We noticed one yesterday, a lone greyish brown thing walking right past my couch as I was lounging in peace. In an instant the invading cricket was crushed underneath a pair of nearby crocs. I was astonished, where on earth did he come from exactly? Before I had the time to process that Read more »
My mobile phone rang with a strange jumbled up number, over and over and over again within the space of a few minutes, until I finally succumb and answer it:
Me: Hello?
Man: Hello? This is house in -insert address-? Read more »
I never really checked a restaurant’s menu for prices before. If I want to get something I get it regardless of the price. The other day I tried to order in lunch from a restaurant that is new to the “home delivery” scene in Kuwait and they took forever to arrive. Read more »
This question have been circulating in my mind for quite sometime now. What makes a good blogger? Owning a Read more »
Ever since I was a child I’ve heard about fellow humans with super intelligence joining the Mensa That is, an organization whose members are people who scored a very high level in some IQ test. I always fantasied that I would one day take that test and discover I Read more »
One day you are sitting on your computer browsing through your data and then BAM something happens and your hard disk is busted. You take the device to a data recovery specialist, you pay money to have your data back, and most of it is indeed back. Now you plug your recovered data into the computer, from the file viewer you can Read more »
Is not following someone on Instagram -or any social media application- considered as a personal insult? Should we read too much into it?
I’m not really sure how to answer the above question for I myself have conflicting feelings towards it. Do we expect people to follow us in the virtual world if they knew us in Read more »
One of the Ramadan 2012 serieses I’m watching comes at the time where I’m suppose to be out in the evening visiting relatives or running errands. So the other day I was reading Jacquie’s post (link) regarding Shahid.Net’s iPad application that enables you to view episodes of the Ramadan serieses shown on Read more »
One of my GCC blogger friends once told me about a “Batates Oman” sandwich they adore. Apparently you fill two pieces of toast with the chips, drizzle hot sauce and Kraft spreadable cheese, and eat them and the combination is so good.
The thing is, I’ve never seen the Chips Oman before in my life and never knew anyone in Kuwait who had that combo. To my surprise I was in Shuwaikh a while ago in the Sweets shops selling oldies food when I saw bags and tins of Chips Oman ! I asked in Instagram and people apparently are looking for it and use it in dishes as well!
Am I the only one in the GCC who never heard about it before? So how is it exactly different than, say, KITCO’s? How exactly do you eat it?
Since 3/4 of Kuwait are now on instagram, I’m sure all of you had encountered the infamous, most annoying comment of last week: Please like 9orat el3o6or ele eb profily.
Dear companies, we realize that the use of Social media outlets have been great for your business. I personally salute you for being modern and on trend. I don’t blame you for holding out competitions at all but please, for the love of god, I beg of you DO NOT have competitions where people with the most number of likes win. PLEASE!
First, its unfair. Some pictures are truly horrible, simply an eyesore that lacks any creativity. Yet horrible pictures win because the person who submitted it is either very popular, have a huge extended family, or simply a shameless beggar who would stop at nothing to harass people, over an over and over and OVER again, for a like.
Why don’t you choose the best pictures yourself? Its not hard, gather the pictures, have 3-4 people from your management vote on them and announce the winners instead of having us, the poor instragrammers, ruing the day you have decided to hold a competition and counting the day until the competition is up.
And you, you beggars, have you no shame? No dignity? Really wallah? You think your horrible picture deserves to win what exactly? A bottle of perfume? Can’t you go and buy it yourself? Its not a Rolls Royce, or a Park Lane penthouse. Have you no regards to other people’s feeling? A bottle of perfume is the price for your own dignity, now that’s it?
If you’ve been annoyed by those instragrammers asking for votes, don’t be shy let it out here.
I have a general rule in my blog: I don’t put pictures of people unless in very narrow circumstances. I don’t wait around for the people in the event to gather around so I can take pictures of them. When I take a shot I Read more »
My dear Jacqui was grocery shopping and posted her grocery basket via Instagram, there was a packet of Chips Ahoy! chocolate chip cookies in the basket! I remember that blue packet being a stable in our pantry for years on end when we were kids! We used to love it. I also believe I’ve stopped eating them in 1994. They were just too fattening and -later on- too dry and packety for my taste.
