rotten, peice of crap," the swear words weren't coming out as fast as she'd wanted them to. "Who the hell did he think he is." She'd been so angry that she finally realised that she'd forgotten to breath. She took three deep breaths and suddenly began to smile. The whole thing was too funny. Talk about a guy with controlling issues! Poor ex-wife, no wonder she left him!

"They're sick. they're sick. They're sick" the mantra was making her feel better but she still couldn't believe it.

Two weeks later, she'd bumped into him at an exhibition and she hoped he wouldn't approach her but he did.

"You look very pretty" he said. Sick, sick, sick. Her mantra was coming back to her.

She nodded to him as she walked away. She wanted to be at least one million miles away from him. Sick, that he'd say that she looked pretty but that was so typical. It didn't matter that she'd given him a piece of her mind and told him to go lay an egg. All that mattered was that she looked pretty and the look on his face of "let's try again." made her even angrier. Idiot!

When she'd finally closed the phone, she'd weakend and called her Mr. Big. He was so excited to hear her voice and told her that he was hoping that she'd call.

"By the way, you remember when I told you that we have to break up because I need to meet other people?" she asked him.

"Yes" he replied reluctantly.

"Well, I want to tell you about something that happened to me that you're not going to believe" she was still angry about the incident and wanted to get it off her chest even though she knew that he was not going to like it.

"I have a feeling that I'm not going to want to hear this so please don't tell me" he said.

"Don't you want me to be honest?" she asked.

"That's the problem. You are too honest and it drives me crazy. I really think I'd rather not know." he said.

"Ok. Forget it," she replied.

"God, I hate this. Fine, tell me. What have you done?" she could tell he was already upset before even hearing the story.

"No. Forget it. I don't want you to get mad at me but the story is kinda stupid and funny at the same time so that's why I thought you'd find it funny," she replied.

She told him the story without mentioning how she'd actually met him. He was furious.

Although her sister always advised her that she should never be too honest when it came to the opposite sex, since it would backfire, she still wouldn't listen because telling him always made her feel better, regardless of the outcome.

"I hope you're happy with yourself that you let a nobody who knows nothing about you or about who you are to tell you all that," he yelled. "You know, I don't blame him. He probably thought you're one of those girls who likes to be treated that way. How would he know that he's dealing with an independent and intelligent girl that doesn't like to be pushed around. Sometimes I think you enjoy it! You enjoy taking people by surprise by letting them think that you're one thing and then showing them something entirely unexpected. I know you told him that he needs therapy but in reality you need it too," he continued.

He went on and on and then suddenly went quite and told her that he had to go. He needed to be alone. She tried to argue with him but it was no use and so she reluctantly told him that she was sorry and then hung up.

She began to wonder if her image did imply that she was a bimbo. Maybe that's why the type of men she kept encountering were so weird. She felt confused. Was it her image that needed fixing or was the society so superficual that they presumed a pretty girl must be stupid or the type that likes to be pushed around? She couldn't get it.

Thank God, this Ramadan she knew nothing of the sort would happen again. She'd promised to stay away from all the crowded places and to stick to just seeing close friends. The only similarity was that she'd told her Mr. Big that she was breaking up with him all over again and this time she hoped it would be for real.

Maybe she should've known that they may not end up together based on the way they'd met. Sometimes it was hard to believe that they actually met that way.

It all began a few summers ago when she had been visiting her sister in the States.

To be continued...

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Tagged by Delicately Realistic!

Yes, I've been tagged by Delicately Realistic and for some reason I get the feeling that delicately realistic is actually delicate..:)..Here goes:

1. Last movie you saw in a theater: Oh my God..it's been so long that I can't remember..too bad...life's just been too busy to go to the movies..I hate that!

2. What book are you reading? "You, Your manual to a healthy life by Dr. Oz"

3. Favorite board game? Too many...Pictionary...scrabble...Trivial Pursuit..etc.

4. Favorite magazine? Cosmopolitan baby!

5. Favorite smell? The smell of my house just before my parents are about to have a party, Bakhoor, de7en 3ood kambodee and Stella McCartny

6. Favorite food? by countries...Japanese (sushi), Kuwaiti (Em6abak Ezbaidi & Machboose Diyay), American (Hotdogs and french fries), Lebanese (homous, mutabal and Riyash), Palestinian (Emsakhan), Iranian (khoboz Iranee), Egyptian (Dagag ma7shi)..have I missed anybody out...oh..Chinese (Shrimp on toast)..ok..I'm getting hungry now!

7. Favorite sound? When I double click on "My connection" to get connected to the internet...you know..the 6ee 6aaa..shhhh...and finally..I am connected.:)

8. Worst feeling in the world? To be afraid...very afraid..

9. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up? I ask myself if I'm on the right track in my life..(I hardly ever am!)

