Here and There Blog

In Lahore. Can't say too much, I arrived at 2:45 am and we were the only flight so customs was fast. Air smells like San Diego after a fire. It was dark but I saw parks. If I die it will be in a car accident like any other 3rd world country. I think my cabbie had Formula 1 fever.

Registration with the US Consulate - check! Packed - check! Documents in hand - check! Looking like I blend in - Not a chance! Excited to be going - you bet! I have waited what seems like forever for this trip! Goodbye Kuwait, hello Lahore!

Page 5. "Cambodian 'half-animal girl' hospitalized" Turns out that some girl got lost when she was a herding buffalo as a small child in 1989. Was found recently living like a monkey. She was hospitalized but the family took her home. She can't speak or interact with people after living on her own for so long. She wants to escape and run back to the jungle. Very sad. Page 1. Well the giant rubber band ball in Florida is famous in Kuwait too. Page 2. "Indonesia maid ban an 'insult' to Kuwait" Ban tarnishes the country's image. A bit of back history here. The Philippines banned maids working in Kuwait a couple years ago due to the high domestic abuse of violence and rape, which led to an unusual amount of suicide attempts. I have never seen a maid or a nanny smile or look anything less than completely miserable here in Kuwait. Ever. They are treated for the most part like crap by both employer and the children they care for. It should...

Windy, Dusty, Kuwait

I had never been to the end of a line bus station in Kuwait and I have to admit I was amazed at what it looked like. Only a few buildings are at the bus station and you can get a burger... Or a juice... Buy a ticket..... Discard your trash.... Get on or off a bus.

Today's headline: "Court rules hijab not must for MPs". In a victory for two women political candidates, the court rejected a challenge to the candicacy of the women because they failed to wear the full headscarves. The challengers wanted to eliminate the women based on Sharia law. Who knows how long this victory will last? The issue is in the paper everytime I'm here. Women are still fighting for the right to run for office and then to stay in office once elected. The arrest report is a little boring today. Four men were arrested for dealing drugs and selling liquor. 120 bottles of vodka were confiscated. One pedophile was "nabbed" and arrested. He'll probably be deported.

Here's the drill: Kuwait is the most boring country I have ever been to. Social norms limit life here to work, eat, sleep. Some people smoke. This trip marks the 4 year anniversary of me coming here at least once, but sometimes twice a year. Hard to believe. I always get a smile and a welcome back from the Visa issuer. What to expect: You get the view from the room. (above) My flight arrived late so the view is limited to traffic. You'll get updates from my absolute favorite print paper "The Kuwait Times". I really do love that paper! I start each day with Nescafe and the paper. Then I work, and then work some more because that's all I have to do. Nothing to see but sand. I do my best to find new sand to take photos of for you. Don't expect much but I will try. Sometimes I slip in a photo from work for variety.

Laundry mostly done. Yard somewhat under control. Dust is gone. The simple act of cleaning a home is not newsworthy to most people but to me, it means I've been in one place long enough to do something. Weekends like this are the best. Carlsbad is still warm and sunny, I'm out and about, and life is good. I have to remember this since I'm about to disappear again for 3 more weeks. Kuwait, followed by Pakistan. For you photo people, Kuwait has nothing but sand so I'm not taking photos there but starting Nov.1 I will be in Lahore and do my best to find fun photo ops and post. My hotel has been reported to have a lame Internet connection at times so I'll do my best. For those of you reading this direct from Blogger and not FB or another app, I have a new gadget on the left "Where Am I?" I've been testing it out and I think I've got the app figured out. Now it's up to Google Maps to detect my whereabouts. Check in once in a while. If it...

Of all the movies to choose from, I found myself compelled to see Astro Boy . My only previous contact with Astro Boy has been to make fun of him so it was the curiosity facto that got me in. I've never read the Manga but I know Astro has himself a following. Who is this movie for? For sure small children under the age of 6. That group was 100% quiet from the opening scene to the final scene when they got loud again and cheered and applauded Astro Boy . Fans of Anime will like this since the background was stunning with the blades of grass individually blowing and the pastel mountain floating in the background. Fans of Astro Boy will probably like this but I say that with caution since I just admitted I don't know the character. What to like? A robot boy with human memory and emotion. Robots in general. Clearly defined good guys and bad guys. A simple story to follow. Somewhat endearing. Mostly the animation. The basic idea I took away is the usual - utopian societies...