However, Jacqui said something about heating them up in the microwave and having them with “Liban” -buttermilk. At first the idea recoiled my pallets, Liban? really? People have cookies with milk usually, or in my case with a tall dark americano, but Liban?
But then I thought, why not? The saltiness of the Liban would bring out the sweetness of the cookies! But I don’t know, it just sounds too weird still.
Have you ever tried cookies and liban? Would you ever try it?
My favorite external hard drive, one that had taken many abuse from me over the past year, fell down yesterday. It was a tiny fall, nothing major, like 30 cm from the desk to the carpeted floor. But now it won’t work. Read more »
Gombe 1- The Salamat: The cause of 90% of the crowding in any expo! Two women with their entourage meet in the middle of the narrow aisle and start kissing and saying hello and exchanging the gist of their past 25 years since they’ve last met while people are trying to walk around them to no avail. You have to wait until they are done. Plus, try and talk to a seller for a complete 5 minutes. You can’t because at every minute and so she will stop, say hello, and chat for a while, then come back and you have to explain what you want all over again. Urrghhh!
2- The Babies: You know an exhibition is already crowded with stampeding women. Why on earth would you bring kokash yahal with you? Its hard enough trying to walk between all these women let alone push your baby in his pram. Also, why do you need two maids for one child? Pushing and shoving the crowds so the baby is safe and unscathed? Can’t the two maids entertain him somewhere else? Bs kafi elnafas on the poor child!
3- Elseller Elmayga: She sits there displaying her stuff but she looks at the crowds with the aloofness of a queen. Whenever you approach and try to make eye contact she pouts, fishes her phone, and pretends to be distracted. Erm why are you here then if you don’t want to sell to customers or interact with them?
4- Eldewaniya Booth: Some sellers will invite their friends and/or family over. Gather inside the booth and turn it into a mini dewaniya: sowalif o 7abb o chai. If you say “law sama7tay” they all stop talking, turn their heads over to you slowly with killer looks, how dare you interrupt their “salfa”. Elsharha mo 3lekom, el sharha 3lay ele bashtere minkom.
5- The Recycler: She buys stuff from all around Kuwait, IKEA for example, knit a crochet net on top of it, and sell it for 10 times its original value! We know it’s available in IKEA for 1 KD! Or a piece of cardboard thay you cut as a door handle and you can do in your local markaz 6ba3a for 10 KD!!! Eshda3wa! I’m all for supporting creative business but some things are just too much.
6- The ATM: Given that we have one million exhibitions held in Kuwait already I wonder why they don’t facilitate payment by Knet or a one stop payment or something. The ATM line is always too long on the lone ATM machine! Maybe they can have a service where they collect your purchases to a collection point where you pay before you exit and take the bags at once. That way you don’t have to carry your bags around b3d, mo?
7- Elmalgoofa: She is a fellow customer who has no respect whatsoever to the conversation you are barely having with the seller. You would be talking and she would interrupt “law sama7tay law sama7tay hatha shinooo” or “ebchaaaam” or 3adi jedan she acts be 9amt but she grabs whatever you are holding or whatever you are standing next to. Why the hell don’t you wait your turn like I’ve waited mine? I always let them get their way because otherwise I’d make a scene and quite possible strangle elmalgoofa ele ma ta9ber!
8- ElMo7aqeq: She stands by your side patiently waiting her turn, thank god for that, but then she kills the time by holding a mini interrogation session: Sheybe3oon? 7elween moo? Esh sharya? Entay min bentah? Metzawja? 3ndich e3yal? Wain teshta’3lain? Dasha ma3rath ana wella ta7qeeq? Esh hal legafa intay b3d? Wallah 7reem elQ8 could do well working as interrogators!
9- The Stinky Booth: Elnass yayeen embakhereen em3adeleen emzahlegeen, o 7arr, o crowds, o khanga, o you pass by some food booth that cooks the food by the fryer or 7ameesa or displays something so smelly “fish?” that your eyes water and you curse yourself for passing by. Can’t you have done your cooking at home or operated an delivery business mathalan? 9oba’3na!
