1. Why isn't there a Yellow Pages or, for that matter, any type of phone book?
2. Regarding demoninations of the Qatari currency - the Riyal. There is a 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 Riyal bill. Why no 20 or 25 Riyal bill? Would make things a lot more convenient.
3. People don't use change (100 dirhams = 1 riyal but you rarely see a dirham coin, at stores they round up or down or give you candy instead of change) - why bother putting prices with dirhams?
4. Why not hire people who can speak/write in English to produce/edit the english language newspapers? (recent headline - "Non Communicable Diseases Spreading Fast" - had to read the article when I saw that - writer meant that more people in Qatar being diagnosed with diabetes, cancer, etc; Another headline - "Make Schooling Must For Arab Children" - suggested edit "Make Schooling Must for Arab Journalists")
5. Do the driving schools teach students that it is OK to go through a red light if there isn't a red light camera at the intersection? Experience suggests that they do.
6. What is the big deal with Magic Corn? Finally got some at the Mall - it's (no kidding) regular corn with a little seasoning on it.
7. Why is it so hard to find Ginger Ale or Root Beer? Yes, "ale" and "beer" are in the name but there is no alcohol.
8. Doesn't owning a white Land Cruiser make it harder to find your car in the parking lot?
9. Speaking of cars, those belt like things hanging inside the car - are you aware of their purpose?
10. Why do you think it is OK to allow your 12 year old son to drive the Land Cruiser from the mall parking space to the door to pick up the rest of the family?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
GIRL SCOUT AWARDS CEREMONY
held yesterday at the American School. It was the last Girl Scout event in Doha for Erin and I (I take that back, our Leader Dinner is Tuesday night). We started the year with 14 girls in our Junior Troop, and ended with 12 - not bad. This spring our troop went through the first of the new Girl Scout "Journeys" - it is a great program. I got some nice gifts - a GS tote bag with the Qatar GS logo and my name in English and Arabic, a camel bone box and a picture frame. I won't miss Doha, the city, at all; but I will miss the wonderful people we have met here.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
EAGLE SCOUT
Grant passed his Board of Review today - he is eligible for the Eagle Scout Award - whew! Not sure yet where we will have the Eagle ceremony, just relieved that all was successfully completed. (We may have here in Doha, or may wait until we get back to Virginia.)
1895
I have a little "job" transcribing obituaries from an old newspaper in Monroe County, Ohio. Am now in January 1895 and came across these news items that made me think of how things were done before modern conveniences, and chuckle.
"Our ice men last week harvested an excellent quality of ice seven to eight inches in thickness. Although our summer may be hot we are now assured of an abundance of natural ice with which to keep things cooled."
"St. Clairsville people subscribed money to purchase instruments for a brass band, but specified that the musicians must go out of town to practice."
On a more somber note, there are obits in this paper for 3 children of Dr. and Mrs. Pugh - all three died of diptheria within 2 weeks. These were the only children of this couple. I transcribe lots of obits for young people. Common causes of death are typhoid, diptheria, tuberculosis and scarlet fever. The good old days weren't so good.
"Our ice men last week harvested an excellent quality of ice seven to eight inches in thickness. Although our summer may be hot we are now assured of an abundance of natural ice with which to keep things cooled."
"St. Clairsville people subscribed money to purchase instruments for a brass band, but specified that the musicians must go out of town to practice."
On a more somber note, there are obits in this paper for 3 children of Dr. and Mrs. Pugh - all three died of diptheria within 2 weeks. These were the only children of this couple. I transcribe lots of obits for young people. Common causes of death are typhoid, diptheria, tuberculosis and scarlet fever. The good old days weren't so good.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
YOU HAVE TWO COWS
my favorites! Got any good ones?
Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.
Anarchy: You have two cows. They run away.
Aristocratism: You have two cows. You sell them and buy a really big one. With a pedigree.
Bureaucracy: You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.
