Out With the Old, and In With the New
I would like to say a big thank you to the people who read this little, insignificant blog of mine. My last post (http://halfieinkuwait.blogspot.com/2013/11/nights-to-remember.html) was viewed (SHOCKINGLY) 602 times...What?? WHY?!? Hahaha! Okay, so, as you can tell, I haven't fallen back in love with writing, but I have fallen in love with a few things since I posted last month.
November was crazy at work, and so when I came home I was pooped and blogging seemed unappealing. I apologize. I focused on exercising, reading and trying to adjust to the weather change. I also was a bit preoccupied as my SIM card broke (again). This is #3 from Zain and I will never use their services again. To make matters worse, it seemed as if my sturdy Blackberry Bold 9700 was starting to die. I went without a phone for weeks before I stopped being stubborn and went out and purchased a new Blackberry Q5 and had to ask a friend to purchase a SIM card (from Wataniya) because I still do NOT have my residency...Let's not even go there (but oh, we will). Armed with a new phone and SIM card, I was ready to take on the world. I also MacGyvered my SIM card by cutting it to size (I had to make it a micro SIM). Unfortunately, I lost a lot of contacts and somehow old contacts that I'd deleted (like my ex and the other halfie), suddenly re-appeared. Ugh. I'm still missing contact info for some people in Canada and Kuwait, but I hope people will contact me via email or Facebook.
So, let me explain my beef about my residency. I have been here for awhile, as you know, and I still do not have my residency. First I needed another, NEWER police record check (which I obtained while I was in Canada during Ramadan). Then I didn't have enough empty pages in my passport (I was told by a superior that I had enough, only to be told by the government that I needed 6, not 5 empty pages. Lovely). So, I called the Canadian embassy in Kuwait and explained the situation. Because my passport wasn't going to expire for another 3 years and I still had 5 empty pages, they refused to issue a new passport. I literally begged the woman on the line to see if an exception could be made. Thanks to that amazing woman I was able to apply for a new passport. I picked the new passport up a month ago and I'm still without residency and the ability to travel. Thank God I didn't book tickets to Canada for Christmas...Let's not even go there (and I mean that).
Thank God November passed quickly. Other than purchasing a new, overpriced (but unlocked!) phone, I did get out a bit :) November consisted of a lot of walking/jogging since the weather has cooled down. I feel really good!!! Since there's no daylight savings here, walking alone at night isn't realistic. By the time I get home from work (about 4:15pm), the sun is already setting and it gets dark before I can complete a good walk/jog. On these days, I hit the treadmill in the gym downstairs and on weekends I venture outside. Unfortunately, the last time I worked out I accidentally dropped my iPod and now the screen is shattered, it only works sometimes and my headphones were ripped out of my ears and one literally was detached from the cord/wire. Yay. I know what I'm getting myself for Christmas!
The Georgian lady I met every weekend save one in November. We ended up shopping even though we were actually on the hunt for a location to hold a baby shower since one of the instructors at the uni is pregnant and another instructor's wife is pregnant and both women are here only with their immediate families. I will, no doubt, miss my best friend's wife's baby shower (as if it isn't bad enough that I missed his wedding), and I feel the need to spread some good cheer. These women are awesome and I want them to have something nice to remember about their pregnancies in Kuwait. The Georgian lady and I went to 360˚ Mall this past weekend and confirmed a spot there and I'm SOOO excited! We're going to hold the baby shower at Ladurée at the beginning of next year! The Georgian and I sampled beverages and sweets, decided on the basic menu items and took pictures of the desserts so we could finalize our decisions after sampling more at home!!! The manager, a very professional and kind gentleman, assisted us a great deal and everything we ate was on the house! I was very impressed considering other food establishments were unwilling to work with us to create a menu/event that suited our taste(s) and were going to overcharge us.
*All pictures are from the following website: http://www.bombasticlife.com/place/kuwait/laduree__360_mall_kuwait.html
Not only did I gorge on food this weekend, but I also did so a week ago...The Irish chef and I were invited to an American Thanksgiving get together at an American couple's home. I made homemade cranberry sauce (my absolute favourite dish to make at Thanksgiving and Christmas...Yes, we make a HUGE turkey dinner twice in the the span of three months!). I found fresh cranberries and organic sugar at Lulu Hypermarket (LOVE that place!), grated orange rind, and added 100% orange juice, not from concentrate, with no added sugars (like we needed anymore). I worked to music (this was before the iPod broke); the sauce simmered. It smelled so good! It made me homesick. It made me excited for the evening's festivities!
