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المشهد المجتمعي مثير للمفارقة بين الكويت والسعودية.
في الكويت، حيث البرلمان والديمقراطية والجماعات السياسية والصوت العالي وتاريخ المسرح والفنون، تتنادى مجموعة من نواب البرلمان وحشد من شيوخ الإسلاميين لمناصرة خطيب ديني سعودي مُنع من دخول الكويت، حسب آخر روايات الحكومة، خوفا من إثارة الفتنة الطائفية، بعد تهجم هذا الشيخ، محمد العريفي، على مرجع الشيعة علي السيستاني.
قرأت بيان هؤلاء الكويتيين في الصحافة الكويتية، جلهم غير مشاهير، ولكن بيانهم متجه نحو وجهة واحدة: المناصرة من موقع طائفي، وعزز هذه المناصرة الدينية مناورات سياسية لفظية كقول بعض نواب الإسلاميين، وليد الطبطبائي، إن هذه مشكلة بين العراقيين وشيخ سعودي، «شدخل الكويت؟!». وبعض النواب يسن سكاكينه لمحاسبة الحكومة على هذا المنع «المحرم» للعريفي.
بداية من حق أي دولة في العالم منع من ترى أجهزتها الأمنية أنه يسبب مشكلة وقلاقل في البلاد ويضر بأمنها العام، ولذلك منعت الحكومة الكويتية في وقت سابق رجل الدين الشيعي الإيراني محمد الفالي، لأنه كان يمارس التهييج الطائفي ويلقي خطبا متعصبة ضد السنة، في بلد صغير محتقن بالتعصب الطائفي خصوصا في الأعوام الأخيرة، وبسبب منع الفالي غضبت فعاليات شيعية كويتية، والآن يشعر أنصار الفالي بأنهم «سجلوا هدف التعادل» في مباراة الطائفية مع خصومهم بمنع العريفي من دخول الكويت، ردا على منع الفالي في وقت سابق.
مشهد مخيف، والحكومة، أي حكومة في العالم، لا تستطيع التفرج على مباراة تعصب دموية تفتت البلاد وهي لا تحرك ساكنا، أسهل الحلول هو منع هذا الطرف وذاك الطرف كنوع من فض الاشتباك المؤقت، لكن هذا الحل غير كاف، وسيستدعي المزيد من الاحتشاد لرد الضربة وتسجيل هدف الفوز حتى تنطلق صافرة الحكم معلنة نهاية الوقت، وقت الجميع، وربما نهاية السلم الاجتماعي معها لتثور ثائرة الجماهير المشاغبة التي لم ترض بنتيجة المباراة فتحرق وتكسر وتضرب وترمي بشرر.. كما يجري عادة من متعصبي الجماهير.
للأسف، جماهير الشيعة والسنة، في الكويت وغيرها، ينشغلون بتصفية الحسابات التاريخية وتبيان من هو الأحق والأهدى طريقا وماذا جرى في التاريخ قبل أكثر من 1400 سنة، رغم أن مشكلاتنا هي «الآن»، وحول قضايا تتصل ببناء الأوطان وبناء الحاضن الاجتماعي الفكري للجميع، وترميم فكرة الوطنية والمواطن بعدما تمزقت مزقا بين الطائفية والعشائرية والإقليمية والعرقية، وأصبح الحديث في بلد مثل العراق أو اليمن أو الصومال أو أفغانستان، عن الرابطة الوطنية الواحدة، أصبح حديثا يبعث على الضحك ولكنه ضحك كالبكا.
بالعودة إلى مفارقة الكويت العجيبة، كيف نفهم أن يزايد تلاميذ المشايخ على أساتذتهم، كما يتحدث كثير من طلبة العلم الديني في الكويت عن تلقيهم العلم من مشايخ السعودية، دلالة على صحة المنهج، يزايدون ليس في مسألة منع العريفي فقط، فهي مسألة ربما تفهم في سياق التراشق الشيعي السني داخل الكويت، وهو تراشق لا تبدو له نهاية منظورة، أسوة بالعراق الجار الجريح، لكن في مسألة أهم لا علاقة لها بالصراع الطائفي، أعني مسألة المرأة.
قبل ذلك أشير إلى أنني أدرك أن قطاعا عريضا من «طلبة العلم» من إسلاميي السعودية يناصرون كل طرح متشدد ويحاربون كل طرح تسامحي جديد، لكن يظل هذا حراكا مفهوما داخل الحالة السعودية، غير المفهوم هو حماسة الرد من إسلاميي الكويت على مجتهدي السعودية من المشايخ، فهذه حماسة غريبة، وعجيبة من عجائب الزمان.
الكل راقب في السعودية هذا الحراك الإيجابي والمثير داخل صفوف المشايخ وطلبة العلم الديني حول مسألة المرأة ودورها في المجتمع ورفع الإصر والقيود الوهمية عليها، وكانت الذروة في تصريحات الشيخ أحمد بن قاسم الغامدي رئيس هيئات الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر في منطقة مكة المكرمة، ليست تصريحات فقط بل دراسة شاملة حول مفهوم «الاختلاط» الذي يتذرع به كثير من أنصار التضييق على المرأة ودورها وفرصها في العلم والتنمية، فكانت الإضافة القوية لهذا الشيخ هي في إثباته أن الاختلاط مفهوم محدث و«مبتدع» في الفقه الإسلامي، وأنه لا يعلق على الاختلاط حكم بالتحريم أو الإباحة، فمجرد الاختلاط لا يتعلق به حكم بل بما يضاف إليه من أوصاف وظروف.. وهكذا في دراسة على حلقات نقد بها التشدد في موضوع الاختلاط، نشرت في صحيفة «عكاظ» السعودية المحلية، وبطبيعة الحال لاقت دراسته ردود فعل مؤيدة ومعارضة، هذا شيء طبيعي ومعروف عند كل إنسان يأتي باجتهاد ورؤية مخالفة للمألوف، وما قام به رجل قيادي في جهاز ديني رقابي مثير مثل جهاز الهيئات وفي منطقة ذات مكانة معنوية كبرى لدى المسلمين هي منطقة مكة، يحمل الكثير من الدلالات والإيحاءات، لذلك ما زالت اجتهادات الشيخ الغامدي محل نقاش وتجاذبات، الغامدي لم ينفرد بهذا الكلام بين رجال الصف الديني العلمي، بل قال مثل ذلك، بأكثر من صيغة، أكثر من شيخ وفقيه منهم القاضي الشيخ عبد اللطيف الحارثي الذي صرح بكلام سهل وسلس بأن الاختلاط: «كلمة حديثة وذات مفهوم متسع، ولا يناسب أن نعطيها حكم المنع بشكل عام ومطلق دون تفصيل، فلفظ الاختلاط مضطرب وغير دقيق متى حُكم بأنه محرمٌ جملة وتفصيلا، إذ وجد من يقول: إن الاختلاط محرمٌ أشد تحريم، وهذا من القول على الله بلا علم، ومن الاستعجال في الأحكام بلا دليل، فلا بد من السبر والتقسيم وإعطاء كل جزئية حكمها الصحيح».
أهمية مثل هذه المواقف من مثل هؤلاء الرجال في مثل هذا الوقت والمكان، هي أنها تساعد كثيرا في تذليل العقبات المعنوية والنفسية لدى المجتمع وتسهم في دفع عجلة التنمية والأهم أنها «تطبع» وضع المرأة المسلمة في مجتمعها السعودي وتختار الأيسر والأسلم من سلة الاجتهادات الفقهية في هذا الزمن، وكالعادة هناك من يكره الجديد ويحذر من التغيير ويظن به الظنون، ولا يجد له مخرجا إلا بأن يتفّه أو يشوه هذه الاجتهادات حتى يظل المجتمع كما هو في نظره.
يظل هذا حراكا صحيا في بلد ضخم ومجتمع ثري مثل السعودية، نحن الآن في خضم هذه الاجتهادات والنقاشات التي هي دلالة حيوية المجتمع وتفاعله مع زمانه، لكن المثير في الكويت التي يفخر كثير من مثقفيها بحريتها ونموذجها السياسي، وهو أمر صحيح وفخر في محله، لذلك يطرح السؤال: كيف تمضي ساعة المجتمع السعودي باتجاه معاكس لساعة المجتمع الكويتي؟
هناك في الكويت، وليس في السعودية، من تصدى للهجوم على الشيخ الغامدي وأمثاله، في مسألة الاختلاط، وقالوا بأنها انحراف عن الصواب والهدى، أو بما معناه، وهو ما يعني أنهم يريدون المزيد من التشديد على المرأة الكويتية في اللحظة التي وصلت المرأة الكويتية فيها إلى قبة البرلمان.. أي فوضى فكرية وفقهية هذه؟!