Corporate Capitalism: You have two cows -- IN THEORY. But, ACTUALLY, you have shares in a mutual fund that includes a large agribusiness conglomerate which gives you the theoretical equivalent of ownership of two cows. This agribusiness proceeds to invest heavily in a slick "Got Milk?" celebrity campaign while moving aggressively into application of Monsanto's recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), a bioengineered hormone which is injected in the cows every other week to force the cows to produce more milk than their bodies normally would. rBGH is similar, although not identical, to a hormone that the cow naturally produces. Increasing levels of this hormone boosts milk production, causing a number of problems with the milk, among them, raising levels of pus, antibiotics residues and a cancer-accelerating hormone called IGF-1. Your shares rapidly rise in value as you watch your virtual herd grow to four, then eight, and eventually SIXTEEN theoretical cows . . . before the market finally crashes. Some years later you are diagnosed with cancer of the colon, too late, unfortunately, to treat it benignly because your HMO had cut back on screening tests as a cost-saving move in order to meet the high dividend expectations of the very same mutual fund your 401k was invested in. A colonectomy keeps you alive, for the time-being at least, but you have to wear a bag of shit strapped to your leg for the remaining years of your life. Still, at least it's a better quality of life than those factory cows lead . . . Maybe two cows WOULD have been enough . . .
Communism: You have two cows. The state takes both, and gives you a little milk... once.
Communism — Cuban: You no longer have any cows. They sailed to Miami. You still have no milk - but you do have Fidel.
Communism — Pure: You have two cows. Your neighbours help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.
Communism — Real World: You share two cows with your neighbours. You and your neighbours bicker about who has the most "ability" and who has the most "need". Meanwhile, no one works, no one gets any milk, and the cows drop dead of starvation.
Communism — Soviet: You have two cows. You count them and realize you have four cows.You drink more Vodka. You count the cows again and realize you have eleventy six cows. You drink even more Vodka. After a while, you realize that eleventy isn't a real number. You count the cows again and have two cows. You open another bottle of Vodka and try to drown the loss of eleventy four cows.
Democracy: You have two cows. A vote is held, and the cows win.
Democracy — British: You have two cows. You feed them sheeps' brains and they go mad. The government doesn't do anything.
Dictatorship: You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.
Fascism: You have two cows. The government takes the cows, shoot you and sell the milk to your widow.
Feudalism: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.
Libertarianism: Go away. What I do with my cows is none of your business.
Taliban: You have two cows. At first, the government makes them wear burkas, but later shoots them because "they are Hindu religious symbols."
United Nations: You have two cows. France vetoes you from milking them. The United States and Britain veto the cows from milking you. New Zealand abstains.
!Enron: You have two cows. You borrow 80% of the forward value of the two cows from your bank then buy another cow with 5% down and the rest financed by the seller on a note callable if your market cap goes below $20B at a rate 2 time prime. You now sell three cows to your publicly listed company, using a letter of credit opened by your brother-in- law at a 2nd bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more and this transaction process is upheld by your independent auditor and no Balance Sheet provided with the press release that announces that Enron as a major owner of cows will begin trading cows via the Internet site COW (cows on web).
French Corporation: You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.
German Corporation: You have two cows. You reengineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.
Italian Corporation: You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch.
Japanese Corporation: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cow cartoon images called Cowkimon and market them World-Wide.
Swedish: You need two cows. You buy them from IKEA and assemble them yourself (it's cheaper). The Volvo cows don't look as trendy, but they last a lot longer.
Swiss Corporation: You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge for storing them for others.
Qatar: You have 2 cows, you do nothing with them for years. Suddenly you realize that Dubai is milking its cows like crazy so you start milking the sh*t out of yours. Then you realize that nobody wanted the milk in the first place.
Cannibalism: You have 2 cows. They eat each other. You accept this.
Feminism: You have two cows. You wouldn't dream of calling them that.
Hinduism: You have two cows, you worship them.
Narcicism: You have two cows. Damn, I look good.
Pacifism: You have two cows. They stampede you.
Political Correctness: You are associated with (the concept of "ownership" is a symbol of the phallo centric, war mongering, intolerant past) two differently-aged (but no less valuable to society) bovines of non-specified gender.
Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.
Anarchy: You have two cows. They run away.
Aristocratism: You have two cows. You sell them and buy a really big one. With a pedigree.
Bureaucracy: You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.
