So another year has come and gone.

In the run up to the one year anniversary of the late Sheik Jaber Al Sabah, perhaps it’s an appropriate time to reflect on a year which promised some exciting times for the much vaunted ‘New Kuwait.’

2006 gave us hope. Not only did Kuwait have a new ‘visionary’ leader at the helm, but many of the previous constrictions, such as women’s voting rights, were finally lifted after a 44 year struggle for equality.

Remember the buzz, the hype, the wild rumours?

Was Kuwait finally going to break from its 17th century shackles and (gasp) modernize ?

So let’s take a look at what has been happening in the aftermath of the great ‘power struggle’ which ensued late last January.

Hmmm.

Aside from an extraordinary amount of money being spent on an entire entourage of ‘Foreign Policy’ Related Travel expenses……er…..not a lot.

Whilst the rest of the Middle East has moved forward, evaluated their political and economical positions , embraced progression and pushed for a more open and liberalized society – what’s been going on in our Kuwait?

1. We’ve seen our entertainment sector slowly been shut down. We’ve been told that ‘spies’ are now lurking around each and every corner – ready to report our actions and our every whereabouts.

2. We’ve seen women finally get a chance to not only vote – but also run for political power. Despite 28 women running for office – not a single woman was elected…(Pretty bemusing considering there are more Kuwaiti women than men).

3. We’ve seen some ‘Mega Projects’ proposed and subsequently stalled or cancelled due to rowdy, multi-directional Parliamentary ‘Leaders.’

4. We’ve seen hundreds of billions of dollars poured into more ‘needy’ countries, despite us having our own Kuwaiti Resident’s dying from our ‘ever-so-efficient’ 777 system. I wont bother mentioning our archaic roads which haven’t been updated since 1986….well, OK, I will.

5. We’ve seen our once healthy selection of CD’s and DVD’s reduced to the dregs of the ‘Amazon’ bargain bin. Yes, Sex And The City WAS once stocked at Virgin…and Yes, We WERE once able to buy more than ‘The Greatest Hits of 2004.’

6. We’ve seen some bizarre public demonstrations, including fully fledged campaigns to drop the $8 billion ‘personal loans’ for citizens.

So, in brief retrospect, despite 2006 promising so much. Has anything really changed for the positive?

Well, I was expecting a lot more if I’m honest.

Whilst Qatar celebrated being put on the Global Map by hosting the illustrious ‘Asian Games’ – we in Kuwait can look forward to the not-so-illustrious ‘ Fencing Grand Prix.’

Whilst Dubai and (now) Bahrain announced yet more ridiculously elaborate construction projects – we flexed our muscles by announcing a new Shaya inspired Mall.

Come on Kuwait, aside from the meaningless 200 KD gift – we really got nothing from 2006.

And what hurts the most?

We’ve got everything we need to become a major ‘Economic Super Power’ in the Middle East.

Frankly, I’m fed up ‘to the teeth’ of looking over enviously into our neighbor’s garden and seeing what wildly exciting projects they are dreaming up this time.

What worries me is (as is typical with Kuwait) by the time we realize that we need to move quickly to modernize (E-Government anyone?) – we will be stuck between a rock and a very, very hard and lonely place.

So what about you? Were you happy with your 2006 Kuwait?

Is Kuwait Changing? Are we moving forward?

I live alone in an apartment.

At my family house, we have several female Filipina helpers – one of which comes to my apartment 3 or 4 times a week to clean and iron my clothes.

I just found out that she has been having an affair with the Bangladeshi Building Supervisor who lives downstairs.

Background:

1) This lady has been with us for a year. She previously had a dubious ‘affair’ with another Bangladeshi who was also living at our family house.

We were very firm but very fair with her the first time, stating clearly, that this was not acceptable behavior. The Bangladeshi Driver had to be released from his duties as the lady said that she had not incited this affair – she had been harassed into it.

2) The Bangladeshi supervisor (who lives downstairs in my building) has been previously warned by the residents for his ‘disappearing acts.’ When he was supposed to be working, he could often be found lying in bed a sleep – leaving his younger brother (who also works in the building) to do all the graft work.

So how did I find out about this 2 month affair?

Because his younger brother told me.

