Out of the Sand Pit...Again.

Yea...I know. It seems as if I'm always going on vacation. But, hey...what can I do if whenever my husband has vacation time, he wants to get out of the Kingdom? One of the perks of living here is the number of vacation days we get, which are a far cry from the 3 weeks we got in the States. So, I'm not complaining. Though I will tell you, when we got back from our last stay in Stockholm in early July, and I started planning this vacation, I was like, "Damn, we just got back!! And, now we have to decide where we want to go in September. Argh!!!!" So...not complaining, but semi-whining.

Unlike our previous vacations, we didn't have a clue as to where we were going to go in September. A decision had to be made. It isn't as if airfare gets cheaper the longer you wait. We changed our minds a few times on this one. First it was Greece, then it was a Med cruise. We finally decided that Europe was the way to go. It's easy and we wouldn't experience any jet lag. Seven cities were in contention. After much research (mostly based on price, with more expensive cities like London getting reluctantly dumped) we narrowed it down to four cities: Amsterdam, Brugge, Brussels, and Stockholm. Now that we're about to leave, I'm really excited and looking forward to going. All of my "damn I gotta plan another vacation" semi-whining has gone out the window, and I can't freakin' wait until I'm sitting in Amsterdam, sipping on an espresso before I get on a bike to explore the countryside. Or, to hanging out in a fabulous lounge in Stockholm. And, most of all, I'm looking forward to walking the streets unhampered, and unencumbered.

So...this means, I will probably not post on this site until I get back in about 4 weeks. However, if you're just dying to know how I'm doing (I'm being facetious) check out my Black Chick on Tour blog. This time I'm going to attempt to keep a daily diary. These types of intentions always start out good, until I've been late partying and am now hanging over the next day. LOL But, I'm gonna try.

Talking About "The Help"

The other day I was walking through the house talking sh*t to Roland about my househelper and how I feel this guy is just being lazy. He does the least amount possible, and I have to keep telling him, no...finish it all the way out. The latest thing was this:

I wasn't home last Thursday when he came, so I left the list of what he was to do with my husband. One of his regular task is to fold up all the items (clothes, towels, sheets, etc.) I washed the day before. That way all I have to do is put them up. Well...I come home and see the Bath Sheets (these bath towels are huge) only folded in half. In half!! I mean, how much more energy does it take to fold it down so that I can put it in the cabinet? So, what? Now I have to fold it down to get in in the cabinet, when that is what I pay him to do? When he first started folding the clothes, he did it correctly without my asking. Now I gotta "say something" about these towels, and this is the kinda thing pisses me off. Which is why I don't manage people. Twice I've had jobs in which I've had to supervise/manage people. And, I will just say, I have no patience for it. Hell, you wanted the job, I didn't drag you off the street and force you to work. Whew!! Anyway... So...I left them there for the entire week. LOL.

Today he shows up, and I show him the towels that I left there. And, I ask him, can I put this in my cabinet? he smiles and says, "Yes." I take him to the cabinet and ask him, "where am I to put this towel?". He's still smiling, I'm not. Then I take him back to the room and as I fold the towel all the way down I tell him "this is how I want them folded every-single-time." Now he's all apologetic. Huh? What? He knew that it wasn't right when he left them like that, now it's "I'm sorry." Gawd!!

The thing is...I started this post with how I was walking through the house talking sh*t about our househelper. Well...as I was doing it, I kinda stepped outside myself for a brief moment, and I realized I was talking mess, "about the help" and I couldn't help but to start laughing. I mean really...that is totally uppity. Two years ago I was cleaning my own house and hating pretty much every minute of it, and here I am today talking about the help, almost with the back of my hand on my forehead complaining "ohmigod, good help is so hard to find" and full of drama. LMAO. Oh-mi-goodness.

Flashback: The Early Days

I was just checking out some of my old blog posts and all I can say is, what a difference a 20 months can make. LOL!! I can laugh now, but them, whew....

The posts from 2008 are about me preparing to move here, my apprehensions and my excitement for a new adventure. At the end of 2008 (December 28th) I made a video of me waiting for my driver to take me to the airport, and 20 hours later my arrival in Saudi Arabia. Then 2009 hits and my new adventure has filled me with irritation and a bad case (for me) of culture shock. Most of my posts in those early days were mostly of me b*tchin' and whinin' about what they didn't have, what I couldn't do, and why the eff did I come here, etc. etc.