Corporate Capitalism: You have two cows -- IN THEORY. But, ACTUALLY, you have shares in a mutual fund that includes a large agribusiness conglomerate which gives you the theoretical equivalent of ownership of two cows. This agribusiness proceeds to invest heavily in a slick "Got Milk?" celebrity campaign while moving aggressively into application of Monsanto's recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), a bioengineered hormone which is injected in the cows every other week to force the cows to produce more milk than their bodies normally would. rBGH is similar, although not identical, to a hormone that the cow naturally produces. Increasing levels of this hormone boosts milk production, causing a number of problems with the milk, among them, raising levels of pus, antibiotics residues and a cancer-accelerating hormone called IGF-1. Your shares rapidly rise in value as you watch your virtual herd grow to four, then eight, and eventually SIXTEEN theoretical cows . . . before the market finally crashes. Some years later you are diagnosed with cancer of the colon, too late, unfortunately, to treat it benignly because your HMO had cut back on screening tests as a cost-saving move in order to meet the high dividend expectations of the very same mutual fund your 401k was invested in. A colonectomy keeps you alive, for the time-being at least, but you have to wear a bag of shit strapped to your leg for the remaining years of your life. Still, at least it's a better quality of life than those factory cows lead . . . Maybe two cows WOULD have been enough . . .
Communism: You have two cows. The state takes both, and gives you a little milk... once.
Communism — Cuban: You no longer have any cows. They sailed to Miami. You still have no milk - but you do have Fidel.
Communism — Pure: You have two cows. Your neighbours help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.
Communism — Real World: You share two cows with your neighbours. You and your neighbours bicker about who has the most "ability" and who has the most "need". Meanwhile, no one works, no one gets any milk, and the cows drop dead of starvation.
Communism — Soviet: You have two cows. You count them and realize you have four cows.You drink more Vodka. You count the cows again and realize you have eleventy six cows. You drink even more Vodka. After a while, you realize that eleventy isn't a real number. You count the cows again and have two cows. You open another bottle of Vodka and try to drown the loss of eleventy four cows.
Democracy: You have two cows. A vote is held, and the cows win.
Democracy — British: You have two cows. You feed them sheeps' brains and they go mad. The government doesn't do anything.
Dictatorship: You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.
Fascism: You have two cows. The government takes the cows, shoot you and sell the milk to your widow.
Feudalism: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.
Libertarianism: Go away. What I do with my cows is none of your business.
Taliban: You have two cows. At first, the government makes them wear burkas, but later shoots them because "they are Hindu religious symbols."
United Nations: You have two cows. France vetoes you from milking them. The United States and Britain veto the cows from milking you. New Zealand abstains.
!Enron: You have two cows. You borrow 80% of the forward value of the two cows from your bank then buy another cow with 5% down and the rest financed by the seller on a note callable if your market cap goes below $20B at a rate 2 time prime. You now sell three cows to your publicly listed company, using a letter of credit opened by your brother-in- law at a 2nd bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more and this transaction process is upheld by your independent auditor and no Balance Sheet provided with the press release that announces that Enron as a major owner of cows will begin trading cows via the Internet site COW (cows on web).
French Corporation: You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.
German Corporation: You have two cows. You reengineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.
Italian Corporation: You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch.
Japanese Corporation: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cow cartoon images called Cowkimon and market them World-Wide.
Swedish: You need two cows. You buy them from IKEA and assemble them yourself (it's cheaper). The Volvo cows don't look as trendy, but they last a lot longer.
Swiss Corporation: You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge for storing them for others.
Qatar: You have 2 cows, you do nothing with them for years. Suddenly you realize that Dubai is milking its cows like crazy so you start milking the sh*t out of yours. Then you realize that nobody wanted the milk in the first place.
Cannibalism: You have 2 cows. They eat each other. You accept this.
Feminism: You have two cows. You wouldn't dream of calling them that.
Hinduism: You have two cows, you worship them.
Narcicism: You have two cows. Damn, I look good.
Pacifism: You have two cows. They stampede you.
Political Correctness: You are associated with (the concept of "ownership" is a symbol of the phallo centric, war mongering, intolerant past) two differently-aged (but no less valuable to society) bovines of non-specified gender.
Friday, May 22, 2009
QATAR QUESTIONS
Qatar needs an OSHA
The Poo Pit!
Dust Storm
After nearly 2 years in Qatar I have unanswered questions:
1. (See first photo above) Why do you allow/require workers to climb tall structures without some sort of safety system? (I looked at this guy with my telephoto lens - he was not clipped on to anything. We see this sort of thing all the time.)
2. What is my address? Why do only a few streets have names?
3. Why does one get about 20 packets of ketchup with every pizza delivery from Papa John's, Pizza Hut and Dominoes? Does anyone really put ketchup on pizza? And, why when you get french fries from McDonald's, Burger King, etc; do they only give you one packet of ketchup?