كيف يريد هؤلاء اختزال الإسلام في قائمة من التحريمات والمحظورات، في حرب الشرعية والفضيلة وبرمجة عقل المجتمع على إيقاع تحريمي مرتاب؟
كيف ارتد العقل من حماسة العقل والانفتاح والإبداع إلى ما نراه اليوم من صراعات طائفية وغضب من دراسة شيخ سعودي يريد التيسير على المرأة المسلمة، ضمن الشرع؟
أمر غريب فعلا ما نراه من تقلبات الأيام، وللمفارقة أيضا، كنت أقرأ هذه الأيام مختارات من مجلة الكويت انتقاها المؤلف خالد الزيد وأغلبها بقلم مؤسس المجلة الشيخ عبد العزيز الرشيد الذي أسسها (1928)، وهو من رموز الإصلاح الديني في الكويت بل وفي الخليج كله، هو وشيخه يوسف القناعي الذي كان من أنصار التحديث والإصلاح ومحاربي التزمت والجمود، ولاقى الشيخ وتلميذه عنتا من أنصار التعصب، حتى إن التلميذ غادر بلده فترة ما، وقد هدد بالقتل. أقرأ في هذه المجلة قبل أكثر من ثمانين عاما مقالات تنضح بالاعتدال والتسامح والشعر والأدب والأمل بمستقبل منير.. ليت الشيخ الرشيد يبعث من رقدته ليرى أي شواغل وهموم ينشغل بها الفاعلون السياسيون.
المشكلة في الحقيقة ليست مشكلة الكويت، بل هي مجرد مثال على هذه المشكلة، فما يجري في العراق أدهى وأمر، وما يجري في الساحة الشيعية عموما ليس إلا ازدهارا مريعا لأحقاد التاريخ والتفكير الأسطوري، ومن يراقب الفضائيات الأصولية، يرى العجب العجاب من تخدير العقول وبعث الأحقاد.
هي مفارقة فقط أردت الوقوف عليها بين زمن حي ويتحرك، ولو ببطء، وهو زمن المجتمع السعودي نحو التجديد، وبين زمن آخر، مجاور، جامد وخائف، وللقارئ أن يفسر هذه المفارقة، أنا أدونها فقط.. والأمل يغمرني بغد أبهى وأعقل للجميع.
Thanks Henrik!
I am craving soft eggs which I don’t think I’ve had since the 80s. It’s all because I found this really cool guide on how to make the perfect soft eggs awhile back and since then I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. I should try making some tomorrow. [Link]
DHL for the third time now have changed the way they calculate your shipment. I spoke to them on the phone and they have now started charging based on volumetric weight which means they’re now MUCH MORE expensive than Aramex Shop & Ship. Even if you deduct taxes unless its something very expensive you’re much better off using Aramex. To give you an idea of how expensive DHL has become, a reader just paid KD31 for a package that weighs just 1.3KG!
Until they go back to calculating based on actual weight I will be using Aramex again. At least with Aramex they don’t change their pricing structure on a monthly basis….
Update: I just realized something. DHL didn’t email, sms or call anyone regarding their price changes. They just randomly came up with a new payment system and expects everyone just to abide by it. Lots of people ordered stuff to their DHL mailbox expecting to pay a certain price only to find out they now have to pay triple that. Is that fair?
Can anyone recommend a good crêpe place in Kuwait? Somewhere where I can have a Nutella and banana crêpe that looks like the picture below. I took this pictures in Lebanon on my last visit.
The first three directors are very cool (Tarantino, Lynch and Wes Anderson). The last directors I have no idea who they are. [Link]
This is why I love YouTube, you find completely random useless videos which you end up watching. This one is of a guy in Kuwait trying to break some sort of random record… eating 7 Ferrero Rocher chocolates in under a minute. Location: Gas Station! [YouTube]
PS: I can EASILY eat 7 Rochers in a minute!
Update: Just tried it. It is more difficult then I expected but I managed to eat 6 rochers in 46.97 seconds (just got two packs of 3). I unwrapped them all first since it’s a waste of time to unwrap with the clock ticking. The hardest part is the chewing. I think I could even swallow faster the next time i try this.
In case you want to replicate this test. Start the stop watch then grab the first Rocher. Stop the stop watch once you finish swallowing all the Rochers.
Last year after I found out I had an acid reflux problem I decided I wanted to post healthier lifestyle related posts on my blog. Since then I’ve done it maybe three times and the posts weren’t that great. Recently though when I posted about my new diet plan and gym membership with Core Fitness, both posts hit nearly 100 comments. Most of that had to do with the fact the owner of the gym was interacting with many of you, answering your questions.
Since it seems many of you are interested in a better and healthier lifestyle, I decided to invite Fahad the owner as a guest blogger here. He will be posting about healthier lifestyle related posts and he should be able to answer most of your questions. I’ve also created a new blog category called Healthier Lifestyle in which all these healthy lifestyle posts will be archived. His first post is located below and expect more to come.
Note: Also check the new blog I added to my blog list recently called Eat Like Mira which is also health related [Link]
A lot of doctors, nutritionists, specialists, professionals and gurus preach to people on what’s right and what’s wrong. Everyone has an opinion and everyone has their own methods of approach. My approach is to guide as much people as I possibly can to a healthier lifestyle.
The transition into this lifestyle will not be easy, but with practice comes perfection; and perfection in this specific case might take years. I have researched, practiced, experimented (on myself) and experienced all the methods that I will be providing this blog. Whatever I will be providing has taken me 7 years to accomplish. However, the more I know, the more complicated it gets, which is where you differentiate the men from the boys.
My posts will start from scratch in order to welcome all beginners into a healthier lifestyle. Blogs will provide anything and everything that has to do with the world of health and fitness. I’ll also be reviewing restaurants whilst giving recommendations on what to eat and what to avoid. Moreover, I’ll be reviewing nutritional supplements.
Lastly, free free to to ask questions in regards to health and fitness, which will be answered at a separate Q&A post.
Here is to a healthier lifestyle and a new beginning.
Posted by Fahad AlYehya
Core Fitness – Kuwait
I went back to Tamiya today to try out their crawling trail which is made for RC cars that are meant for rock climbing. The trail was made with a combination of plaster and wood and although challenging in some places I found it a bit tiny and too easy. It’s a great idea but too short a trail so I am hoping they have plans to extend it or make a larger one. For now will stick to Bnaider for crawling.
Someone forgot to pull the handbrakes… [YouTube]
One of my best friends bought a Tamiya car so we went over to the Tamiya track at the Tilal Complex in Shuwaikh to race our cars on their track. I wouldn’t call what we did racing since it was more like a destruction derby but it was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.
It was my first time using their new outdoor track and it’s amazing. A lot of nice curves, a good long straight and best of all they have 4 charging stations for our batteries. That means if you have two batteries you could race with one while charging the other and keep swapping for unlimited fun. It costs KD1 to use their track but its really worth it. I later noticed they have a small trail for the Tamiya crawlers so I will pass by tomorrow to try that out. It also turns out tomorrow is an off-road day which means they turn the track into an off-road one with jumps and stuff. I will be taking my Tamiya Frog to try that out as well.
My car shell has taken a lot of abuse from me so I decided to pick one up on the way out. I picked up a Ford Escort Cosworth which is actually my 4th favorite car ever (the first is the Lancia Delta Integrale), Going to paint it this week and hopefully race it next Friday.
Not going to attach a picture so I don’t ruin the surprise. I am trying to figure out what they sell or where to start from and I can’t figure it out! Oh and make sure you raise your computer volume for the full effect. [Link]
Here is another photography related post. This one is a collection of photographs called Happy Accidents in which the photographer Matt Stuart captures a moment in which strange/interesting things are happening. Some are a bit too subtle and fly over my head but most of them are easy to catch. You can check the colection [Here]
Note: When you get to the site click on the photograph to flip between them…
Martin Becka a photographer that uses a special printing/processing technique to make images look as though they were taken back in 1880. His recent project features picture of Dubai and the one above specifically is of Burj Dubai. All his pictures have the same outdated feel and it’s obviously very strange seeing something so modern but looking very old at the same time. He has more pictures which you can see [Here]
Registration is now open for entry into the fifth annual dog show. The show will take place in the beautiful gardens of the British Embassy on Friday March 5th from 11AM to 4PM. I’ve been to their first and second annual dog show and it was a lot of fun. I only missed out on the other two because I was out of the country. It’s very well organized and it’s really great having an event like this in Kuwait. I always sign up my dog to the different categories and even though he always ends failing miserably we still have a really good time. Here is a link to pictures I took at their first annual dog show back in 2006 when my dog was still just a puppy then. [Link]
For more information on the dog show and all the proper forms needed visit the PAWS blog [Here]
Please note that even if you are not entering a dog in the show and just want to go to the event to hang out, you still have to pre-register because it’s being held at the British Embassy. You can’t just show up at the gate and walk in, you need to be pre-registered to be let in.
Seems Arwa has gotten a face lift. A new water bottle and label design is going to be introduced, and compared to the previous bottle, it looks better. It’s not a great redesign but its better than before.