10. Favorite fast food place? McDonald's.

11. Future child's name? Girls: Dareen, Hind, Boys: Fahad, Tarek, Faris

12. Finish this statement. If I had a lot of money I'd quit my job, start my novel and buy an apartment building and rent it out to have more money to share the wealth with the rest of my extended family

13. Do you drive fast? Nope...my friends bug me about it when I have to follow them somewhere...(I like my life and don't like scarying myself silly..thank you very much)

14. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? No..I prefer my stuffed pillow

15. Storms, cool or scary? Scary...I always end up reading the Quran during it

16. What was your first car? Golden Honda Prelude

17. Favorite drink? KDD chocolate milk and the Toffee Nut Late at Starbucks (served only in December for the holiday season)

18. Finish this statement, "If I had the time I would...": Write my novel, do yoga more often, do more of massages, pedicures, facials, etc.

19. Do you eat the stems on broccoli? Yes but only since I discovered that they're good for me.

20. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice? Blonde...I'm actually considering it these days...madri laish..just tempted to go from Henna coloured hair to blonde...talk about a change!...(dunno if I'd do it in reality though...bass 7achi!)

21. Name all the different cities/ towns you have lived in? Surra, Jabriya, Los Angeles, Bahrain

22. Half empty or half full? On a good day...have full...on a bad day..half empty

23. Favorite sports to watch? Ice Skating

24. One nice thing about the person who tagged you? Like I said..I believe she's delicate...and she's also intellegint and sweet

25. Morning person, or night owl? While on vacation..definately a night owl...for the rest of the year...definately a morning person...:)

26. Over easy, or sunny side-up? The egg or me...if it's the egg I prefer sunny side up...if it's me...well...with my moods being so unpredictable..I can't answer that!

27. Favorite place to relax? Mina Al-Zour beach...my room...my sister's house

28. Favorite pie? Sorry...I don't like pies...I'm more into cheese cakes...warbat...kunafa...

And now for my tag list:

I would like to tag commercial delight, Samboose and Stallion....Enjoy!

Monday, October 10, 2005

Two Degrees Separation

The following was inspired by Flamingoliya..(this one's for you gal!)

As I watched another episode of Nizzar Qabbani, I couldn't help but drift away into my own thoughts. My parents who are lovers of poetry always spoke about him and in particular my Mother. It was always the case with such icons like Abdulhaleem Hafeth, Arabian women always admired them as though they knew them personally. I found it quite entertaining.

My personal encounter with Nizzar Qabbani was in the two degrees separation kind or is it three degrees. Who knows! Well, here's the concept, it's that you basically know someone that knows that someone and therefore he is a one degree separation from you. The two degrees is someone that you know...knows another person and that person is therefore two degrees of separation from you and so on and so on. I could never really tell which degree was which so you'll have to forgive me for my ignorance but hopefully you get my point!

It all began one Eid holiday a few years back when I found myself feeling down and decided to travel to one of my favorite spots known to cheer me up; Lebanon. The denial of how crummy the world is never stopped them from having fun (refer to a past post to read more on that) and that was exactly what I needed; some fun to forget the woes of the world.

My friends and I decided to have dinner with a show at a place called Cart Blanch. The singer performing that day (many years ago) used to be famous but fate had turned on him and he was now singing to people while they had dinner. When I had watched him sing that night he had been struggling to get back on his feet and was hoping Lebanon would be his ticket back to fame (history would show that the decision to be in Lebanon would be the best decision he ever made in his life as he know suffers from great fame all over again). The singer in question is Kathem Al-Saher.

At the end of that night, as my friends and I were about to leave, the man who played the violin in his band came up to me and said "El Ostath Kathem yereed ey3arif low treedoon a7ad ewasilkom?" At that moment, it was surely impossible for any words to come out of my mouth. I was in shock! (Please refer to future posts of episodes of a Journal of a Single Gal to read more on this!).

For now and to make a long story short, having met Kathem Al-Saher personally who later met Nizzar Qabbani and sang his words of poetry, I can't help but watch the episodes and feel like I've met him. Whether it was one degree, two degrees or three..it doesn't really matter...I watch TV knowing that somewhere in another life we had written poetry together..don't ask me how...I just know it...and what a fascinating man he was...

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Journal of a Single Gal in Q8 - Episode Seven

From last episode

"Finally, she reached home and noticed a number of cars parked outside her house. "Strange," she thought, her mother hadn't told her that they were expecting any guests. What was going on and why did she feel nervous? "God, please don't ask me for something that I don't have the capacity to handle" she said to herself as
she entered the house."