4. Why does Starbucks open so late (8:30 am) in the morning?
5. Why does this place often smell like sewage? (see answer below)
6. Why, in a country of one million people is there not a sewage treatment plant? (see photo of me, above, at the poo pit. Sewage is flushed into large holding tanks then trucked to this pit and dumped in.)
7. Why won't you allow dogs in the (few) public parks?
8. Why do you build large office buildings with tiny parking lots?
9. Why don't you wear seatbelts?
10. Why are there so many half built buildings? (there is a mosque and a house across the street from our house that have been under construction since we arrived 2 years ago. Very rarely do we see any work on them.)
11. Why do most of the smaller stores close between 1 and 4 pm?
12. Why, on Friday, do the larger stores open for a few hours in the morning, then close and reopen at 4 pm? If you are trying to keep the holy day holy haven't you ruined that by opening in the morning?
13. Why are foreign laborers not allowed in the malls and souk on Fridays - their only day off?
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
WHITE POWDER CLOSES EMBASSY
Yesterday morning a letter leaking white powder was received at the US Embassy here in Doha. (No one in my family was present at the Embassy at that time.) The Embassy was locked down for most of the day while they determined that the powder was not hazardous. I understand the Embassy is open today.
Brings back bad memories of the anthrax scare in the US. My office mail went through the postal facility where the 2 postal workers died from anthrax. I didn't get any mail at the office for over a month. During that month they irraditaed and searched the mail. When I finally got that batch of mail it was brittle and yellow. I thought about keeping a piece of it as a part of history but ended up throwing all of it in the trash. Our mail at home went through a different postal facility but, in the panic of the times, I got the mail from the mailbox and opened it over the trash can outside. Anything not in an envelope or a bag (loose catalogs and junk mail) went right into the trash can. Outer envelopes and bags were put in the outside trash can and then I came in the house and scrubbed my hands.
But, back to the present. Still no word on where we are moving - should hear next week. Getting very busy here with end of the year concerts, farewell parties, dance recital rehearsals, etc; - keeps me running!
Brings back bad memories of the anthrax scare in the US. My office mail went through the postal facility where the 2 postal workers died from anthrax. I didn't get any mail at the office for over a month. During that month they irraditaed and searched the mail. When I finally got that batch of mail it was brittle and yellow. I thought about keeping a piece of it as a part of history but ended up throwing all of it in the trash. Our mail at home went through a different postal facility but, in the panic of the times, I got the mail from the mailbox and opened it over the trash can outside. Anything not in an envelope or a bag (loose catalogs and junk mail) went right into the trash can. Outer envelopes and bags were put in the outside trash can and then I came in the house and scrubbed my hands.
But, back to the present. Still no word on where we are moving - should hear next week. Getting very busy here with end of the year concerts, farewell parties, dance recital rehearsals, etc; - keeps me running!
Monday, May 18, 2009
HAPPY DAYS!
It's a feel - good day here today - lots of happy people around. Went to my yoga class this morning and the Indian teacher and students are very happy with the results of their national elections. My Sri Lankan maid came today - she is VERY HAPPY - it appears the 40 year civil war in her country is finally over. (I can't imagine a 40 year civil war - my maid is 39 so this war has been going on her entire life. Wow. Her sons are teenagers now - you can imagine how happy she is that they will not have to fight in this war.)
Hope all is well on your side of the world!
Hope all is well on your side of the world!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
GRADUATION!
Never thought I would be graduating from anything at my age! Got word yesterday that I have sucessfully completed the National Genealogical Society's Homestudy Genealogy Course. It was a lot of work (16 genealogy research projects) but worth it - I learned a lot. Also, I was accepted into the National Institute on Genealogical Research's 2009 Summer Program - it is one week (July 12 - 17) at the National Archives in Washington, DC. I am really looking forward to attending.
Major dust storm here today. Bad time of year here - hot, windy and dusty.
Major dust storm here today. Bad time of year here - hot, windy and dusty.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
BEAUTY CORNER
Our tiny backyard is in full bloom now! The oleander (white flowers) have a great fragrance. The bourganvillea is actually planted on the other side of the wall - it came over. Andy put up the sunshade, as you can see, to try and protect my tomatoes (back wall of photo) but they are starting to die from the heat.