Oct. 24 is the day of 350.org day for International Day of Climate Action. (350 ppm is the safe limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere) Think of this as Earth Day but focusing on the sky instead of the ground. If you're interested in checking out an event in your area, use the link below to go the web site and then click on the tab "Day of Action" to find an event in your area. Nothing popped up for Carlsbad so I suggest trying larger cities. San Diego shows several events. One is as simple as a canned food drive for flood victims in the Philippines (Filipino food available for sale), a Kick Gas Festival at Qualcomm , a Bike Mob at Sunset Cliffs (I think I'll stay out of OB that day), to a letter writing campaign. http://www.350.org/actions

Of course we had to try the dessert! Above: Cheesecake with raspb erries and jalapeno jelly sauce. The jelly sauce looks like mold in this photo but it was bright green jelly with cheese and yummy. Below: The Brownie Sundae dessert.

Keith's belated b-day dinner was at Stone Bistro last night. First beer for him was a Stone 13th anniversary. The OB's indulged in Vanilla & Cherry Sodas - cheers! And I tried a Alpine Beer Company Nelson Rye IPA. The beer was smooth and light but one was enough and I'm not sure I'd drink this one again. It was almost too smooth!

A tropical island vacation....Almost everyone has that dream. Some dream of Tahiti, others Hawaii, maybe it's the Caribbean for you. Exotic Seychelles, Bali, or a namelss atoll deep in the South Pacific. It's a dream of Corona beer, watching the sunset into the ocean and behind the palms. Mine is the Maldives - a nation of atolls in the Indian ocean. Picture perfect in every way, the Maldives embody everything I could want. Clear water, palm tress, relaxing resorts, and no sign of work in sight. The Maldives are also the first on the hit list for global warming and climate change. Various reports peg the country at disappearing into the ocean anywhere from 50 to 100 years from now. The government is already working with other nations to secure a home for the people who will eventually be homeless and stateless. The crisis facing the Maldives will escape the world population at large. It's hard to understand and comprehend the reality of a place so far away, that so few peo...

Such a simple trip, I've been waiting 10 months for the green light to buy the tickets. Kuwait/Pakistan. How hard can it be? In my world, dates are not a target, not even a guideline but an arbitrary wish that has little to do with fact. So at last (and trust me, with 100% doubt on my part) I have finally bought that long awaited ticket to go to Pakistan! Will the dates hold? We'll know in 2 weeks when I'm either on a plane or not.

Small glass: I was worried. The Big Barrel Double IPA from Karl Strauss is vying for strong beer fans of the Stone kind. The first sip, I wasn't sold. The beer was slightly harsh to the palette, even for a high alcohol beer. But you know what? After the 3rd sip I couldn't taste it anymore and the beer went down smooth. Until about the half-way part when I realized I was buzzed off of what, 6 ounces? Part of this was hunger but most was the beer. I'm not sure this beer is going to lure any Stone fans away but it is an interesting challenge and respectable beer from Karl Strauss.

Who today could imagine that Keith could fit under a coffee table? Even more that he could fall asleep with his bunny? I have looked at this picture for two days trying to edit it to be a clear photo and only now realized that he had a stuffed animal with him. Such is the happy life of youth.

This afternoon I took pity on the garden and decided to weed, prune, and transplant. The lavender was even more out of control than ever and choking out the citrus trees. When I finally chopped my way thru the near jungle, I found lemons. Turns out the lemons were juicy and edible. Who knew? I could have made lemonade had I not let most of them fall to the ground. One can only eat so many lemons right from the tree before getting all puckered up. So in the spirit of compost and soil replenishment, the lemon was sacrificed to try and help the transplanted flower get a shot at life. Said shot at life is an iffy thing because the gopher ate the plant's predessor a couple weeks ago.

Early October. The water is still warm enough to wade in and the temperature is t-shirt and shorts. Even though sunset comes early now the afternoon daylight still has warmth. Surfers are out enjoying the swells but too far from shore for my camera to capture. I love where I live.

This was taken around 7:45 am on the walk to the office. I was the only one in the park and the water was sparkling down. You could almost call it a perfect October moment in the city. Almost.

St. Louis managed to clean up a lame part of town and create a cool park. Now the walk to work is fairly interesting. Citygarden opened in July and has foutains, foliage, and scupltures that are found among winding walkways. Not sure who put in the flamingos but being plastic blow-ups, I think their days are limited. I'm sure there's a story behind each sculpture. I didn't take the time to find the stone with the story but I can see it in the gold circle to the right now that I look at the photo. My favorites!

Cookies, cakes, flan, and more! A sugar rush was my mid-morning meeting as I looked at possible items for restaurant placement. Surprisingly, I ate little since a full on dessert overload was not on my priority list of the day. This was later followed by fried food fest but it didn't look as pretty.