The result was a HUGE potluck-style dinner complete with Filipino food (the lady is from he Philippines) catered by Mario's in Fahaheel-oh, yeah, I'm SOOO going there-TWO huge turkeys with stuffing, ACTUAL bbq'd pork sausages and ribs (the gentleman works for the American military and can get pork!) and sweets galore! Oh, what a night! We were joined by a TON of other guests and, it was revealed that the real reason we were (supposed to be) celebrating was because the couple had planned to wed only a few days prior. Unfortunately, they were not permitted to marry because of a missing stamp on some document that needed to come from the U.S. and so they'd had to postpone. We celebrated their upcoming nuptials anyway!!! There was a Christmas tree, big smiles and great conversation. I've realized that I'm missing gatherings. Thank goodness for the baby shower :)
The weeked before the Thanksgiving dinner I had gone out to sample cakes with the Georgian lady before we knew where we were going to have the baby shower. Being rather hungry, we went to The Village in Abu Al Hasani (a short drive from Mahboula). We ate at the Japanese restaurant Méli Mélo. The ambiance at The Village is nice because most eateries have outdoor seating and there is actually some plants around. The water fountain on the opposite side is also quite pretty.
From, http://www.ilsul6ana.com/2012/01/22/feature-munch-new-branch/
I have had a bit of a frustrating month, but I should add that it's still been a great month in spite of crazy flooding (I drove through it with my co-worker and our 10-minute drive took us an hour and ten minutes!), socializing, planning the shower and eating...A lot...As always.
November was crazy at work, and so when I came home I was pooped and blogging seemed unappealing. I apologize. I focused on exercising, reading and trying to adjust to the weather change. I also was a bit preoccupied as my SIM card broke (again). This is #3 from Zain and I will never use their services again. To make matters worse, it seemed as if my sturdy Blackberry Bold 9700 was starting to die. I went without a phone for weeks before I stopped being stubborn and went out and purchased a new Blackberry Q5 and had to ask a friend to purchase a SIM card (from Wataniya) because I still do NOT have my residency...Let's not even go there (but oh, we will). Armed with a new phone and SIM card, I was ready to take on the world. I also MacGyvered my SIM card by cutting it to size (I had to make it a micro SIM). Unfortunately, I lost a lot of contacts and somehow old contacts that I'd deleted (like my ex and the other halfie), suddenly re-appeared. Ugh. I'm still missing contact info for some people in Canada and Kuwait, but I hope people will contact me via email or Facebook.
Out with the old and in with the new ;)
So, let me explain my beef about my residency. I have been here for awhile, as you know, and I still do not have my residency. First I needed another, NEWER police record check (which I obtained while I was in Canada during Ramadan). Then I didn't have enough empty pages in my passport (I was told by a superior that I had enough, only to be told by the government that I needed 6, not 5 empty pages. Lovely). So, I called the Canadian embassy in Kuwait and explained the situation. Because my passport wasn't going to expire for another 3 years and I still had 5 empty pages, they refused to issue a new passport. I literally begged the woman on the line to see if an exception could be made. Thanks to that amazing woman I was able to apply for a new passport. I picked the new passport up a month ago and I'm still without residency and the ability to travel. Thank God I didn't book tickets to Canada for Christmas...Let's not even go there (and I mean that).
Thank God November passed quickly. Other than purchasing a new, overpriced (but unlocked!) phone, I did get out a bit :) November consisted of a lot of walking/jogging since the weather has cooled down. I feel really good!!! Since there's no daylight savings here, walking alone at night isn't realistic. By the time I get home from work (about 4:15pm), the sun is already setting and it gets dark before I can complete a good walk/jog. On these days, I hit the treadmill in the gym downstairs and on weekends I venture outside. Unfortunately, the last time I worked out I accidentally dropped my iPod and now the screen is shattered, it only works sometimes and my headphones were ripped out of my ears and one literally was detached from the cord/wire. Yay. I know what I'm getting myself for Christmas!