She could smell the bakhour all the way to the doorway as she took deep breaths to stop her heart from pounding so fast. She took a quick glance at the ladies sitting in the living room. She knew them all. Her Mom came to greet her with a big smile and a hug. "Look who's here!" she said out loud and everyone turned to look at her. Thanks Mom! She thought to herself. Sneaking up to her bedroom was now but impossible.

The ladies all smiled and gave her their approving looks. "Mashallah" said the Mom "She gets prettier and prettier everyday." She was on display. Lovely! Down with all the meetings and presentations she'd done that morning at the office. Her physical appearance is all that mattered to these ladies. They basically couldn't give a hoot what her intelligent accomplishments were. It was all about "can she bare children". She suddenly felt very exhausted.

Her family had known them for years and it was both their dreams to have some form of union between the two. With all her sisters married, she was the only guinea pig left and she hated that. In a picture perfect world, it was the right union to take place. Both families had the same background, same standards, values, well to do, etc. Except when it came to the bachelor in question, to her, he was far from perfect.

She'd seen him at the club several times. He usually parked his fancy Porche right at the entrance of the club and she'd witnessed him being surrounded with blondes. When he'd somehow gotten a hold of her mobile number, he'd ended up sending her dirty jokes that made her want to puke. He was the kind of guy that when she stood next to him, she would cringe. It was the kinda negative chemistry that would make her wish that he'd stand at least ten feet away from her.

Some friends had told her "just imagine the houses you'd have all over the world, the jewerly, the traveling. What more could a girl want." She'd just smile and think to herself "would they think me stupid if I said that I'd rather have love than all of that."

After the continuous conversation and chit chat about the TV program "Al-Wadi" and all its characters and about the singer Haifa, she began to lose her patience and turned in desperation to her mother and told her "I've had a long day and I really would like to go to my room." Her Mom looked at her with sympathy and reluctantly gave her the ok. She mentally made herself invisible as she slowly slipped away and then found herself racing to her room. It was as though they would be running behind her to stop her.

Just before she reached her room, she found her Dad standing at her door with a smile on his face. She greeted him and could tell that his smile was more like a smirk. "Running away?" he asked. "Yes, actually I am." she said. "Don't worry habeebti, even though I want to see you happily married, I won't let it happen unless you want it to." She could feel the lump in her throat and chose not to say anything lest her voice may give her away.

Her Mom would soon be in her room to give her the lecture of the year. "Ya Binti, they are a good family and they will love you like one of their own. Don't you want to get married?" Sometimes she wondered if her Mom really believed that she didn't want to get married. "He's not my type. He's so sleazy". She could tell her words were not being taken so well as her Mom began to yell. "What does this word sleazy mean? First you'd say he was a nerd which I don't even know what that means. Then you say he's a pervert which it took me forever to figure out what that means. Now, it's sleazy! Can you explain to me what this word sleazy means? I don't understand this generation of yours! Where do you come up with these words; nerd, pervert, sleazy!"

She knew she'd lost the battle with getting her Mom upset but most likely won the war. With her Dad on her side and her Mom losing patience, it meant that nothing would be done for now. At least she'd gained some time. Her Mom finally gave up and stormed out of her room.

She slowly began removing her make up while looking at herself in the mirror. Had she not known more than she should know about this bachelor maybe she would've given him a chance. It was sheer coincidence that she'd bumped into the Filipino manicurists that used to visit their homes and told her "Oh my God, all he wants to do is Puck, Puck, Puck!" If that wasn't a sign for her, she didn't know what was!

Having his family look for "the perfect wife" while he was out partying with the in-crowd made her feel sick. He didn't look the type that would ever settle down and being the wife that stays at home while his family keeps her happy and he's out "Pucking" was not her type of marriage, regardless what the old generation thought.

If she ever was to marry, she wanted the marriage of the new generation. The ones that she'd occasionally see in the streets holding hands. The ones that actually went to parties together. Bottom line, the ones that socialized together, period. It was that or stay at home single and let bygones be bygones. So be it.

Knowing that it was finally Ramadan, she knew that all such subjects would die down and she would, at least for now, have some peace and quite. She'd decided that this year with all the traffic being crazy that she would hibernate like the bears and stay in her cave for winter or Ramadan in this case.

She could never forget last year's experience in Ramadan. She had hardly gone out for the same reasons except once and that's all it had taken. Her friends and her decided to explore one of the popular places at the time. Funny, typical of Kuwait, the place had since closed down.

The place had the perfect setting for Ramadan. It had an outdoor sheesha place and naturally was always packed. She'd worn her jeans with a fancy top and was feeling the happy buzz of being surrounded by people after a long period of hibernation. Half way through the giggling and the gossiping about the weird people that were passing by she suddenly felt someone staring at her.