10- The Parking: Elmoshkila el azaliya everywhere in Kuwait. There is no parking when you try to get in. When you do find a parking you spend an hour trying to get out of the expo. If you go with Valet parking they take one hour to get your car while you are standing there in the lovely weather with your purchases and heels if you are wearing them. Mako fayda 
What about you? What do you hate about the exhibitions in Kuwait?
You know what really makes me go insane with disgust in traffic?
When a car driver opens up his door, leans out, and lets out a big drizzle of saliva araf ya2refah!
Thats even worse that throwing rubbish out of the car window! Is there a particular reason why you cannot keep your act of spitting inside your own bloody car? Why it needs to graze the asphalt of the street in front of all the disgusted commuters out there? Why you need to spit in the first place? Is it a lack of napkins? Is it a manly gesture? What the hell is it you disgusting oaf?
Whenever I see one of those uncivilized drivers I feel like ramming my car against theirs in repercussion! The sad thing is that even Kuwaiti men driving decent cars are doing it, in all ages, and not only Asian drivers!!! The question remains: WHY!
There should be fines for such vulgar acts in public! 500 KD and above G63! G63 g63 g63 g63 G63!!!!!
My husband bid me good buy and went out to meet his friend on Sunday night. I put the news on and snuggled into my warm bisht at home. A few minutes had passed when, at 9:05 PM, an urgent pounding came on Read more »
If you follow my blog you might remember the post regarding the old run down police station in Bneid Al-Qar that I saw last year and was Read more »
I was driving on 4th ring road yesterday when I a labor worker standing in the middle of the road waving a flag. I was a bit confused: what is a man doing waving a flag at 11 PM? Then when I got closer I realized he was a mechanized doll!
This afternoon he was there as well right by the entrance of Yarmouk from 4th ring road so I took his picture. That’s weird! This is the first time I’ve seen this guy around the streets of Kuwait. He is kinda distracting though as cars are slowing down to take a look at him. Is he really necessary? Funny and new yes of course, but necessary? Madry wallah.
Have you encountered this guy? I bet he already has a name :p
Do you know how Ross Geller hords everything he can from hotel rooms whenever he stays there? I have my very own Ross Geller and his name is Bu Tootee.
He loves hotel toiletries: mini shampoos, shower gels, conditioners, body lotions, sewing kits, shoe shines, cotton puds, shower caps, bard so soap, etc.! Anything he can find in the hotel bathroom he either uses or stashes into the suitcase with a mischievous grin. Its not about the money as in he paid for them fa he must take them, no no. Its like he is a cave man and he is bringing back a collection of things that make him happy.
Now I am left with a MOUNTAIN of toiletries. Box upon box upon box of toiletries that we never use nor do we need! From all over the world and from every single hotel room we’ve ever stayed in for every single day. OK lets use them? The man refuses. I remember when we were kids in the 80’s we used two collect stationary and erasers and never use them. He collects toiletries the same way. It gives him a thrill just to have them there in bulk nearby! I don’t understand why the unnecessary clutter! He won’t use them or throw them away even though they must have expired by now!
The ones in the picture above are like 10% of what we have stashed!!! Is there anyone else who feels the same about hotel toiletries? If you do, why on earth do you collect them and what do you do with them?
While we are on the subject, do you take anything else other than toiletries from hotel rooms?
If we say something is good try it/read it/watch it, then we are dishonset and being paid to say so. If we say something is bad don’t bother with it, then we are getting our revenge and we shouldn’t say that.
If we post about events then bs ga3deen endoor o nakel ib balash. If we post about non event personal stuff then we are not important and popular and very boring.
If we post about food then we are bal3a. If we post about diet and fashion then we are superficial o ga3deen netshay7a6.
If we post about Kuwait fa bs e7na Q8yeen o nadry mako ‘3airkom edel el deera. If we post about other countries then shino ma7ad safar ‘3airkom?
If we post about charity then ana emsawya roo7y mama teresa! If we post about things we bought ga3deen netshay7a6 o why don’t you think of people who can’t afford stuff.