Here is the calendar for Cinemagic’s rooftop movie nights for February. Starting this month they will start charging KD1 for the venue fees including refreshments, popcorn and much more. There are lots of good movies this month, here is the list:
Thursday, February 4th
OUTSOURCED, USA/CANADA 2006
Director: John Jeffcoat
Genre: Comedy | 103 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 13
Saturday, February 6th
WHEN MARIAM SPOKE, LEBANON 2001
Director: Asad Fouladkar
Genre: Drama | 98 min | English Subtitle
Rated: 15+
Thursday, February 11th
UNDERGROUND, SERBIA 1995
Director: Emir Kusturica
Genre: Comedy | 170 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 15
Saturday, February 13th
SURPRISE FILM
Thursday, February 18th
HOUSE OF GAMES, USA 1987
Director: David Mamet
Genre: Thriller | 102 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 13
Saturday, February 20th
REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, USA 2000
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Genre: Adventure | Mystery | 102 min | English Subtitle
Rated: 18
Thursday, February 25th
CORPSE BRIDE, USA 2005
Director: Tim Burton
Genre: Animation | Drama | 80 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 13
Saturday, February 27th
SOPHIE SCHOLL: THE FINAL DAYS, GERMANY 2005
Director: Mark Rothemund
Genre: Drama | 127 min | English Subtitle
Rated: 15+
Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG. Here is a link to their facebook group [Link]
Two weeks back I posted pictures of the GulfRun guys getting their cars washed and stickers applied and now Negative Effect just released a video of that event. I’m looking forward for the video of the actual races since he had a whole bunch of FlipHD cameras setup around all the cars capturing footage from every angle. For now though you can watch this. [YouTube]
This might sound strange but this little store is probably one of my favorite shops in Kuwait. It’s called Teacher’s Cellar and it’s located in Muthana Complex in Kuwait City. The store sells classroom supplies and it’s unbelievable the amount of stuff they were able to shove into the place. It has everything from scratch and sniff stickers to fake plastic food, washable crayola paint, stamps, hand puppets you name it. It’s mostly supplies for kindergarten and primary school classes so that’s why it’s all fun stuff. It’s really an incredible little store and I wish we had more of these little specialty shops in Kuwait.
They’re located on the Mezzanine floor of Muthana Complex opposite the Internet cafe. They also have a pretty decent website which you can check out by clicking [Here]
No not really. It’s actually one of the really old Toshiba laptops displayed at the Toshiba dealer in Kuwait City. This one’s from 1993 called the T100x Dynapad. It had a 25MHz CPU, 4MB of RAM and came with a 40MB hard drive. The Toshiba dealer has this amazing display of old laptops from the 80s up till the 90s. It’s like a mini museum.
Aramex just sent an email out saying that packages over 10KG will benefit from a 30% discount. Sounds cool but in the 9 years or so I’ve been using Aramex I don’t recall ever shipping anything that heavy. How about 30% discounts on all packages no matter what the weight for customers who’ve been with Aramex for 9 years?
Found this on iLSuL6ana’s blog and supposedly this tent was found here in Kuwait. I think it’s extremely funny. [YouTube]
A reader called Haresh sent me the picture above which he took last night around 8:45PM. I checked and the picture isn’t retouched, its straight out of the camera. That looks like a pretty big lightning strike.
Picture was taken with an Olympus E-520 with an f-stop of 5.6 and shutter speed of 5 seconds. Location is Salmiya.
When I posted my water review I wasn’t expecting much interest. I just did it because I thought it would be something fun but the response was much more than I was expecting. A lot of you requested I add more details like the sodium content or where the water comes from so I went ahead and did that. I just finished a long and very cold session in front of my fridge tasting all the water and taking down notes. Since the last review I went and purchased some more water brands and I think I managed to get one bottle from everything available in the market except for the bakala waters (random unknown brands you won’t see anywhere else).
For each bottle of water I’ve now written what kind of water it is, where it’s from, the sodium content and the taste. Water to me should have no taste but some brands (like the bakala ones) have a strange flavor for some odd reason. So when you read “none” keep in mind that’s a good thing.
Finally before I share the results, most of these brands of water can be found at your regular super markets except for the following:
10 Thousand BC and Icelandic Glacial are only available at Dean & Deluca.
Fiji I’ve seen only at Dean & Deluca and sometimes at Sultan Center.
TSC, O2GO and Metro Mint only available only at Sultan Center.
Isbre isn’t available anywhere yet but will be released in the Kuwaiti market this March.
The review did reveal some surprises. The biggest for me was TSC. Turned out to be bottled in Lebanon and contains only 2.3mg of sodium. I think TSC could actually be re-branded Rim water since both are bottled in Lebanon and both contain the exact same amount of Sodium. But that’s just my theory. Between locally produced water the two I would choose over other brands are Arwa and AlRwadatain. From the more expensive brands Highland Spring seems to be the best deal and also contains just 6mg of sodium. Check out the results below.
10 Thousand BC
Pure Natural Glacier Water
Canada
Sodium: 0
Taste: Snow
0.75litre
KD4.950
Evian Special Edition
Natural Mineral Water
France
Sodium: 6.5
Taste: None
0.75litre
KD2.000
Icelandic Glacial
Natural Spring Mineral Water
Iceland
Sodium: 12
Taste: None
1.0litre
KD1.950
Voss
Natural Artesian Water
Norway
Sodium: 7
Taste: None
0.8litre
KD1.250
Fiji
Natural Artesian Water
Fiji
Sodium: 18
Taste: None
1.0litre
KD1.150
Metro Mint
Mineral Water
USA
Sodium: 0
Taste: Mint flavor, not good
0.5liter
KD0.890
Isbre
Glacier Mineral Water
Norway
Sodium: 0.5
Taste: None
1.0litre
KD0.650
O2GO
Distilled and Oxygenated Water
USA
Sodium: 0
Taste: Lemon flavor, not good
0.5litr
KD0.650
Vio
Natural Mineral Water
Germany
Sodium: 11
Taste: None
1.5litre
KD0.490
Volvic
Natural Mineral Water from Volcanoes
France
Sodium: 11.6
Taste: None
1.5litre
KD0.390
Highland Spring
Natural Mineral Water
Scotland
Sodium: 6
Taste: None
1.5litre
KD0.340
Ultra
Salts Free Water
Jordan
Sodium: 0
Taste: None
0.33litre
KD0.175
Rim
Natural Spring Mineral Water
Lebanon
Sodium: 2.3
Taste: None this time but previously had issues
1.5litre
KD0.150
ABC
Bottled Drinking Water
Kuwait
Sodium: 10
Taste: Plasticky, not good
1.5litre
KD0.120
Bambini
Water for babies
Saudi Arabia
Sodium: 0.3
Taste: None
0.33litre
KD0.120
Abraj
Pure Drinking Water
Kuwait
Sodium: 7
Taste: None
0.3litre
KD0.080
Masafi
Pure Natural Mineral Water
UAE
Sodium: 10
Taste: None
0.5liter
KD0.070
Al Rawdatain
Natural Mineral Water
Kuwait
Sodium: 10
Taste: None
0.5litre
KD0.060
TSC
Natural Spring Mineral Water
Lebanon
Sodium: 2.3
Taste: None
0.5ml
KD0.060
Aquafina
Pure Drinking Water
Kuwait
Sodium: 16
Taste: None
0.6litre
KD0.055
Arwa
Bottled Drinking Water
Kuwait
Sodium: 4
Taste: None
0.5litre
KD0.055
Nestle
Bottled Drinking Water
Saudi Arabia
Sodium: 18
Taste: None
0.33litre
KD0.050
Over the weekend I picked up an iJacket while I was shopping in Bahrain. I originally posted about it back in 2007 and then totally forgot about it until I saw it at the store.
Firstly just to be clear, I got the jacket because the jacket looks good. I was not interested in the iPod connectivity, thats just an extra benefit for me but not the reason I bought the jacket. I am not the type of person that walks around listening to music and so I won’t be using the controls on the jacket a lot. Now since I did get the jacket and I do own a number of iPods I figured I might as well give my feedback.
The iPod has a special transparent and water proof pocket on the inside of the jacket. There is a regular iPod connector in that pocket and you connect your ipod to it. The pocket also has a small opening for your headphone cable to pass through. The controls on the jacket sleeve are fairly basic, volume up and down, pause/play forward and reverse. The idea is that when its cold outside you don’t want to unzip your jacket and pull out your iPod every time you want to perform a simple command and that’s where the controls on your sleeve come to play. Without unzipping your jacket or removing your gloves you can control your iPod by just touching the buttons on the sleeve. Although I call them buttons they’re not really buttons. The part of the sleeve where the buttons are located feels exactly the same as any other part of the sleeve. No bulge or anything of that sort just the shapes of the buttons imprinted on the sleeve.
When I first tried using the controls I thought I had a malfunctioning jacket since the buttons didn’t work. Then I found out that the jacket auto-locks the controls after 8 seconds of no use and to unlock the controls you have to hold down on the unlock button for 5 seconds. That’s the biggest issue I have with the jacket… the auto-lock feature. It makes the jacket unpractical. Imagine you’re listening to music and then a friend wants to tell you something. To pause the iPod you need to hold down on the unlock button for 5 seconds and then hit the pause button. So it takes at least 6 seconds to pause the iPod which is silly. You know how sometimes one track plays a lot louder than others? Well you need to wait 5 seconds for the buttons to unlock before you could quickly lower the volume to a decent listening level.
That’s why I’m giving the jacket a 2 out of 5. The auto-lock feature is the dumbest idea ever. There is no reason to have it since I can’t imagine the buttons being pressed accidentally unless someone grabs you from your arm and how often does that happen? I’ve already emailed Zegna asking if there is a way to disable the auto-lock but I doubt there is. As a jacket the iJacket is very comfortable and great looking. As an iPod controller it sucks big time because the auto-lock makes it impossible to use. Now a cool feature I would use a lot if it was included would be iPod/iPhone charging. I know there are a few jackets out there that do that but currently the iJacket doesn’t which sucks. I’m hoping if there will ever be an iJacket 2.0 it will.
I spent most of the day today walking from one track corner to another trying to find the best to take pictures from. I finally found a spot that had green grass and some green painted pavement which I thought added some much needed color to the shots and so I ended up taking most of my shots there. I took around 400 shots today but here are some of my favorites right now. Like yesterday these are just a sample of shots, once I am done going through all my shots I will upload them all to flickr.