The Georgian lady I met every weekend save one in November. We ended up shopping even though we were actually on the hunt for a location to hold a baby shower since one of the instructors at the uni is pregnant and another instructor's wife is pregnant and both women are here only with their immediate families. I will, no doubt, miss my best friend's wife's baby shower (as if it isn't bad enough that I missed his wedding), and I feel the need to spread some good cheer. These women are awesome and I want them to have something nice to remember about their pregnancies in Kuwait. The Georgian lady and I went to 360˚ Mall this past weekend and confirmed a spot there and I'm SOOO excited! We're going to hold the baby shower at Ladurée at the beginning of next year! The Georgian and I sampled beverages and sweets, decided on the basic menu items and took pictures of the desserts so we could finalize our decisions after sampling more at home!!! The manager, a very professional and kind gentleman, assisted us a great deal and everything we ate was on the house! I was very impressed considering other food establishments were unwilling to work with us to create a menu/event that suited our taste(s) and were going to overcharge us.
*All pictures are from the following website: http://www.bombasticlife.com/place/kuwait/laduree__360_mall_kuwait.html
The entrance
The view from the back of the restaurant
The view from above
My pics: the spread! Eat up, girls!!!
1/3 of the pastry case
2/3 of the pastry case
3/3 of the pastry case...HOW are we supposed to only choose a few of these to serve?!?
Not only did I gorge on food this weekend, but I also did so a week ago...The Irish chef and I were invited to an American Thanksgiving get together at an American couple's home. I made homemade cranberry sauce (my absolute favourite dish to make at Thanksgiving and Christmas...Yes, we make a HUGE turkey dinner twice in the the span of three months!). I found fresh cranberries and organic sugar at Lulu Hypermarket (LOVE that place!), grated orange rind, and added 100% orange juice, not from concentrate, with no added sugars (like we needed anymore). I worked to music (this was before the iPod broke); the sauce simmered. It smelled so good! It made me homesick. It made me excited for the evening's festivities!
Ready, set, cook!
Not appealing
It doesn't look like much, but even my aunt-who doesn't like cranberry sauce-will eat mine :)
The result was a HUGE potluck-style dinner complete with Filipino food (the lady is from he Philippines) catered by Mario's in Fahaheel-oh, yeah, I'm SOOO going there-TWO huge turkeys with stuffing, ACTUAL bbq'd pork sausages and ribs (the gentleman works for the American military and can get pork!) and sweets galore! Oh, what a night! We were joined by a TON of other guests and, it was revealed that the real reason we were (supposed to be) celebrating was because the couple had planned to wed only a few days prior. Unfortunately, they were not permitted to marry because of a missing stamp on some document that needed to come from the U.S. and so they'd had to postpone. We celebrated their upcoming nuptials anyway!!! There was a Christmas tree, big smiles and great conversation. I've realized that I'm missing gatherings. Thank goodness for the baby shower :)
This was what we saw when we walked into their flat!
Hello, food! You look mighty tasty! Nom, nom, nom!
I didn't think I was missing pork until I had one of those sausages and then it was all over for me!
The weeked before the Thanksgiving dinner I had gone out to sample cakes with the Georgian lady before we knew where we were going to have the baby shower. Being rather hungry, we went to The Village in Abu Al Hasani (a short drive from Mahboula). We ate at the Japanese restaurant Méli Mélo. The ambiance at The Village is nice because most eateries have outdoor seating and there is actually some plants around. The water fountain on the opposite side is also quite pretty.
From, http://www.ilsul6ana.com/2012/01/22/feature-munch-new-branch/
I tried a mango cake and pistachio cake and neither were impressive to me. They were single-serving sizes, so maybe the bigger cakes are better??? I don't know.
The sushi wasn't bad here and the portions/sizes were decent :)
I think the Georgian Lady and I like salmon and seafood!!!
I swear this pattern is the exact same one that I found at the 100 yen store in Japan (like a dollar store in Canada).
The menu
The view of the restaurant. Beautiful weather!!!
The restaurant looked quite nice inside!
Trying to escape the water by driving onto the sidewalk as it quickly rose. Since there's no real sewage system here, everything floods VERY fast!
This was when it started to get really bad :S
It never fails: There is always at least ONE accident/day in this country. Horrible.
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