If we post more than 3 times a day then waaay athetoona postat. If we post less than once a day then weh shakhbary she posts bel sena e7sena!
If we post about a recipe we made in the kitchen then wayh emsawya roo7ha 6abakha o chef. If we post about food we got in a restaurant weh bs etdoor min ma63am lee ma63am.
If we post about new places in Kuwait then e7na hayteen o bs inhobee bel 9keek. If we post about blogger gatherings then e7na free o ekhtela6 o ma neste7e 3la wyoohna!!!
If we put up ads from businesses in Kuwait then weh daf3een lohom o kila el blog da3ayat ma feeh shay thany. If we don’t post about busineses then ma7ad yadry 3n their blog o mafeeh wala d3aya!
If we post photos we took then weh emsawya roo7ha photographer! If we use photos from the internet they you are a bawagat 9owar and copy right violater!
O b3dain? Tra ana wa7da t3bt wallah! Wallah el3atheem t3bt!
Ever since I’ve crossed to the iPhone territory earlier this year I have been very happy! My iPhone is dazzling! I keep wondering why it took me so long to purchase one (it was the touch screen thing). The iPhone is like the super device that is not supposed to do anything wrong.
HOWEVER! There is one small minor problem which is unbeliveable! The mail client on the iPhone is crazy! BIG Time!
First I noticed that it didn’t retrieve my emails unless I prompt it to update and do so. Then I played around with the settings and push notifications trying to make it recieve an email the moment it is delivered to my inbox. No such luck. I would update the bloody thing and nothing will come up while my inbox does indeed have many emails waiting to be read.
I made my peace with that. So the BB would receive my emails a second before it would appear on the computer, the iPhone won’t. Emails are not everything on earth right?
Until one day it started.
I received an email that I’ve read quickly on the go. I remember being happy about it. I decided to get back to it later and read it thoroughly. Later on the day I’ve searched all the folders on my email, on the iPhone and on my pc, but I couldn’t find it. Not even in the Trash or the Spam.
It simply vanished. I couldn’t believe it, iPhone wouldn’t do that to my emails for sure right? I must have imagined I recieved it, there is no record of it coming into my inbox whatsover.
Then it happened again! And again! And again and again and again and again! To this date within 2 months of usage I’ve lost nearly 20 emails! I can’t have imagined all those emails arriving to my inbox! I am very careful when I open and close them because I am aware they might “vanish” into thin air! I searched for them carefully! To no Luck!!!
Is this normal? Is it only my iPhone? Is it every iPhone? I can live with the delayed mail delivery, but why on earth is it hiding my emails from me? This is a major catastrophic fail in an email client provided by a leading company like Apple! Do you have any solution for that? Help?
I first came to know of the word “Lomography” when I was walking in Selfridges last December and I came upon a full display of colorful cameras in different designs. Small grainy pictures were scattered here and there and a red box logo with white “Lomography” written inside was present as well. I took a picture of them wanting to google later.
Then a few days afterwards I was walking in Carnaby Street when I saw a small shop dedicated entirely to those small colorful cameras. December being holidays time meant the shop was closed so I couldn’t go inside and properly ask about what the fuss is all about. I forgot all about it until I saw the picture of the shop window front today and now I am online trying to make sense of Lomography.
To be frank I still don’t get it. The picture quality is not all that, if anything its grainy, like something produced with the early models of mobile phone cameras on my old nokia. They say something about contrast and color and saturation, again I don’t get why I can’t get the same results using my Canon for example? Why do I need to go and buy a small colorful camera that looks like a camera I had in my teens to produce tiny grainy images?
Am I being closed minded or tasteless? Do I need to broaden my mind? Or is there something about it that I don’t get? I don’t know. I need someone to explain it better to me. So if you own a Lomography camera or think its worth purchasing, please enlighten me?
Love Ikea? Admire their beautiful kitchens? Thinking of getting yourself one? Read this before you do.