Just finished what has to be a 5 out of 5 burger. I’m staying at the Ritz Carlton here in Bahrain and just tried the room service burger and now I am regretting not having it yesterday or the day before. Luckily it’s still 8:30PM so I think I can fit another dinner before I go to sleep. I can’t wait…
Update: Had a second burger and was able to take a picture this time which I just added to the post above. I am full.
I took a bunch of pictures today and the ones below are my favorite at the moment. I might find some more interesting ones later but have some things I need to do now. Tomorrow is the second day of GulfRun5 and they will be racing on a different track which I think looks visually more interesting so I should get better shots tomorrow.
GulfRun5 starts tomorrow so I am at the airport now waiting for my flight to Bahrain. I think a few bloggers are going to be there as well since Blushberry posted that he’s already there and p0ach posted that he is driving there. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
The picture above looks cool, nothing extraordinary but it looks like it was taken on Mars. Then you read the description and it says:
Paprika Mars. Made out of 12 pounds paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder and charcoal
Matthew Albanese is a miniature photographer, he builds small-scale landscapes and then lights them up realistically to give the viewers the impressions they’re real. The one above is just one of his photos, you should see the rest of his stuff [Here]
A very beautiful time-lapse video of Dubai. [Vimeo]
I’ve posted a number of times about the dancing Filipino inmates (here, here and here) and it seems Michael Jackson was also a fan and used to watch their videos during his breaks. Travis Payne who was Michael Jackson’s choreographer decided he would fly over to the Philippines and teach the prisoners his routine from the film “This is it”. The result? Check out the video above. [YouTube]
Here is a link to the article on [Yahoo]
Thanks T!
I noticed the Google Kuwait page now has a Kuwait Occasion Google logo on top. Google changes the logo on special occasions and when you click on those occasion logos you get information about that event. On clicking the Google Kuwait logo you get a search for “Kuwait’s National Day”. I think someone at Google mixed up the dates. The Kuwait occasion Google logo should be online Feb 25 and 26 but by mistake is online January 25 and 26. Unless there is some occasion today I am not aware of… [Link]
Update: Looks like I was right, it was a mistake. Google just removed the occasion logo and put back the regular Google one.
Sultan Center just got a huge supply of foam cans.
February = Hell
Well this post was going to be the ultimate water review but after drinking around 2 liters of water I threw in the towel. Other than the fact that I think I overdosed on water, they all started tasting the same after the third bottle. BUT, it didn’t go all to waste. I was able to answer the most important question… Does a KD5 bottle of water taste better than a 100fils bottle?
I picked up my bottles of water from four different sources, Dean & Deluca, Carrefour, Sultan Center Souk Sharq and Sultan Center Salmiya and I paid a total of KD17.330 for 19 bottles of water. I actually spent the bulk of that at Dean & Deluca purchasing 4 bottles of water which came out to KD11. I’ve listed all the bottles below with their prices but the KD5 bottle I will be reviewing is the one I got from Dean & Deluca called 10 Thousand BC. This is what it says on the back of the bottle:
Locked in an icy vault for over 10,000 years, this water comes from the remote and sheltered Coastal Glacier Range, that literally vibrates with the rich fragrance of health and vitality. Experience the pure, natural taste captured in 10 THOUSAND BC.
The competition? Our very own locally produced Al Rawdatain. It’s my favorite water and I like the brand a lot probably because it reminds me of my childhood. So how was it going to do against the water that comes from the beautiful coastal glacier range of British Columbia, Canada? Not very good.
You can take what I am about to say with a grain of salt since I am no water expert but the 10 Thousand BC water did taste better. I really felt like I was drinking snow, it smelled like snow and tasted like snow. Nat thinks I am losing it but I still have a bit of water left in the bottle (saving it for a special occasion like when Prince Charles comes over) to prove her wrong. The bottle looks great and the story behind the water is breathtaking. Al Rawdatain on the other hand tasted pretty normal but at 60fils its over 500 times cheaper. The Al Rawdatain water also came in a plastic bottle which although not as pretty as the 10 Thousand BC glass bottle can at least handle a fall without breaking.
So 10 Thousand BC tasted better but seriously who would buy a KD5 bottle of water to drink regularly? It’s actually one of the most expensive bottles of water in the world. I mean KD5 is an affordable luxury, anyone can afford it if they want to try it but does anyone drink it casually?
Check out the list of prices below.
10 Thousand BC KD4.950
Iskilde KD2.950
Evian Special Edition KD2.000
Icelandic Glacial KD1.950
Voss Still KD1.250
Vio KD0.490
Volvic KD0.390
Highland Spring KD0.340
Ultra KD0.175
Fiji KD1.150
Rim KD0.150
Bambini KD0.120
Al Rawdatain KD0.060
Aquafina KD0.055
Arwa KD0.055
Nestle KD0.050
Extra:
Voss Sparkling: KD0.750
Evian regular: KD0.400
Aquafina 300ml: KD0.050
Note: Please don’t take this review seriously, it’s just a bit of fun.
I just found out CNN has some 360° Videos. Basically you view a video and during the video you can turn around 360° and look up and down. If you want to try it out here is one shot in Haiti after the earthquake. It feels like you’re walking around over there. [Video]
I’ve decided to start documenting the different types of bus stops around Kuwait. Why? Because I am pissed off. I really love the old bus stops which we still have lying around randomly in different parts of Kuwait not being taken care of and left to wither away. The new bus stops on the other hand… it’s just very depressing. In any case I don’t know what I am going to do yet with this, I took some test shots yesterday just to see if there is something in this project and I think there is. What I need is some help. Does anyone have any information about the bus stops in Kuwait, like who designed which ones or the dates the different designs were introduced in Kuwait?
Last night I was invited to sneak peek a new trendy Italian restaurant called MELENZANÈ. It’s a local creation by two young Kuwaitis who put a great deal of time and effort to create what has to be the most bizarre looking restaurant I’ve seen. The concept is based around mistakes and so you have chairs that are upside down or missing legs, tables on the ceiling, tables crawling up the walls, bottles hanging out of upside down drawers.. just a completely unusual and strange setup. Very cool and it caught me by surprise since when I had checked their website before visiting the place I got the impression it was a classic Italian restaurant. Instead, I got greeted by what an Italian restaurant would look like if it was based in Alice in Wonderland.
They’re still finalizing the dishes but from what I saw and tried, they have a wide range of things to choose from and the prices seemed very reasonable. They’re not open yet but they will next month once the new Bidaa extension opens up which by the way looks amazing. I wanted to take more pictures of the restaurant but the place was dim inside so I only managed to get a few decent ones which you can see below. You can check the MELENZANÈ website but it looks and sounds nothing like the actual place. The mood, colors and music are completely different. Seriously ignore everything especially the cheesy Italian music, when I was there they were playing very cool lounge music and that’s what they will be playing generally. Here is the [Link]
Has anyone tried The Plums WOW Burger at the Ritz Carlton in Bahrain? According to the menu (screenshot above) it costs KD35. I was just wondering if anyone’s tried it and if they thought it was worth it or not. [Link]
GulfRun 5 is approaching very fast. I’m taking Thursday off so I can fly over Wednesday night to Bahrain so I could be there on Thursday and Friday for GulfRun. I missed out on GulfRun 4 but was there for GulfRun 3 and posted about it and all my pictures which I took [Here]
I will have Internet in Bahrain so will most probably be posting a daily update while there. In any case below is the list of cars that will be participating this year:
The Cars
- Audi R8
- Audi R8
- Audi RS4
- Audi RS4
- Audi S8
- BMW M3
- BMW M3
- BMW M5
- BMW M6
- BMW M6
- BMW Z4M
- Cadillac CTS-V
- Caterham G7
- Caterham G7
- Caterham G7
- Ferrari F430 – Scuderia
- Honda CR-X
- Honda S2000
- KTM X-Bow
- KTM X-Bow
- KTM X-Bow
- Lamborghini LP560-4
- Lamborghini LP640
- Lexus IS-F
- Lotus Exige-S240
- Mercedes SLR
- Mitsubishi EVO-8
- Mitsubishi EVO-X
- Mitsubishi EVO-X
- Mitsubishi EVO-8
- Nissan 350Z
- Nissan 350Z
- Nissan GTR
- Porsche Carrera GT
- Porsche Carrera S
- Porsche GT3
- Porsche GT3RS
- Porsche GT3RS
- Porsche Turbo
- Porsche Turbo
- Porsche Turbo
- Porsche Turbo
- Gemball GTR-600
- Porsche GT2
- Porsche Turbo
- Toyota Supra
- VW R32
- Westfield 210
- Westfield 210
- Westfield 210
The GulfRun Taxi’s
- Lotus 211
- Radical SR4
- Wataniya Telecom – Westfield 210
I passed by the Royce Gracie event at Al-Arabi Club. I got to meet Abdulmohsen Al Babtain who brought Royce Gracie to Kuwait and is behind the Mixed Martial Arts SideKick Academy. A pretty cool and friendly guy who is doing a really great thing for Kuwait. He also introduced me to Royce Gracie which was a jaw dropping experience.
Royce Gracie is a legend and I can’t believe he’s here in Kuwait. I was kind of star struck and didn’t know what to say but then Royce asked me where I was from and I told him Lebanon so he started telling me how he loves Lebanese food and how he might be going there this summer. I then took some photos with him and even got him to put me in a choke hold. It was a great day.