Our maid made dinner for us last night - shrimp curry - it was so good! She also made some crepe like things out of coconut milk that were very tasty. Of course our propane gas tank ran empty while she was cooking. There are 2 back there and I swear we had one full one and one we were working on (we probably did have an extra full one - they are notorious for leaking!)Couldn't get a new cylinder delivered right away so she had to go to neighboring friends to finish cooking. I got one new cylinder this AM (won't buy two cause I am leaving).
Very dusty and windy outside today. Think of opening the oven and having a blast of gritty air hit you - not pleasant at all.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
WEEKEND IN DOHA
Erin & Friends Lemonade Stand
Pie Making
Typical scene here! No spare tire, plastic seat covers, and rearview mirror at an angle so man can "watch himself" as he drives.
Still working on the "Moving Motivation." But had a pleasant weekend with pies (trying to use up stuff before we move - in this case it was Crisco), lemonade stand, a farewell party and street watching.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
MOVING THOUGHTS
Having difficulty getting motivated to go through stuff in the house in preparation for moving. Am trying to break it down into a little each day. Yesterday I did my Girl Scout stuff, today I should do my closet. We are, once again, up in the air as to where we are moving. But I doubt having an exact destination would motivate me.
Am thinking about how lucky I am to have traveled so much. How many countries have I visited? - I haven't thought about it in a long time. So, here is my list, in chronological order: Canada, France, Germany (East and West), Austria, Switzerland, Monaco, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, Iceland, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, Turkey (northern Cyprus), Venezuela, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai). Child Number One came along at Israel, Number Two at Venezuela. Of course my dear hubby has been to more places! Places I would like to visit include Mexico (OK, maybe not now, but someday), Australia, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Russia, Greece, Spain and Italy (will see part of Italy this summer). I better keep my passport up to date. And, just so you don't think I am a bad American, in the US I have been to every state except Alaska, Idaho, Washington and Vermont.
Got gas the other day - always an interesting experience. Here attendants pump your gas for you (are you old enough to remember that in the US?). Anyway - it was a broiling hot afternoon so I pulled up to the pump, put down my window, and turned off my car. Very busy gas station - 4 islands. Now, either I am the only one who turned off my engine (and air conditioner), or all the other people turned off their engines and kept their windows rolled up tight! Smoke out of tailpipes suggests the former. Out of curiosity I wrote down that I paid 62 Qatari Riyal for 77.5 liters of gas. That works out to 83 cents a gallon - wasn't all that long ago that gas in the US could be found for 99 cents a gallon.
Well I had better stop stalling and get to work.
Happy Mother's Day to All!
Am thinking about how lucky I am to have traveled so much. How many countries have I visited? - I haven't thought about it in a long time. So, here is my list, in chronological order: Canada, France, Germany (East and West), Austria, Switzerland, Monaco, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, Iceland, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, Turkey (northern Cyprus), Venezuela, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai). Child Number One came along at Israel, Number Two at Venezuela. Of course my dear hubby has been to more places! Places I would like to visit include Mexico (OK, maybe not now, but someday), Australia, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Russia, Greece, Spain and Italy (will see part of Italy this summer). I better keep my passport up to date. And, just so you don't think I am a bad American, in the US I have been to every state except Alaska, Idaho, Washington and Vermont.
Got gas the other day - always an interesting experience. Here attendants pump your gas for you (are you old enough to remember that in the US?). Anyway - it was a broiling hot afternoon so I pulled up to the pump, put down my window, and turned off my car. Very busy gas station - 4 islands. Now, either I am the only one who turned off my engine (and air conditioner), or all the other people turned off their engines and kept their windows rolled up tight! Smoke out of tailpipes suggests the former. Out of curiosity I wrote down that I paid 62 Qatari Riyal for 77.5 liters of gas. That works out to 83 cents a gallon - wasn't all that long ago that gas in the US could be found for 99 cents a gallon.
Well I had better stop stalling and get to work.
Happy Mother's Day to All!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
BIG SOCCER MATCH
Al Waab Street, Doha, Qatar
Caught these scenes driving home from the grocery store the other night. Apparently a big soccer match later that evening at the stadium near our house. (Qatar is full of large, elaborate, expensive, sports stadiums. The Qataris like to watch sports and sponsor lots of events here - not sure how much they play themselves.) These young men were apparently fans on their way to the match. They were weaving all over the road. If they saw me taking pictures they didn't care. Anyway, about 9:30 that evening I was in bed reading and heard what sounded like WWIII going on outside - fireworks over the stadium.
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