He was terrified that I would find out, report them – and subsequently see everyone fired.

So here is the dilemma:

-This is the second affair in a year for the Filipina lady.

-This is the fifth or sixth ‘minor’ warning that has been issued to the building ‘supervisor.’

If I report the lady, she will surely be fired.

If I report the supervisor – he will surely be fired (along with his younger brother, who works very hard, and whistle blew the entire story).

We all know that many Third Country Nationals (TCN’s) are not well treated in the Middle East. In many cases they are abused, over worked and under paid.

I always try to be fair and understanding, whilst giving people the benefit of the doubt in almost all cases….

But…. have liberties been pushed too far this time?

As you can imagine, there could be some serious repercussions from my actions, particularly if I reveal the truth……So, what should I do? Remain quiet (yet again) or end this ongoing saga?….

I was chatting with Mark over at 248 and he tells me that it was nice meeting me at the “Blogger’s Meet Up” that was held in Dunkin Donuts on Thursday night……Hmmm….that was interesting……especially as I was never in attendance of that meeting.

So apparently some dude sat at the meeting, with a name tag on his shirt – and my name on it.

How Bizarre.

We all know there are a lot of weird freaks in Kuwait. A lot of folks wouldn’t think twice about copying, stealing or plagiarizing an idea; but never would I have guessed that someone would have shown up pretending to be someone else – and of all places – at ‘A Blogger’s Meeting.’

Even with my twisted imagination, I cannot fathom what was going through the guys head.

I mean seriously, what if I’d of shown up!!??

I’ve contacted the Kuwaiti CID over this matter. They have promised a full investigation as soon as they have finished enjoying confiscating all the DVD’s that were heading to Virgin Megastore.

So… should I be amused, freaked out or simply flattered? What do you guys think?

There are a lot of small, inexplicable irritations that occur in our lives on a daily basis. As you probably know (if you’ve been following this blog) I have been serializing them in my ‘Why is it that?’ Series.

So today, I am pulling out an old classic – a chestnut, which affects me anytime I go shopping anywhere around the world.

Picture The Scene: The Supermarket

So I’ve just wasted spent 45 minutes trying to find a parking space, and sifting through endless aisles of food in search of my refrigerator’s ‘bare essentials.’

Despite promising myself (each and every time) that I will get a more interesting variety of foods upon my next visit – I end up leaving with the same 5 items which permanently reside in my threadbare refrigerator……..Brown Bread, Philadelphia Cheese, Cucumber, Tabasco Sauce - and of course – a large stash of Diet Cokes…..

So there I am – flustered, frustrated, irritable and ready to make as swift an exit as possible.

And then it hits.

Probably the hardest, most stressful decision for any prospective shopper…..

Which Queue (or Checkout Line) should I join?…..

You make a slow, calculating sweep up and down the narrow strip of checkout desks whilst deftly peeking into your ‘rivals’ baskets.

It’s time to put that expensive College Education to some use. It’s guesstimation time. The better your calculations, the quicker you get to pay and leave this forsaken place.

You’ve sized up your opposition, it’s decision time.

Aha….this looks good. This old guy only has a small basket whereas that lady has a huge trolley.

This is my winning ticket out of here. You are convinced.

You make your decision and duly begin to unpack your basket onto the conveyor belt.

And then it happens……‘The Curse of the Checkout’ Strikes.

Why is it that every single time I go into the Supermarket (or in fact anywhere) that involves lining up and paying for something – do I end up behind the slowest, most incompetent buffoons in the history of checkout procurement?

Ok. So here are the mundanely predictable things that happen almost every single time I go to pay:

• The guy with the small basket has bought something obscure like a single silver spoon. The spoon (naturally) does not have a price tag on it. They have to ring the bell and call for assistance. No one has seen this spoon before. In fact, the manager wonders if they even sell it in the store.

• The old guy with the small basket remembers that he forgot something on his list and sends an assistant to go and get it
• The checkout lady has suddenly come to the end of her shift. You have to wait 5 minutes before the new dude has arrived and punched in his ID to the counter.
• The checkout lady has run out of change. She rings the bell for assistance.