I passed by the Concours d’Elegance today at Marina Mall to check it out. Since it was Friday it was pretty packed with people but since there was lots of room and lots of cars to check out, it didn’t feel too crowded. If you haven’t passed by do so since today (Saturday) is the last day of the event.
On a similar subject, I’ve been invited to the Shiro Nakamura event which is also today. Shiro Nakamura is the Senior VP of Nissan and Infiniti worldwide. More importantly (for me at least) he is also the Chief Creative Director for Nissan and Infiniti and the guy behind the design of the Nissan GTR. Will take pictures and post about it once I get back from that event. Maybe if I’m lucky I will get to meet him.
I am about 20 years late but I finally got myself a label maker. I never owned one before but I picked one up today from Ace Hardware. I’ve been making and sticking random labels on anything and everything. At around KD3 its pretty affordable.
The Ahmadi Music Group with Kuwait Jazz Collective present the musical production of Gideon.
Gideon recounts the ancient story of the boyish warrior-prophet who rises from obscurity as the “youngest in the poorest family in the smallest tribe” of all his people. He assembles an army to defeat the Midanite oppressors, who are “like grasshoppers for multitude”. His untrained army approach their enemy under cover of darkness, holding no weapons, but only a dish, a lantern, and a trumpet. On his signal, they break the dishes, wave the lanterns, and blow the trumpets, causing confusion and panic among Midanites, and gaining a great victory. Gideon then reigns as a righteous judge for forty years.
The Ahmadi Music Group are made up of 60 plus singers from many different nationalities here in Kuwait. They will be playing at the Tarek Al Ali Theater in Maidan Hawalli. I honestly hadn’t heard of them before today neither did I know there was a theater in Maidan Hawalli so all this sounds very exciting. Should be an interesting event to go to.
They will be playing on the following dates:
7:00PM Monday 25th, January 2010
7:00PM Tuesday 26th, January 2010
7:00PM Wednesday 27th, January 2010
For tickets call 66184192
You can visit their website for more information on the group plus a map to the theater. [Link]
Supposedly 3 passengers on a flight from Mumbai to Kuwait didn’t have any seats to sit in and were made to stand for the whole flight. Kuwait Airways is denying this incident took place. Now I am not sure how reliable this news is since according to the news agency that reported this, Kuwait is located in Africa? Very weird. [Link]
Don’t know how you’re going to impress your friends this National and Liberation Day? How about with back-lit stickers! [YouTube]
Animal Friends and K’S PATH will be hosting its bi-annual Shelter Open Day where everyone is invited to come out, visit with the animals and learn all about their rescue and care. Visitors will be able to walk the dogs, cuddle the cats, play with the puppies, brush the donkeys, watch the baboons and so much more. The weather is beautiful, so come and make a day of it.
When: Friday 29 January, 2010, 11:00am to 3pm
Where: Animal Friends Shelter and K’S PATH sanctuary in Wafra
Cost: Free, although we certainly appreciate donations
Notes: Please leave your own pets at home and refreshments will be available for sale.
Huge Yard Sale — antiques, collectibles, book worm’s treasure trove, gently used infant clothing and toys, gently used adult clothes and shoes, Indonesian teak furniture, home wares, gourmet kitchen gadgets, dishes, pots and pans and so much more. Come on over and rummage through the goods and you might find a treasure. All funds will go to support Animal Friends.
When: Saturday 6 February, 2010, 10:00am to 3pm
Where: Fintas, Block 4, Street 11, House 29
Notes: Refreshments will be available for sale.
I just found an article with pictures of The Avenues Phase III and it looks completely different from Phase I and Phase II… and in a good way. The picture above is one of the shots and the caption talks about how it was designed to look like an outdoor space while the picture below is supposed to be a section that’s modeled on a traditional Kuwaiti souk and would contain an exhibit for the rich cultural heritage of Kuwait. Check out the article for more details and pictures. [Link]
Extremely funny. Watch it quickly before YouTube pulls the video. [YouTube]
I got an email yesterday from someone at Aston Martin and one thing led to another and I was invited to test drive one of their cars. So, after work I passed by the dealership which is located in the same place where Auto City used to be before they closed down. When I walked in I was completely surprised at how big the dealership was. According to them its actually the largest Aston Martin dealership in the world which I thought was pretty cool. The dealership is divided into three floors. On the top floor they have a collection of vintage Aston Martins including a very rare station wagon and an Aston Martin DB5 similar to the one from the James Bond movie Goldfinger. One the ground floor they have a large display of new cars and also a small Aston Martin boutique while the basement contained some pre-owned vehicles. After the tour I was finally led to my test vehicle, the Aston Martin Vantage. Sigh… what a beautiful car.
After a quick tour of how everything works I took off for a drive. The first thing I needed to get used to was the speedometer. With my Wrangler, when the speedometer needle is up in the middle it means I am going 100KM/h. In my Z4 when the speedometer is up in the middle it means I am going around 140KM/h. In the Aston Martin when the needle is pointing straight up you’re going 300KM/h. So I was driving thinking I was going maybe 60 or 80KM/h because the needle was still very low but then I took a look at the number next to the needle and I wish I could say how fast I was going but I don’t think I can without getting into trouble. It was very cool. Another thing I liked about the car is that it’s pretty quiet and comfortable when driving normally but as soon as you hit 4000RPM it turns into a beast like a werewolf under a full moon. Actually I think that’s what I liked most about the car, its a very comfortable day to day car when you want it to be and then step on it and you’re suddenly in a loud and aggressive sports car. I now totally understand why Jeremy Clarkson loves the Aston Martins so much.
Just before I took the car back to the dealership I decided to pass by the Avenues parking lot to take some pictures. I wish I had the car for at least a day or even a weekend but I am not going to be too greedy. They did promise me that I would get to test drive their other cars as well. So maybe the DB9 next and then a DBS after that.
Anyway if you want to check out their cars they will be on display at the Concours d’Elegance which I posted about 2 weeks back. The Concours d’Elegance is going to be held at Marina Mall and Crescent from the 20th to the 23rd. The Aston Martins will be on display near Le Notre. It’s the first time the Concours d’Elegance is being held in Kuwait so don’t miss out.
Update: Forgot to mention but the One-77 was in Kuwait 2 weeks ago!
I love burgers and I’m glad my new nutrition plan includes burgers once a week because I don’t think I could have stuck to a plan that didn’t allow room for burgers. This past weekend I headed to 360 Mall for the Gulf Run 5 car show but first I decided to have lunch at The Meat Co. I had been wanting to try their burgers ever since my first visit but I never got the chance until now. I have to say, this was the hardest burger to review and I’ll explain why below.
I got to The Meat Co. early and decided to sit on the balcony overlooking Life with Cacao and Lorenzo. The friendly waiter gave me the menu and I flipped right away to their burger section. They had 6 burgers to choose from, the Classic Burger, the Cheese Burger, the Gourmet Burger (who the hell puts pineapple on a burger, totally gross), Rib Meat Burger, Lamb Burger and Chicken Burger. I went with the Cheese Burger although next time I will most probably go with their Rib Meat Burger and then maybe their Lamb Burger after that. I ordered my burger medium which is cool because when I first started this burger challenge I used to have my burgers well done but then as I started reading more about burgers and really getting into it I started having it medium well. To move to medium is a step in the right direction although I don’t think I would have a medium burger just anywhere.
The burger arrived and it looked beautiful. The shape, the size, the way everything was very tidy it just looked like the perfect burger. I took my first bite and in under a minute or two max I had finished the burger. It was the healthiest burger I’ve ever had and I’m talking about the actual beef patty here. It just tasted like it was made with really great quality meat. It wasn’t heavy, it didn’t have a bad after taste, it wasn’t fatty and it was very light on the stomach. It had the makings of a perfect burger which is why it was very difficult to review. There was very little flavor. It was lacking oomph which is why maybe next time I would get rid of the vegetables and put some mustard to see if that helps.
If I want to be extra nitpicky I would talk about how I am not a big fan of powdery buns but I in this case it didn’t bother me that much. My burger was very juicy and the bun didn’t have any trouble holding up, it didn’t get soggy which is always great. Speaking of juiciness, my burger arrived medium well instead of medium but that was fine. The final score is going to be a 4 out of 5. I would highly recommend it, it’s a near perfect classic burger. At KD5.500 its actually a steal.
The Meat Co. is located in 360 Mall
The cost of the Cheese Burger was KD5.500
Here are the burger places I’ve reviewed so far:
Applebee’s
Bredz
Burger Boutique
Fuddruckers
Hashi
Gaucho Gril
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Johnny Rockets
Munch
Napket
Papa John’s Burgers
Prime & Toast
Ruby Tuesday
Slider Station
Sheraton Hotel
Smoke House
The Burger Hub
The Butcher Shop
The Little Oven
Wimpy
Just got back from my first 20 minute session at Core Fitness… it was grueling, really tough and I realized I am more out of shape than Homer Simpson. The scariest part was when it came to my last exercise which was for my abs. My trainer wanted me to do 150 different types of crunches, 150! I couldn’t go through with it, at 60 I was dead or at least wished I was dead. But, on a positive note, I didn’t puke although I was really close at one point. Anyway I got my stats and final diet plan which I will share with everyone below. Once I am done with my 7 weeks we’ll go back to these stats to see how much I changed. The diet plan below was created for me. It might look a bit strange but it was created around my daily routine, the places I usually go eat at and based on what I like to eat. I don’t cook at home so 90% of it is based on restaurant food. Before I share the stats and diet plan, here is a message from the owner of Core Fitness explaining what you will be seeing.