A person who is now a friend of mine told me how she saw me when I first got here at the commissary in Dhahran (where we lived when I first got here) and she was gonna come up to me and introduce herself, but then I turned around and she saw the look on my face. I had this look that made her stop in her tracks. She thought, "okay, she looks angry and irritated," so she decided not to dare coming over to speak to me. :( And, if you've read those earlier posts; I was angry and irritated, for a variety of reasons. LMAO. What a difference a year makes. What a difference it makes once you get into the groove of the environment, start to meet new people who eventually become friends, and you get out of your self imposed shell.

All I can say is, I'm so glad I'm far from where I was at then. I can laugh now, but I have no problems admitting to you I was doing some crying then. Gawd!!

If you want to check out those posts from my first days, you can start here: January 2009

My Fasting...

...pretty much turned into nonevent.

I decided to fast yesterday. I had a few people ask me "why?" It wasn't for any particular reason other than I wanted to try it. When my husband told one of his coworkers I was gonna fast he asked, "Why? Is she fat?" Can you believe this guy? I thought it was kinda funny. Maybe that's because I'm not fat (even though at times I feel fat LOL). But, what if I were?

The night before my fast, I was up until almost midnight eating. When I awoke the following morning (at 8:45a.m.) I reached over and took a couple of sips of water because my mouth was dry. But, after that...I had nothing else. No food, no water, until 6:30p.m.

Throughout the day, I video taped how I was feeling. At 11 something, I talked about how I wasn't feeling much stress, but was looking forward to being terribly hungry and irritated around 4-ish. Then at about 2 something I mentioned how I keep thinking to go to the kitchen and grab some food, and then I'd remember I was fasting. Oh Yea, and that my stomach growled for the first time that day. Then the next thing I knew it was 3:45p.m., and I had to get up and get it together to meet friends in Khobar for an Iftar Buffet. Iftar refers to the evening meal when Muslims break their fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan and is often done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. Iftar is done right after Maghrib (sunset) time.

To the disappointment of my friends, when I arrived at the buffet I wasn't angry, irritated, or even ravenous. I had one mention that I should affect some type of drama. LOL. Nope, no drama. I showed up at LeMeridien, hungry, but not ravenous. During the meal I didn't eat any more than I normally would have for dinner. The whole experience was "all good.". In fact, I'm thinking about fasting one day out of the week just for the hell of it.

I've decided not to post the video because there wasn't enough substance, basically it was boring. There wasn't any "my stomach is paining me soooooo bad" moments.

A Special Thank U!! to Nadia for arranging the buffet. It was a new experience for me; one that I enjoyed.

Peace!!

Ramadan-A-Ding-Dong

Ding-Dong!!! That's right, it's that time of year again; Ramadan is knocking at the door.

Tonight at sunset will mark the beginning of Ramadan in Saudi Arabia. This really doesn't mean much for me. There will be slight inconveniences, but nothing major. The upside is during the day time, the streets will be clear and free of traffic, the downside is the Cafe on camp has limited hours. So, you can see, I'm not affected much.

For those not in the know, Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. During this time Muslims are supposed to abstain from all those things that are forbidden during the fasting from the break of dawn to the sunset. Fasting is obligatory for all Muslims, with a few exceptions, during the month of Ramadan. I've also read that during this fasting period you're not supposed to have sex, show bad temper, or show off one's fasting by talking too much about it. The fasting person must be a pleasant person with good spirits and good cheer. I think that's a lot to ask of someone who's hungry. LOL

I've decided I'm going to go a day without eating, just to see what it's like. I fully expect to not be in good cheer, but I will try. I'm going to undertake this on Sunday the 16th. After which I will break my fast with friends at an Iftar Buffet in Khobar. These will both be new experiences for me. I know when I've tried to go a whole day on a Raw Food diet, by the time 4:00PM comes around I'm feeling homicidal. So, we'll see how I do.

If you'd like more information on Ramadan and Fasting, check out this link a friend sent me: Ramadan Fasting: Meaning and Rules

So...if you wanna know how it all worked out for me, check back on the 17th or 18th of August, and I should have updated my blog by then.

Ramadan Kareem!!