To add further insult to injury, you are forced to watch helplessly as the lady with ‘the big trolly’ effortlessly wheels her goods out the sliding doors. Simply amazing….

*ONE LAST WARNING*

Do not think that the ‘curse’ is simply limited to Supermarkets…nope. This ‘curse’ can occur anywhere as long as a) you have to pay for something and b) have multiple options for checkout.

I’ll leave you with one last tale.

Today, I went on a Train.

There was a huge line at the ticket office – and only a small one at the automatic machine. I joined the automatic machine line.

Yes, you’ve guessed it.

When the 2 guys in front of me got to the machine, they didn’t have a clue how to use the machine and worse didn’t have enough money to pay into the machine.

Of course, by the time I ended up getting my darn ticket – the original members of the ‘long queue’ for the ticket office had left and probably borded their trains…..

Again, simply Amazing.

I was driving down the Gulf Road yesterday afternoon at around 4 pm.

As I arrived close to the Marina Mall Area, I was greeted by one of the weirdest, most eerie sunsets I have ever witnessed. Not only was the sun unbelievably low but it was also eye piercingly bright. I literally couldn’t see anything ahead of me despite wearing some pretty dark-lensed sunglasses. As you can imagine, it made the driving conditions incredibly uncomfortable to say the least.

I’m not sure if this was some kind of polar sun / moon solstice, but whatever it was – it didn’t feel right!

I woke up this morning and couldn’t see anything. It’s gone all foggy.

Perhaps some of you Astronomic gurus could help us out?

To see the pictures, please click below.

This Morning:

It always bemuses me why I see so much blatant ‘Business Identity Theft’ in Kuwait. It’s a sad joke really.

Multi National Companies spend millions of dollars a year on their logos and their corporate branding. It must therefore, drive them absolutely insane to see places like Kuwait discarding copyrights and laughing in the face of acceptable, ethical business etiquette.

Just off the top of my head, I can think of 5 or 6 cases of undeniably identity theft in Kuwait. It typically ranges from a sneaky ‘play on words’ to a more sinister ‘redesign’ of a famous International logo.

What I don’t understand is what goes through the heads of these talentless, thieving buffoons. How can they essentially copy and paste someone else’s creations – whilst trying to pass it off as their own concept?! I mean seriously, who are they kidding? Are they even kidding?

Let’s take ‘Batriq’ restaurant as a ‘golden’ example. It’s an overly obvious and blatant rip of the McDonald’s logo. Anyone and everyone could attest to that.

Instead of the world famous ‘Golden Arched M ‘….. Batriq gave us the ‘not-so-famous-and-sadly-pathetic B.’ ……Hell, they didn’t even BOTHER to change the Gold and Red theme!

I was inspired to write this post after I saw downtown Beirut’s ultra famous, ultra chic department store ‘Aishti’ sitting quietly in a backstreet neighborhood of Salmiya.

So what of Kuwait’s ‘Aishti’? Can we expect more of the same high caliber, high fashion designer wear?

Well, not quite. In fact, Kuwait’s ‘Aishti’ is a ‘women beauty saloon.’

Wow…..How very, very creative.

And if that’s not bad enough, would you take a look at that logo – looks awfully familiar doesn’t it?

I’ve been having some major sleeping problems over the last few months. I was waking up with terrible headaches and suffering from inexplicable brain-aches first thing in the morning.

It got to a point where as soon as I opened my eyes – my head would be buzzing.

I looked for the cause – and found it right under my bed!

It was the electrical power strip which has about 5 different plugs attached to it.

Now, whilst I’m no Doctor, I’m 100% positive this is not healthy in the long run!

I also found that sleeping next to my mobile phone gives me headaches.

I’m not sure if my head is overly sensitive – or if this is common amongst most people – but I advise you all to follow suit. Before I sleep nowadays – I switch off the Electric Strip and put my mobile on the floor – out of the way of my head.

No more headaches and I’m sleeping peacefully again.

p.s. I found this article on Fonzy’s Blog… pretty interesting…

Currently appearing on Simon Cowell’s UK Based Reality TV Show ‘The X Factor’ (a much better variant of American Idol)…..may I present you Leona Lewis.

Quite simply one of the best female vocalist I have ever heard. It’s quite frightening how good she is now – how will she be in a few years?