Mark is not fat. This may surprise a lot of you due to his hunger for really greasy food, but he’s actually good in respect to his weight and height. What we’re trying to do is achieve “re-composition”. Simply put, we’re exchanging fat with muscle. For an individual his height (6′1), anything below 80kg is too light. Our goal is to stay within the 80-85kg range, shed some fat and gain some muscle. Since Mark’s been inactive for a while, any short intense activity will suffice in order to reach his goals.
Nutritionally, his eating patterns were [slightly] healthy to begin with:
1) He ate breakfast early, but ditched healthy protein and splurged on McDonald’s pancakes and maple syrup.
2) He didn’t eat frequently, which in turn slowed down his metabolism.
3) He ate dinner early due to the acid reflux he was suffering from.Like I said earlier, Mark isn’t fat; he just needs a metabolic boost. Not much was done in terms of nutrition since he already has been taking care of himself by avoiding heavily greased foods such as french fries. Core Fitness does not have one nutrition program that everyone can use; we sit with each individual and review their daily routines. Many people actually eat right, but fail in terms of nutrition timing which include eating breakfast too late, skimping on metabolism boosting snacks or eating one meal a day. I’ve based the diet on Mark’s preferences, which is what we accomplish with all clients.
Lastly, we’ve enrolled Mark in a Fat-loss program that includes weight-lifting, body-weight training and aerobics; all packaged into 20 minutes of training.
Regards,
Fahad Khalid AlYehya
Name: Mark
Age: 31
Height: 6′1
Weight: 84.7KG
BMI: 25
BMR: 1946kcal
Fat: 20% (Desirable Range is 8-20%)
Chest: 99cm
Shoulder Girdle: 55cm
Thighs: 56cm
Arms: 28.5cm
Hips: 105cm
Waist: 98cm
And here is my diet plan. It’s divded into 3 parts.
1) Workout Days
2) Non-workout Days
3) Weekend Days
WORKOUT DAYS
Upon Waking: 8:00
500ml of Water
8:30 – 9:00 – Breakfast
2 Sausage Egg McMuffins OR 2 Double Burgers
10:00 (1 hour After Breakfast)
Black Tea with 2 packets of Tropicana Slim
1:00 – Lunch
Sbarro & Tikka Combination: 1 Slices of Mushroom Pizza + 1 order of Shish Tawoo’a
Subway: 6 Inch Honey Oat, BLT, 2 lines of Southwest OR Honey Mustard
Ikea: 1- 2 pieces Grilled Samon, small serving of steamed potatoes, side order of veggies
Great Steak: 6 Inch Brown Bread, Super Steak, NO CHEESE, NO MAYO
Sakura: 12 pieces of any roll
4:30 – Snack
15 pieces of Cashews OR Pistachios OR Almonds OR Walnuts + Green Tea
7:30 – Pre-Workout
10 pieces of nuts + Black Tea
8:00 – 8:20 – WORKOUT
9:00 – Dinner
2 Grilled Chicken Breasts OR 10-12 oz Steak (preferably Filet Mignon) OR 10-12oz of Fish Green Salad, Dressing: 1 tbsp of Olive Oil + 2 tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar
NON-WORKOUT DAYS
Upon Waking: 8:00
500ml of Water
8:30 – 9:00 – Breakfast
2 Sausage Egg McMuffins OR 2 Double Burgers
10:00 (1 hour After Breakfast)
Black Tea with 2 packets of Tropicana Slim
1:00 – Lunch
Sbarro & Tikka Combination: 1 Slices of Mushroom Pizza + 1 order of Shish Tawoo’a
Subway: 6 Inch Honey Oat, BLT, 2 lines of Southwest OR Honey Mustard
Ikea: 1- 2 pieces Grilled Samon, small serving of steamed potatoes, side order of veggies
Great Steak: 6 Inch Brown Bread, Super Steak, NO CHEESE, NO MAYO
Sakura: 12 pieces of any roll
4:30 – Snack
15 pieces of Cashews OR Pistachios OR Almonds OR Walnuts + Green Tea
7:30 – Pre-Cardio
Black Tea
CARDIO IMMEDIATELY AFTER TEA (Start out with 30 minutes then increase accordingly)
Immediately after Cardio – Dinner
2 Grilled Chicken Breasts OR 10-12 oz Steak (preferably Filet Mignon) OR 10-12oz of Fish
Green Salad, Dressing: 1 tbsp of Olive Oil + 2 tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar
WEEKENDS
10:00 – 11:00: Upon Waking
500ml of Water
Immediately After (30 minutes at most after waking):
3 Scrambled Eggs (w/ low-fat cheese or Light Halloum) + 2 Large Slices Homemade Pancakes w/ sugar-free Maple Syrup
1 Hour Later:
Black Tea w/ 2 packets of Tropicana Zero
2:00 – 2:30 – 3 Hours Later: Lunch
Burger: 1 Burger w/out fries + Diet Soda
Pizza: 1 Pizza (no pepperoni) + Diet Soda
Sushi: 12 pieces of Maki + Diet Soda
6:00 – 6:30 – 3 Hours Later: Snack
1 Fruit + Green Tea
9:00 – Dinner:
Grilled Lebanese Food: 2 Order of Shish Tawoo’a OR Tikka Meat + Salad + Diet Soda
I should have posted this earlier but completely forgot. Anyway British Airways have a sale until January 19th. Ticket to London is KD157 including taxes and KD254 to New York which is what I am probably going to book for myself. [Link]
I spotted an Alfa Romeo 8C on the Gulf Road today and it looked stunning. Usually some cars look really sexy in pictures but then when you see them in person they’re so so but in this case the 8C looks gorgeous in the pictures and even better in person. I know the Alfa Romeo dealership shutdown in Kuwait so I am guessing the guy imported the car so I wonder where it gets serviced? Then again, if you can afford to import a $230,000 car you probably fly in a mechanic.
Just a reminder, today (Saturday) is the last day of the Gulf Run car show at 360 Mall. All the Gulf Run cars are displayed around 360 Mall on the outside with a few inside. The raffle for the Vespas will also be held tonight at 8PM. It’s a great chance to check out the cars up close plus the weather is great so see you there.
I’ve had the Canon G11 for just over a month now and after using it practically on a daily basis. I did a lot of research before choosing to go with the G11 and I don’t regret my decision. I have mostly great things to say about this camera and will go through the different categories one by one.
Battery Life
I got my Canon G11 on December 11th and I charged it that same day. Its now January 15th and I still haven’t charged the camera since then. Not only that but the battery meter is still showing that the battery is full. This is perfect because it means when I travel I don’t need to pack the charger or buy an extra battery.
Usability and Feel
The camera doesn’t fit in my pocket so I spend most of the time either carrying it in my hand or in my bag if I am carrying one. It comes with a strap but it isn’t long enough to wear across the shoulder just around the neck which isn’t practical for me. The camera feels very solid and it’s also a bit heavy so it gives it a very durable feel. I love the dials on top and I use them a lot. I always keep the camera on “P” (Program Mode) which automatically adjusts the aperture and shutter speed but control the exposure (make the shot brighter or darker) I use the dial on the left to control that. On the right there are two other dials, one for the ISO which I also use a lot and the second to swap between the different programs. Other than the regular programs which you find on most cameras like aperture priority, shutter priority, automatic mode etc.. there are two custom modes called C1 and C2. These two positions contain your custom camera settings. For example I have C1 set the camera to “P”, change the format of the image to JPG, the dimensions to wide shot and the color setting to vivid. That’s the mode I use mostly when taking shots for my blog. C2 on the other hand sets the camera to “P” but then changes the image format to RAW+JPG and at full resolution (not wide). I use that setting in case there is a beautiful shot I want to capture at the highest quality. There are a ton of other settings you could also set for each mode as well but I won’t get into them here. I really wish my Nikon D90 had a custom mode feature and dials on top to control the iso and exposure.
Image Quality
It’s great for a point and shoot camera but no competition next to a good DSLR. The noise at fairly high ISO’s is pretty decent and I find myself often using ISO800 with no worries about the image coming out noisy with ISO1600 also being very usable. The only issue I have is with the white balance. Sometimes when indoors the images come out a bit too cold for my taste and that’s actually the only issue I have with the camera.
Swivel Screen
One of the coolest features in the camera for me is the swivel screen. It allows me to take pictures without having to hold the camera up to my face. I also like the fact that when the camera is not in use I fold the screen to face inwards which protects the screen while in my bag. For people who don’t like the swivel feature they can rotate the screen towards them and fold it in and keep it that way like a regular camera.
So overall I really love this camera. There were a lot of occasions where I wished I had purchased the Panasonic GF1 but in the end I realized the reason I got the Canon G11 is to use for my blog and when I travel and the GF1 although a great camera isn’t as practical (and also twice more expensive). I highly recommend this camera to anyone that is looking for small highly controllable and fully featured camera. I am going to give it a 4.5 out of 5, it looses points for the white balance issue I faced and the fact that it doesn’t fit in my jeans pocket.
If you’re interested in this camera it’s available in Kuwait for KD228 but I purchased mine from Amazon for just KD127.
Here is the link to the Canon G11 on Amazon [Link]
After my session at Core Fitness I passed by the Al Falah car wash in Kuwait City where the Gulf Run cars were getting all nice and shiny and having their sponsors decals stuck. I took a few pictures which you can check out below and a video which I will post later be.