He was in his mid thirties with olive skin, black straight hair and wearing a black shirt with grey pants. He was sitting with another guy wearing a dishdasha and like her friends had been deep in conversation except now his attention had turned to her. Strangely enough, he'd smiled. She wasn't used to men smiling at her. They normally stared with lust or just plain old stared at her and she had to figure out what their stare meant. Where they judging her? Where they hating her existence? Where they just looking but not seeing her?

Finding herself in an awkward position, she did what any other girl in her situation would do. She turned to her best friend and asked her "Hey, could you slowly turn and see if this guy is staring at me or am I just being paranoid". When her friend finally took the risk and did so, she blurted out loudly "Oh my God, you have an admirer!" She'd said it so loud that the entire group heard and all turned around to look at him. "Great!" she said, "now he thinks I'm in love with him. Thanks!"

She found the whole episode embarrassing and told her friend that it was time to leave so she said her goodbyes as she and her friend went inside the nearby mall. She didn't need to turn around to figure out that he was following them as they entered Liz Claiborne.

She had just grabbed one of the shirts on display when she sensed his presence right next to her.

To be continued...

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Investigation By MissCK

Ok Sparky...here's the deal...I'm working on a case here in Timbaktu and I need your advise...the case has been hard to crack...so here are the hard evidence...

I'll have to start with some history so you'll get all the facts...Timbaktu is a town that's had it's hard times...they've been working hard to improve their people so they've decided to get the baby generation all intelligently advanced...at least that was the original purpose...well...in order to do that they decided to change the curriculum in the schools...improve an international language that has proven important in the world...and typical of Timbaktu...they created a committee...this committee, Sparky, consisted of very high caliber individuals...people with Phd's in linguistics, psychology, etc...I won't go into details so I'll get straight to the point...fast forward to six years...the children now know zero about this language...I did what any other investigator would do...I interviewed those involved...here's what they said:

Cross Examination One: I quit the committee the first six months because I knew that this committee was more about egos than the cause...I'm now stuck with teachers and parents yelling at me because these books that were created don't have manuals to show them how to teach the kids...(half way through the interview, we're interuppted by a mother passing by who recognizes the witness ..."please help me" she says..."my daughter is smart but the books aren't helping her to excel...what shall I do"...my witness looks at her and says "you're not the only one...the entire Timbaktu generation is suffering...the only advise I can give you is to get her a private tutor"...she looks at me and says "I get this everyday at my office..parents and teachers...I think I'll quit my job"

Cross Examination Two: I quit six months ago...I have a PhD but I'm from the younger ones in the committee so when I stated that these books were wrong and that the kids were suffering...they just pushed me aside because of my age....now I'm stuck in another job...I know it's awful that I quit but I had no choice..they pushed me to it...Just between us, I think somebody was getting money on the side from the company creating these books...I can't understand any reason why they'd want Timbaktu's children to grow up not knowing this language...sorry but I'm very passionate about this.

(Sparky..it was a pity for me to know that such a passionate individual would lose the battle even though I could tell that this individual had given her all before quitting)

Cross Examination Three: Yes, I'm glad you came to see me...in case you don't know..I'm the Head of the Board. I have a PhD you know. Here's my CV (she hands me a heavy document). Anybody who tells you bad things about the books is just jealous of me because I am the Head of the Board. The company has done a great job at creating these books. You can take a look at the book. I know that experts have been brought in to evaluate these books but they've all been influenced to write negative things about these books because of the others. They're just evil. Please take a copy of my CV and see that I know what I'm talking about. I'm the Head of the Board you know.

("I'm the Head of the Board" was repeated 100 times, need I say)

Sparky, I took a look at the books and they just have pictures in them so no parent or teacher would know how to teach these kids unless they had a manual which doesn't seem to exist.

Now, after six years, the children in Timbaktu in Primary five who have been taught by these books can't speak the language which is enough proof that these books are all wrong...so Sparky with all this evidence...What do you suggest I should do?....I believe the Government of Timbaktu is aware of all of this..but to get a new syllabus will be very costly....I may be able to persuade my organization to supply a better curriculum but then my organization has always been accused of interrfeering in things that doesn't concern them....so I'm desperate Sparky..What do you think I oughta do? Knowing that Timbaktu's future generation lies in my hands, I feel responsible to do something but I just don't know what?!!!...

So Sparky...can you help? This is one case that I find I've become emotionally involved in..I know..I know..I shouldn't get emotionally involved but these kids deserve better and it would be a pity that they're being ignored simply because of a committee who was possibly bought off or worse because of ego issues...know what I mean? Oh well...I look forward to your advise Sparky and the sooner the better...Thanks mate...!

P.S. Please keep this confidential, the people of Timbaktu are very sensitive people...they may not appreciate hearing about this..even if the future generation is at stake...so let's just keep this between us...deal?