A few years ago when I moved to my old apartment I had gone to Ikea and gotten the best service ever in fitting a small kitchen. I loved my kitchen so much I had to move it with me to my new apartment -which had no kitchen-. So an entire month ago I went to Ikea and asked them to move it for me and fill in the gaps since my new kitchen is much bigger than my old one.
To my surprise they refused. First, they won’t move my old kitchen. Second, they didn’t want to give me extra cupboards. They wanted me to throw my perfectly fine brand new old kitchen away and build a new one from scratch. I put my foot down and said that I will move my own kitchen and you will help me complete it, so they said OK then but 1- You will have to pay extra to put together the old and new kitchen -I said OK- and 2- You will have to wait a month since the new cupboard doors and the new water faucett are not available in Kuwait and they will arrive by 10th of March so they will deliver them then.
We me oved with our old kitchen.We lived for an entire month kitchenless. All we could do is boil water in our kettle! We waited patiently for the call on the 10th of March informing us that the kitchen doors are back in Kuwait. We paid the extra they asked for. We got a call that they were coming yesterday at 8 am to install the kitchen.
My husband and I both work, my husband asked them to come at 11 am instead since at least he could excuse himself and get out of work then and they said they will come at 11. 11 am Monday came and went and no one showed up. 12:30 am came and went and no one showed up. Between 12 and 12:30 I called Ikea’s delivery department endlessly only to finally have someone answer me and tell me they will be there in 15 minutes.
So over one and a half hours late and when my husband asked them why they were that late, they said “we told you we would come at 8 and you refused”. It was my husband’s mistake then. Nice start!
They at first refuse to put up the old kitchen even though we paid them to. Then they wouldn’t make a whole in the new kitchen worktop so the wires of the washing machine could connect to the electric socket right above it -we don’t know what to do now frankly-. Then they make a fuss about putting up the cupboards above the oven. Would you please look at that? Have you ever seen anyone install cupboards this way before? What are these dangling slabs of wood!?
Wait there’s more! Now when the new sink and new faucett were to be installed, they said 1- They are missing screws only available through Ikea and 2- they are not responsible for connecting the sink to the water supply! They left us with missing screws we cannot get anywhere else and a gaping hole in the sink they!
and the highlight of the day? Half of the cupboards we ordered, the cupboards we waited a MONTH so their doors would arrive to Kuwait, are still missing their doors because “they didn’t arrive yet!”!!! So why did we wait all this time? Why did you call us and come to install a kitchen halfheartedly when you are missing the cupboards doors AND the sink screws?
The Ikea guys left us with a half installed kitchen, a 17 cm gap between cupboards they would do absolutely nothing about, a non functioning sink, a non functioning washing machine with no way to operate it via electricity, and no cupboard doors! We will still have to wait for god knows how long until the kitchen is complete. We will still have to rely on 6alabat to have 3 square meals a day. We are still hungry all the time.
Needless to say the delivery men were very rude AND complained to each other about my poor husband as he asked them to complete their work in Indian. Just because you speak a language he doesn’t doesn’t mean he cannot tell you are complaining about him. They left him very angry and upset. So upset in fact he couldn’t sleep all night because he was still seething with anger!
What happened Ikea? When did your after sale service and your delivery become so unbelievably bad? You used to have an amazing delivery and installation service! I love Ikea, I always did and I always will. But this? This is unacceptable. Never again I am going to buy something that needs installation from them.
I was searching online for the post code of my new apartment when I found this website with Kuwaiti post codes (link). What is interesting is even though I didn’t find the post code for Al-Zahraa I found the post code for… Jazeerat Um Al-Namil!!!!
Now who on earth would send a postal pacakage to um al-namil? El namil? La o block 1 b3d!!! eshm3na um al-namil mo um al-maradim mathalan? I’ve never ever received a single package to my home addresses when I lived in Bayan, Jabriya, or Zahraa, or in our mailboxes in Mishref and Dhahiya! Would anyone who is residing in Um Al-Namil expect to receive anything?
Anyways if you wish to send a post card -or a pif paf- to the ants in Um Al-Namil island you now know the post code. Its 73921, block 1. Sukkan el3a9ema b3d y7leelhom. I wonder which da2era intekhabiya ohom?