[YouTube]
I was at the Al Falah car wash for the Gulf Run event when I noticed that the Al Tijaria building or what I used to call the monolith now has blinking lights that also change color. It looked like it was ready to party. [YouTube]
So I passed by Core Fitness today for my assessment. I figured it would be a Q&A session like How old are you? How tall are you? What is your favorite color? etc.. Turns out the first part of the assessment was getting my stats but then they got me started on the machines so they could see what weights I will be using and that session completely destroyed me. And the scary thing is my trainer said that wasn’t even a proper session and that its going to be a lot tougher when I start on Saturday. Freaky shit.
Note: I am going to get my stats on Saturday from them and post them here along with my nutrition plan.
Just a reminder since some of you were asking in my previous GulfRun post. Tomorrow and after tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) the Gulf Run cars will be on display at 360 Mall from 10AM to 10PM. In addition to that there will be a GulfRun stand selling gear and raffle tickets to a Vespa. The money from the raffle tickets will be going to the Hayat Cancer Foundation. In addition some of the profits from the female gear will also being going to the Hayat Cancer Foundation.
They will be selling long and short sleeve polos and sweatshirts and hoodies in both white and black. I have the long sleeve white polo (pictured above) but will also be getting the black short sleeve polo.
On January 12, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. Join recovery efforts mobilizing around the world to assist earthquake victims. Your donation will help disaster victims rebuild their lives and their communities.
Google has setup a page making it extremely easy to donate for this relief. Here is the [Link]
Amazon also has a page where you can donate using your Amazon account. Here is the [Link]
Photo by Munoz/Reuters
Tonight starting at 5:30PM onwards all the cars participating in this years Gulf Run 5 will be getting a wash and sponsorship decals placed at the Al Falah Car Wash in Kuwait City. If it’s anything like the previous years it should be a fun gathering. Tomorrow the cars will be going on display at 360 Mall so if you can’t make it tonight you’ll still be able to check out all the cars this weekend.
[YouTube]
Two days back I posted about how I was looking for a personal fitness trainer to come over to my place and give me a work out in my home gym. Surprisingly only two people emailed me recommending me a trainer, the rest of the emails were gym owners asking me to try out their gym. I don’t have time for a gym, I work till 7 and once I get home I start working on posts for my blog. I have two full time jobs basically with no time to waste at a gym. That’s why I declined all the offers.. except for one. The owner of Core Fitness emailed me. It turns out we had met via a friend last year when we went offroading and he promised to transform me from top to bottom for free if in return I reviewed his gym. As I was typing my thanks but I have to decline your offer email I decided to check out his website. There wasn’t anything there except for the logo and the line “Only 20 minutes Twice a week”.
20 minutes? Twice a week? I thought that was interesting. So I emailed the guy back asking if that was true. He told me to pass by the gym and he would explain everything which I did earlier tonight. So this is the deal. I’ve signed up for a 7 week course at Core Fitness and I will be going 3 times a week instead of 2. The gym is located opposite Al Massalah building on the Gulf Road which is the road I take back home after work making it very convenient. At any time there are a maximum of only 3 guests working out at the same time at the gym and each guest will have a personal trainer through out the whole 20 minute session.
I told him I found it very hard to believe that three 20 minute sessions a week would do anything. He told me to try it out and just share with you guys my experience and my honest opinion which is what I am going to do. Tomorrow I have an assessment session where I will get all my body stats, find out what weights I will be using and have my diet plan finalized. Once I do all that I will post everything here (including my diet plan) and we’ll see how things develop from there. I’m strangely excited to try this.
Update: Found this on their Facebook page
1) Every workout is 20 minutes, provided a scheduled appointment and personal trainer.
2) Each membership is based on the client’s specific needs. We do not have a set membership because people do not have common requirements and goals.
3) We aren’t a spa, we don’t have a jacuzzi, a steam room or a swimming pool; as far as we are concerned, those things are only for pussies and deliver no significant results.
4) We are a facility that delivers results. We provide the necessary tools to promote healthy lifestyles to our clients.
5) Failure to witness results will be strictly held against a client, since he was too busy eating his hamburgers and nesting on some couch rather than busting ass at Core Fitness.
In short, we own you for 20 minutes of your life (be it 2,3, or 4 times per week) and push you to the point of no return till you go home and cry like a baby.
Personal diet and demoralizing dietician included.
Contact us on 22520407 and find out 101 ways on how we can make your life a living hell.
I had a hard time starting this post because I couldn’t find the right words to describe Royce Gracie. He is the first ever UFC champion dating back to 1993. He’s also the younger brother of UFC co-founder Rorion Gracie. Back then there were no weight classes in the UFC so you had big and heavy fighters against smaller and skinnier ones and Royce Gracie proved to everyone that size didn’t always determine the outcome of a fight. You can view his fights on [YouTube] and you can read more about him [Here]
The reason I am posting this is because Royce Gracie is coming to Kuwait for a 3 day seminar on the aspects and fundamentals of Gracie Jiu Jits. Royce himself will be teaching and participating in the sessions. Students will also get to roll with Royce, take pictures and sign autographs. I asked if people with no martial arts experience (like me) could participate and turns out we can. After the first day, students will be split into two groups (beginners & advanced) and both will be under Royce’s instruction and supervision.
The seminar will be a 3 day event, 3 hours a day, and will cost KD100. Here are some more details:
Abdulmohsen Al Babtain’s Mixed Martial Arts SideKick Academy are proud to present UFC legend Royce Gracie to celebrate the pending launch of the academy Gracie will be conducting a 3 day seminar on the aspects & fundementals of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Learn from the man who started it all.
Location: Al-Arabi Sporting Club, Basketball Arena
Date: January 21st, 22nd & 23rd, 2010To reserve your place in the seminar or have any queries regarding the event contact the following :
Telephone: 94006344/66488858
Email: info@sidekickacademy.com
Here is a link to their website. [Link]
The GulfRun car show will be taking place next this week at the 360 Mall with a variety of race cars and super cars on display. The event will be taking place over a two day period which is January 15th and 16th.
There will also be a raffle on January 16th at 8pm for two special edition GulfRun Vespas, a GulfRun pearl white Vespa and a special edition black Vespa. All proceeds of the raffle will be donated to the Hayat Cancer Foundation.
So pass by, enjoy the cars and please make sure you buy raffle tickets from the GulfRun booth at 360 Mall.
PechaKucha Night #4 will be held this Thursday January the 14th.
20 images x 20 seconds to be presented by:
Roa Al-Shaheen
Reham Al-Sharif
Valerie Buchheit
Barrak Al-Babtain
Zed Alrefai
William Schuilenberg
Alia Al-Ghunaim
Rabaa Al-Hajri and Ahmed Al-Majed
Maryam Al-Hamad
Date: Thursday January 14th 2010
Time: 7:30 pm
Place: The Scientific Center: In the back near Costa
Email: pechakuchakuwait@gmail.com
Website: [www.pecha-kucha.org]
Facebook group: Pecha Kucha Kuwait
Contact number: +965 99480664
Watch the previous PechaKucha Nights [Here]
Yes the burger challenge is still on, I didn’t forget about it I just took a little break. There are a lot of new places that opened up since the last time I reviewed a burger and I will start visiting them one by one soon. First from this new bunch is Napket. Although they’ve been open for awhile they just recently introduced a new menu which includes among other things, burgers.
I had three burgers to choose from, Napket Signature, The Western and Mushroom & Swiss. I decided to go with the Signature burger which has roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions and cheddar cheese. The burger comes with french fries on the side but since I don’t have fried food anymore I asked for alternatives and ended up going with roasted potatoes instead.
The burger took a while to come and once it did it looked overcooked and charred. I was hungry and really looking forward to a good burger but, the forecast wasn’t looking good. Luckily I was wrong. I took my first bite into the burger and got completely surprised. It wasn’t burnt, it wasn’t dry, it was delicious. The beef patty was the perfect thickness and there was this sauce that was slightly spicy but added a lot of flavor to the burger. The caramelized onions were also a great addition, I’ve really started enjoying them in my burgers and in this case they added a very nice touch of sweetness that went strangely very well with the spicy sauce. It would have been perfect except for one major flaw… the roasted tomatoes. They were just too juicy for the burger, so juicy that the bottom bun had become extremely soggy and the whole burger was dripping. It was easily the messiest burger I’ve had since the start of this challenge and I’ve mentioned it before how much I hate messy burgers.
The burger cost KD3.500 which is fairly decent for a dish at Napket especially since it also comes with roasted potatoes (or fries) and a small portion of green stuff (I think they call it salad). The final score is a 3.5 out of 5. Everything was great except for the sogginess and mess that came with it. I told the waiter about the problem and he said he would pass my feedback on to the chef so hopefully it will get fixed. Next time I am going with the Mushroom & Swiss instead.
Napket is located in Avenues
The cost of the Napket Signature Burger was KD3.500
Here are the burger places I’ve reviewed so far:
Applebee’s
Bredz
Burger Boutique
Fuddruckers
Hashi
Gaucho Gril
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Johnny Rockets
Munch
Papa John’s Burgers
Prime & Toast
Ruby Tuesday
Slider Station
Sheraton Hotel
Smoke House
The Burger Hub
The Butcher Shop
The Little Oven
Wimpy
A reader found this dog wondering aimlessly in Mishref yesterday. She has a collar with her name on it. If this is your dog please [Email Me]
I am looking for a personal fitness trainer that will coach me in my home gym. If you know anyone or if you are a trainer please [Contact Me]
Note: I am not looking to lose weight, I am looking to improve my cardio and do a bit of weight lifting.
