The season is finished, the match goes down in the annals of time as a dance of Titans. One would win and drink not but champagne, whilst their opponents tasted bitter defeat.
Congratulations Chelsea on a hard fought, well earned victory. 4-3 during the penalty shoot out.
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Health they say, is a lifestyle, not a choice. It is permanent, not temporary.
Earlier this week I had decided to go on a brisk run after days of procrastination, opting this time to set aside my minimalist running shoes (barefoot simulation) in favor of my “regular” running shoes (these ones here). The weather was terribly dusty, however the calling within was loud, now was the time to run.
Enter now the psyche of what goes on in the mind of a runner during a run.
ouch, this really hurts, omg, how much longer do I have to keep doing this?
(checks GPS phone ….)
Its only been 2K! Woe is me!
Ok, I’m going to slow down a bit…
Ok, I am going to start walking instead of running, the pain is unbearable.
Ok, I’ll just finish 4K and go home…
I am stopping now.
Now.
Now.
Now.
Wow, 14K!
The idea of quitting mid-run is a proclamation of surrender and defeat. It occurred to me several times, at the 3K point especially I was ready to throw in the white towel. Our bodies will naturally tell us to stop exerting any form of excessive effort, resistance is key. It is up to our determination to scream out “Resistance is FUTILE“.
Running is a state of mind, not a form of exercise. It is therapeutic, calming, zen-like.
Of course, as @AlNAK1B, running enthusiast and coach with @KuwaitIRC - Kuwait’s latest group running activity that focuses on enhancing its member’s stamina, endurance and love for the art of running, it is not a matter of quitting, rather listening to your body. Slow down, if the pain persists, stop. If it is a simple matter of muscles re-adapting to being used (as was my case returning to cushioned shoes vs minimalist), then the best advice would be to suck it up.
And just like health is not a choice, it is a lifestyle, quitting is the same.
So slap them trainers on, get out there (when the sun goes down) and run like its a lifestyle, not a chore.
The hardest part is letting go.
They say change is a good thing, however they neglect to mention the Herculean efforts that go hand in hand with accepting change.
Losing someone close is never an easy task. The universe serves constant reminders of them on a daily basis, as if to torment you further. In the days of old, the memories of our dearly departed loved ones lingered in our thoughts, in picture albums locked away in some attic somewhere, in letters long neglected and hoarded in a box for safe-keeping. Sooner or later, their words turn into figments of our imagination, their jokes, their mannerisms, disappear as with their mortal vessel, leaving behind a shade that resides in our memories.
That used to be the case, however, it is no longer so. For now, people not only have an impact and a trace in the real world, they also leave behind a trail on the digiverse – the digital universe- their unique style of writing (tweets or status updates), their comments, their photographs. All available at a moments notice, instantly refreshed as the reality of their departure has not dawned upon their digital selves.
All that used to require a strong effort to call forth is now readily available at the click of a button; you no longer need to rummage through heaps of boxes to find that school yearbook with your dearly departed friends photograph in it, you need not dig up your old textbooks where you doodled together. No. It is much easier, and in ease it becomes much more distressing, all the more difficult and painful.
How can a person truly move on if they are constantly reminded by what was? How can a person truly be gone if their presence is still characterized online via posts, comments, tweets, pictures etc?
What is worse is that these memories are in fact realities. When depending upon the power of our memories, as humans we have the inherent ability to paint over the pain and amend it to be viewed in favor of the dearly departed. The digiverse is cruel in that regard. All the arguments, the fights, the tempers and the anger is right there on the screen, in black and white. Is that how we wish to remember them?
Before life used to be simple. You would sit idly and let your mind wander, remembering the good times, painting over the bad, say a quick prayer for them and move on through the day. Sadly, that is not the case now. Their digital imprint remains a part of your daily life, their pictures will always look back at you, smiling.
How does one deal with death in the digital universe?
Not only are you liable to keep checking their Facebook account, scouring through their pictures and comments, but the bot services in social media are not likely to leave you in peace.
Unless otherwise informed, these services continue to “promote” these non-existing users, whether simply reminding you of their birthday, or asking you to check up on them as you have not done so in quite a while. That in itself is quite the traumatic experience, to be reminded of the birthday of someone who is no longer with us.
There are companies that specialize in removing digital imprints of your personality left on the web for the world to see and remember, whether it be for mortality of legality, the service exists. Facebook itself allows users to memorialize the death of their friends and relatives, by keeping the page open however disabling all notifications related to the account so as to prevent any form of trauma from appearing.