Watch her take on Whitney Houston’s ‘I Have Nothing’ Live…..quite simply….incredible.

Well, first off, I apologize for my hiatus. I needed some time off to rekindle my thoughts and look for more inspiration.

So check this out.

As you know, I was recently in Milan, Italy. I was walking down one of the narrow shopping streets when I came across the ‘Viktor and Rolf’ store. At first glance, well, things looked decidedly odd. After a second and more thorough look – I saw possibly one of the craziest, nuttiest shop designs ever……

Check out the pics below:

(I got the rest of these pics from the net as my pictures weren’t as clear)….

Can you imagine working in a place like this? Your head will be spinning!

Any chance we will see Sultan Center following Victor and Rolf’s Marketing Stratergy?

Amazing attention to detail. Nothing has been left out!

Whenever I fly to destinations outside of the Middle East, I always try to take night flights. I love leaving Kuwait in the depths of the night and waking up – after a peaceful night’s sleep – in a new country, rested and refreshed.

I’m currently in Milan, Italy.

Since there are no direct flights from Kuwait to Milan, my best option was to take the Lufthansa flight via Frankfurt leaving Kuwait at 2:20 am.

I was looking forward to checking out the Lufthansa planes as I’ve heard a lot of good things about them. Wireless Internet, reclining beds, excellent food were just some of the plaudits I kept hearing about.

I boarded the plane and took my seat.

After a quick fiddle with the multitude of buttons on the seating console, I was pretty disappointed to find that the ‘beds’ in Business were rubbish in comparison to ‘beds’ on British Airways.

I pushed back as hard as I could, but the seat only reclined to the guy (who was sitting behind me’s) knees. Unless there were some hidden button that I missed – there was no ‘bed’ to be found on this flight.

I got the laptop out and gave the airwaves a quick scan in search of the much fabled ‘wireless internet’….no luck….nothing found.

Edit: Ifound out that the ‘beds’ and the internet are only available on the newer planes. Deary me….

Oh well, I really wasn’t too bothered, it was fast approaching 3:15 am and I was tired and ready to sleep.

The cabin was pitch black and the only noise was from the distinct humming of the engines. I made myself comfortable, wrapped the cover around me and closed my eyes….

“Click…….”

And there it was…..

right next to me….

That click, that dreadful, dreadful click of the ‘private reading light.’

That’s right folks. It couldn’t have been better planned even if I tried.

The guy sitting adjacent to me decided he needed to start reading his book at 3:16am – right after I just nestled into my snooze position.

Why is it that every single time I travel anywhere on a night flight – I always end up sitting next to the dude who:

• reads his book the entire duration of the flight
• snores like a hog
• puts his Television headset on obtrusively loud and then FALLS ASLEEP
• eats a repulsively smelly meal that no one else orders (subsequently passing wind for the rest of the night)
• has some kind of bowel disorder and needs to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes

So….thanks Mr. Book reader, who ever you are….without you – my plane ride just wouldn’t have been complete.

Every single time I go to Al Fanar Mall – I dread one thing……The entrance to that ridiculous under ground Parking Lot.

I’ve had recurring nightmares about the same issue – that **!#*$* barrier!

Every time I drive into that parking lot, I dread hearing the inevitable ‘crunching’ sound of my Car rim against that utterly useless, utterly pointless ‘barrier’ which is ‘chilling’ on the side of the road.

It’s as if the idiot the Engineer who designed it thinks we all drive mini’s or bicycles. What about the SUV Drivers Mr. idiot Engineer? Didn’t you think of us?

Take a look at the above picture, have you ever seen a more stupidly designed parking entrance?

Have the planners not seen those little yellow ‘bubbles’ which do the exact same thing as a barrier, cost a quarter of the price – and most importantly avoid the need to tear your rims to shreds?

The funny thing is that even though Fanar is by far the worst culprit, it seems like the same buffoon also designed the entrances to many of Salmiya’s Malls eg. Marina and Zahra Complex which also have unbelievably tight entrance / exits.

There are so many irritations in life which could be avoided with just a teeny, weeny bit of thought. If only….

A joke which goes very, very wrong…..