Back in October there was a press release in the papers by a company which stated that they were opening Fatburger in Kuwait. Today there was another press release by another company stating that they are also opening Fatburger in Kuwait. So what gives?
Well this is what I found out. A local company got the Fatburger franchise rights 2 years back for Kuwait but never opened up a store. So, Fatburger decided to take the franchise rights from them and pass it to another local company. Fatburger will now be finally opening in Kuwait before June.
I am still holding my breath for Arby’s and Wendy’s.
Update: Turns out yesterday’s press release was actually placed in the newspaper by Fatburger North America themselves to clarify that there is a new Fatburger owner in Kuwait.
I totally forgot to post about this. Most of you have probably heard about the ladies only pink taxis driven by women that will soon be roaming the streets of Kuwait. I thought that was a cool idea until a friend pointed out something pretty funny but sadly will come true. Since the taxis are bright pink and for ladies only, it should make life a lot easier for the guys who cruise on the Gulf Road. It’s like waving a red cape in front of a bull.
Thanks G45 M45K!
Picture from Kuwait Times
It’s back in stock at Sultan Center. I already picked up a few boxes as usual because I know you only get one chance at it before they run out of stock. I don’t understand why they don’t get larger quantities of Count Chocula when they know they are very popular…
The 2010 Quality of Life Index is out and Kuwait ranked 106 which is up nearly 30 spots since 2006. Jordan is the only Arab country ahead coming in at 104 while UAE is 141 and Lebanon 113. The highest ranking goes to France followed by Australia and then Switzerland. Here is the link to the full list. [Link]
Thanks Farid!
The only Quiznos branch in Kuwait shut down. It seems the franchise owner wasn’t interested in the brand anymore. I thought it had a lot of potential but oh well, at least I still have Charley’s and Subway to fall back onto.
My friend is in Dubai now and sent me this picture of a poster up at Mall of Emirates. Glad we don’t have a similar one up at the Avenues.
Here is the link to the full uncropped image [Link]
*second point is from when Dubai blocked Flickr
Fereej posted pictures of Ahmadi from back in the late 60’s. The pictures look like a typical America suburb with a typical American Family living in a typical American home. For some reason it reminds me of those fake homes they built in the middle of the Nevada dessert to test the effects of a Nuclear explosions. [Link]
Today I passed by Fantasy World that just opened up at Avenues. The place is pretty big and I found a lot of interesting random stuff. Two of my favorites are below:
Around two weeks back I was checking out this 3D webcam online and I found it at Fantasy World. They’re selling it for KD25 which is the exact same price as Amazon.
I also found this very strange aquarium called Easy Hatch. You fill it up with water and eggs hatch and you get colorful tropical fish and shrimp. That’s real fish and shrimp not toys. Weird stuff. Its selling for like KD8.
*I just updated this post with another dog that went missing yesterday*
I got this from a reader, if anyone spots the dog please call them:
This is Papsy (Breed:German Spitz with a red and black harness). My parents were strolling with her by Marina Mall today 8 and were attacked by two big without a leash-on dogs. My mom fell (fractured her right arm) and let loose her leash by mistake. The two dogs chased and scared Papsy away. My parents have been searching for her frantically all day by Marina Mall area. There are still there. Please help us find her. if you have any information, please call us on 99575828 or 25632613.
I got the following email today:
Our dog is lost in Jabriya. His name is Snowy and he is a Maltese male around 5 yrs old. He had no leash on him when he escaped from our house accidently. Please contact me on the following numbers 99871650 or 66695462. I’m offering a KD150 reward to anyone that finds him.
Update: Snowy was found.
As I was watching Julie and Julia for the second time now, I couldn’t stop about years ago when I 1st started blogging…How stupid I felt when I first set-up my blog….I still remember my 1st blog…..Then I decided I want to delete it…and then Shopa was born using blogspot.com…..I still remember it was q8eya.blogspot.com and then a dear friend helped me getting my own domain….
I still remember how excited I would be to find comments and how I would make time to reply to every single comment….Then I started neglecting my blog….The place where I used to put down my thoughts on a regular basis…..People forgot all about me….And funny that today it took me a LONG time to figure out how to upload this image into my post!! This tells me alot on how bad of a relationship I have with my blog……
Truth is, even though I do not write here as often, I am always around….I keep coming back to read old posts written by me…..Some posts that I have even removed and kept them as drafts for personal reasons….This blog means a lot to me….It teaches me about myself….How I think and react…..And most importantly that I will never be the same person I am…..Some posts does not even make any sense to me anymore…..It sometimes feel that some other girl was writing them…But it was me who wrote all of them….The girl has grown up…..Many things are the same yet many things have changed as well….
PS: It’s a great movie, so if you have not seen it yet, do so ASAP.
.
2:48AM [The B-Sides]
[YouTube]
I passed by the RC track near 360 Mall today to check out some of the races. The Radio Control Car Club of Kuwait (RCCCK) had an official point race today and I was really hoping to spend all day there watching the races but ended up leaving early due to other engagements. But I did manage to shoot two videos which show the full track, prep area and a start of a race. It’s very organized and very proper and I wish I had a car to participate in the races since it looks like a lot of fun.
[YouTube]
I’ve been wanting to pass by Poshcafe at the 360 Mall for sometime now since the place looked trendy and interesting and today I finally did for lunch. They don’t have a large menu but they do mix it up with variety like salads, soups, pastas, burgers, sandwiches and desserts. Their burgers are actually sliders made with Angus beef and I was really tempted to try it but decided instead to start with a Mushroom & Gruyère soup followed by a healthy Posh Club sandwich. Nat had a salad as usual.
The mushroom soup came first and it looked good but although the soup looked like it contained herbs, I couldn’t taste them and the whole thing turned out to be a bit bland. It wasn’t bad but I think it just tasted very average. The Posh Club which is their club sandwich was served once I had finished my soup. Presentation wise it looked really good and when I took my first bite I tasted something that seemed interesting. They use a “special” sauce with their club sandwich which I think is similar to the tahina sauce you get with meat shawermas. Although it tasted interesting at first by the third sandwich I realized the sauce was too heavy and turned what was supposed to be a light lunch into a heavy one and I didn’t like that since I might as well have gone with the sliders.
For the final score I am going to give them a 3.5 out of 5. I really liked the style of the place, the waitress was very friendly and they have a huge selection of desserts (which I didn’t try) that looked really good. My only issue is with the food I ordered, both of which I wouldn’t have again because they were just so average. Price wise they’re decent but maybe a bit on the high side with some items. Nat thought her salad was expensive since for the same price she could have had the salad bar at Le Notre. I thought the soup could have been a bit cheaper but the club sandwich was priced just right. The next time I go back I would probably try their slider and have a dessert instead of a starter.
Small mixed salad: KD2.750
Mushroom & Gruyère: KD2.450
Posh Club: KD2.750
Here is their [Menu]
Isolated Serenity
No3ik
since Halloween is on the way - u might be up for kind of a scary story :p 
Shopaholic Q8eya
It seems that this keeps happening…..It happened before where I said that my main New Year’s resolution is to not be hurt again….The year would pass by and I wouldn’t not…But soon after….The year after…I get hurt again…I just don’t understand how others are doing this….How are they surviving all of this…..I feel as if I cannot…But friends keep telling me I am a strong girl….But what if I am not a strong girl afterall….Is it possible that love can overcome the feeling of being hurt? and if you let love win, how can you ensure that you will not be hurt the same way again…..
This is too much to think about during a nice morning plus I have way too much work to do….This is going to be a good year…2010 is going to be a good year with lots of changes……I am changing careers once again…well not really a big move but it will be a challenge, a new one that will start in few weeks….Soon I will be moving into the new house….Finally….Something that I am very excited about…Plus I have my friends that I love….Many new friends as well….and yet more new people to meet this year…..
Happy New Year’s my readers, if there are still any readers out there.
Maybe that is the one thing I should learn from him; not to think about stuff….But I honestly do wish I was able to….I have always been a girl that analyze every damn thing and try to put the pieces of the puzzle together….I end up knowing the whole story doing so….Maybe I wouldn’t be like that if people have been honest….But again, am I being honest with people?
Is it okay for a girl to go crazy and cry for her boyfriend was kissing a random girl in a club while he was drunk when she did the exact same thing yet not drunk? Why do we pretend to be so innocent when in reality no one of us in innocent. What is it with cheating that makes us want to do it although we know it is wrong? and is it so fucking hard to break-up with someone when things keep going the wrong way? You 2 hardly talk anymore, and when you do it is all yelling and screaming…..You two barley see each other anymore and never go out on dates anymore….There is this huge gap between you….You even feel sometimes that you have no feelings for him….Yet, calling an end it is a hard thing for both….
Is it because we just like the idea of having someone in fear if we end it, we will be labeled as the “single” ones? Or is it because of the many years and months we invested in this relationship and just do not want to face the truth that it was a loss investment? What if it was because you loved them so much and had hope that it will eventually work….just like a love miracle…
I don’t even want to reread this post or proof read it…..I just wrote what’s on my mind and I know it’s me blabbing once again but….This is how I feel right now…