The true power of love lies in our ability to forget, to rely on our internal memories, rather than external trails, to remember those we have lost along the way.
Letting go of someone you lost is not a crime, it is not a sin. You will never truly forget them. They will continue to live inside your memories, thoughts of them will stir up emotions, both positive and negative, only the positive will always overcome.
The hardest part is not letting go, it is moving on. It is a decision that must come from within, it cannot be influenced by external factors, no matter how noble or sincere their efforts. The desire to move on must spring from within.
Mourn. Remember. Move on.
Again, The following has no affiliation to any law, rule or decree passed in the State of Kuwait.
It is often said that when driving, the safest assumption to make is that all others around you are imbeciles, and expect the unexpected from them. Just the other day I had someone driving straight from a side-road on my right continue throwing themselves into my line as if I was not even there. No stop, nada.
Then, you find people also doing the following:
Everyone that does this; you are not smart. You are a Jackass sir, or a Jackassina ma’am.
“Respect the presence of others on the streets besides yourself oh ye who doth indulge in jackassery,
for thou art only amassing a barrage of insults upon your person.” – Aymzpeare
Disappointment would be an understatement.
18 years ago, as a treat for our relative visiting from Qatar, we took them to Entertainment City for a day of reckless abandon, merriment and fun.
Not much has changed in 18 years at Entertainment City. Yes, there are one or two new rides (The Lightning Roller Coaster – 2KD a pop).
I find it moronic that one has to buy a card for 250fils in order to charge it with money to pay for the rides that cost money. And that was the case as now it was not a mere fact of paying 2KD for the roller coaster or 1KD for the Go-Carts, you needed a plastic swipe card as well.
Regardless, Entertainment City NEED to advertise WHEN their games are scheduled for maintenance and WHICH games have been taken out of service. I was disappointed to find that the Australian Log Ride and the “normal” Roller Coaster were under maintenance (wondering if the putrid water of the log ride was ever changed during that 18 year hiatus), the only worthwhile rides they had were the Condor, the Lightning and the Tornado.
the “house of horrors” aka Sindbad’s Journey has yet to see any fresh coat of paint or new additions.
Tragically, it was a very sad visit to a spot where, as a child, I had immense enjoyment and fun.
Given its vast expanse of land and grass areas, they need to revise their ticketing System at the gate so as to allow people who do not wish to partake in any rides to still enter and enjoy the scenery. Entertainment City should be turned into a park.
Entertainment City is in need of an overhaul, the sooner the better.
In an almost Sherlock Holmes-esque moment, clarity was observed whilst pondering a strange conundrum.
The Case of the Missing Toilet Seats
The Premise: we arrived at our hotel apartment in Jeddah to find the state of the toilet to appear as follows:
The absence of the toilet seat was "peculiar"
On its own, this would not have been cause for alarm, however, coupled with the strange coincidence of the toilet seat also having mysteriously vanished from the guest restroom as well, a pattern emerged.
Racking my brain as to why this situation bore a slight resemblance to an earlier encounter I had had, I was determined to get to the bottom (pardon the pun) of this situation.
What sort of diabolical, cold-bottomed villain was at hand here, to rob a hapless furnished apartment of not one, but two toilet seats? Surely, there was no depth to this fiend’s conniving evil ingenuity.
And then, just when it seemed all hope was lost, a dim bulb brightened,
and the answer was right before my very eyes.
Elementary my dear WatsonReaders, for in an earlier trip, whilst boarding a plane from East to West, Dammam to Jeddah, I was in need of relief and so happened upon my merry way to stumble into the public lavatories of Dammam International Airport, where I spied with my cunning eyes the following disclaimer nestled above the evacuation device:
Our little illustrated friend was trying to give us a clue
Further, the follow sign was placed immediately before the entrance, to leave no room for misinterpretation or excuse for incorrect toilet etiquette (or toiletiquette if you will):
the most obvious clue
For there, in plain black and white, lay the most important clue that helped unravel this mystery; Don’t Squat on Toilet Bowl.
Apparently, we had rented a room after a pair (or group) of squatters had temporarily leased the abode and went about customizing it to their own squat-like needs and requirements. With what intentions, we shall never know.
And that, as they say, wraps up the mystery.
Elementary, I say
The plethora of expats looking to arrive and start their lives on Kuwaiti Soil have one specific question in mind; is it safe for single expat ladies to live alone in Kuwait?
(Another one of their worries is driving in Kuwait, as the majority tend to describe it as NASCAR meets Demolition Derby, but that is another tale for another time.)
In any given year, a large number of expats (men and women) choose to make Kuwait their domicile, for varying periods of time. With everything we read in the papers regarding abductions and rapes etc. it is understandable that a few would be hesitant/reluctant upon arrival to the locale.
This post specifies expats specifically, although it can also relate to women in general; the only difference is awareness of the laws and/or having someone to be there for you, which most expats, upon arrival, are thoroughly lacking.
Kuwait is no more, or less, dangerous than any other country in the world as far as Female Safety is concerned. Harassment is, unfortunately, a worldwide epidemic amongst the socially depraved. Police have made strong efforts to counter this by imposing heavy fines on any offenders that are reported (1,000KD + jail-time + hair shaved in cases of juveniles).
The downside here is crimes against women in general are broken down into categories, separated by ethnicity.
- Expat women of Asian descent are molested, abducted, raped and abused (depending on their job, abuse is centered around maids in general).
The Sad Truth of the World we Live in
- Expat women of Western/ European origin are regarded as loaded and more often than not are victims to extortion in taxis and any retail shop without a fixed price tag. They are followed in malls by desperate, lonely men who are looking for a “one-night-stand“, and in few cases, are molested by pesky low lives.
There is no clear profile for sick individuals, what is mentioned above is merely what occurs in the news.
Another major cause for concern is “dress code“, and make no mistake, it does not matter what you wear, whether it is revealing, tight or loose fitting, the socially depraved only search for a hint of femininity to pounce on (pardon the pun), as I have seen women covered from head to toe in abayas that were being pestered on the road.
In part, it is a matter of personal discretion; by avoiding certain areas and crowds, expat ladies can keep themselves safe from harm.
Kuwait is neither as stringent as Saudi Arabia nor as lax as Dubai, it is a bit of both. Behind closed doors (i.e. parties, functions etc) you are free to dress as you please, whilst in the public eye, it is best to be moderate in clothing. The best advice that can be given is to visit the local malls upon arrival and study the peoples dressing habits (Without drawing too much attention to yourself), and emulate the style you find most appealing.
PDA (Public Display of Affection) you say? Again, given the laws of the land, excessive PDA is an offence that could land you in jail (you have only to read up on the many couples caught canoodling in their cars by vigilant passersby whose first reaction upon seeing such affection is to call the police.
Hand holding, pecks on the cheek, hugging etc. are NOT considered offences, although it might draw the ire of a few more stringent passersby.
Despite the fact that single women are given the same treatment as families (i.e. in terms of cinema seating, restaurants, park days etc) the same is not true for rent rules, as some landlords have been known to shun single women in search of an apartment to rent by themselves (for fear of immorality) which makes non-company sponsored housing difficult, but not impossible.
Caution should be exercised at all times, for it is our greatest defense.
The following has no affiliation to any law, rule or decree passed in the State of Kuwait.
It is however imperative to label the perpetrators of the following atrocity as is mentioned in the following visual display:
Not only is it extremely selfish, it is heavily disruptive of traffic and can cause a deadlock that will not be resolved except after several hours and excruciatingly LOUD and painful honks.
This also occurs at traffic signals, where you have one smart alec use a different lane and cut in front of another to get into their proper lane.
Please, pay people a common courtesy and drive POLITELY. Nothing is worth overtaking and risking grievous or potentially fatal injury to either yourself or others.
Remember this post; the Road is cold and heartless, it does not care for you.
Care about your own safety.
To the spiritually inclined, a trip to Makkah (aka Mecca) is a time of pondering and self contemplation.
The real City that Never Sleeps, Makkah is temporary home to thousands upon thousands of visitors on a daily basis, round-the-clock, from business men to paupers, all walks and creeds of life unite around the Ka’aba every hour of the day for Umra.
Sadly though, the area surrounding the Harram has been heavily and severely commercialized into a high-end hotel sector, with a shopping mall and two perceivable Starbucks in the vicinity.
The road leading up towards the Harram is site to several street vendors hawking their wares, religious and other, to the plethora of visitors from different countries. I witnessed a radical change in demeanor as all of the sudden, the women scooped their wares into their sheets, slung them over their shoulders and, like a thief in the night, took flight down the road at rapid pace. We later heard the police sirens as their car pulled up into the road to drive the paupers away.
MyBloogle – an Eastern Blog with a Western Twist