Wonder if I would qualify to work here???

Was driving down the road the other day when I spotted this....

Besides the fact that I nearly slammed into the car next to me because I was laughing so hard I couldn't control the steering wheel, do you know how many times I had to circle around to get this picture???? Seriously every time I go passed this Office Block I get a major case of the giggles....

Wonder if I would qualify for a job???? I am a mother after all! :)




Seriously??? They named their law firm THAT???

Anyways till next time - I'll let you know if I get a job there... ;)

Proudly South African?

I've touched on this before, but recently I got a email thats doing the rounds and it had me giggling quite a bit, so I thought I would share it with you all (plus adding my own thoughts on the subject!) :) For those of you who are Saff-African, hope you have a good laff - for those of you who aint a Saffer... here's hoping you understand us a bit more :)

You know you are proudly South African when....

* you call a bathing suit a "cozzie"

* you call a traffic light a "robot"

* you call a round-a-bout a "circle"

* you call an elevator a "lift"

* you call a hood a "bonnet"

* you call a trunk a "boot"

* you call a glove compartment a "cubby hole"

* you call a pick up a "bakkie"

* you dont Barbeque you "Braai"

* you live in a "flat" not an apartment.

* you know what Rooibos Tea is and all the relevant nutritional values there of - even if you cant stand to drink the stuff yourself.

* you know what Biltong and Droe-Wors is - but you learn to call it Jerky and Dried Sausage anyway :)

* you can sing your national anthem in many different languages - even if you only understand it in 2 of them.

* you know the rules to rugby better than any referee.

* "just now" does not mean right at this minute - it means any time from "now now" till next month.

* you never eat sausage - you only eat wors.

* you don't play football you play "soccer"

* you never get an ouchie - you only ever get "EINA's"

* "howzit" is not just used in cricket.

* you will never see people later - you will alway "check" 'em later

* it's not a felt-tip pen its a "koki"

* you dont wear trainers you wear "takkies"

* your food is never rotten it's "vrot"

* you never gossip about anyone - you only "skinner"

* you dont eat crisps you eat "chips"

* and finally - if you're talking about "slap chips" - you're either talking about rugby ;) or eathing french fries.




You know what - until you've actually lived outside of South Africa, and had conversations with other nationalities, you dont realise how many of the above words have become part of your every day language and people just dont have a clue what you're talking about... :)Us Saffer's - we just dont speak da English... :)

Anyways till next time - I'll check you just now :)

Seriously - that long?

Wow - it seems like it was just the other day I did the WC Blog, and then shot off to South Africa for a holiday - but it turns out it was actually 5 months ago... just shameful really.

To be honest - one of the reasons I didn't blog was I forgot how to log on :) hee hee damn thats blonde - but it finally dawned on me to post a comment on someone elses blog and the log in page comes up... soooo if you get a random unrelated comment from me... sorry I abused you :)

Another reason why I haven't blogged for so long was because well - I didn't find my stories or life or anything I had to say to be very cheerful nor interesting - it probably still isn't - but I did enjoy getting some things off my chest and I found that once I had typed up my rant or whatever and clicked post - VOILA - I felt like a weight had been lifted - so yip - you're all gonna be subjected to more random crap from me... :)

Lets see - whats been happening over the last 5 months (seriously that long???)

* Went to Cape Town for a 2 month "holiday" - and I say holiday in inverted comma's cause it was touch and go if I was gonna come back to Oman :) But I did - I'm back and loving it still :)


The WC Stadium in Green Point

* Went to Green Point WC Football Stadium - did the whole fan walk, waterfront, drinking in the atmosphere kinda thing - all I can say is - it was AWESOME! I am truly impressed with the way South Africa presented the WC - I really did not believe that we would be able to host such an event without some major mishaps - but I think I can proudly say - we did it! Okay well I cant say the Bafana Bafana did it - but I think SA can be proud none the less! :) And as a side note - if it wasn't for my brother I think I would have landed up in jail for GBH - there we were watching RSA vs France in a pub (as you do...) when some really drunken idiot decided to blow his Vuvuzela RIGHT IN MY BLOODY EAR - After the 4th time of me telling him to go blow it outside or away from my ear - I was ready to lay into him - but thankfully my brother held me back... Damn those things are irriating... esp. at 5 in the morning :)


The Vuvuzela that was blown in my ear a few times ;)

* Fatty - well in reality I can no longer call him that - it's more like a teeny bit tubby now - is back in School - Thank goodness - granted we had to sell our last asset to pay off last semester and this semester - but honestly - whilst we did manage to make progress in home schooling - it wasn't easy and then of course I couldn't go out there and get employment cause I was home bound... but he's back at school and loving it - and I am doing all in my power to ensure he stays there. :) fingers, toes, legs, arms crossed!!

* Seems whilst I was away I lost a few friends... it saddens me - but what can you do? There's a long complicated story around this issue - but I decided that I would play ostrich and bury my head in the sand - then I don't have to know the sorbid details - nor do I have to take sides. Not sure if thats the best thing to do - but the alternative would be to sit all parties down and try to hammer out the problems - I'm not sure if I have the guts... oh well will see what happens...

* Tubby has decided on his first after school activity - a team sport - FOOTBALL - it's the first thing he has really wanted to do and he is so enthusiastic it's cute! I wanted him to play rugby - because it's not a sport I played - well okay I played a match or two - but it wasnt for me - those other woman WERE MASSIVE! - but I thought if he picked a sport I didn't play I wouldn't become one of THOSE mom's shouting from the sidelines, because I didn't really know the sport - but NO he didn't want to - he wanted football - and now I have realised I AM one of those mom's - but football is in our family - my mom managed the western province team for a season and my sister-in-law is a springbok player and a qualified ref - so just standing on the sidelines and looking good is not for me - after lasts weekends match I think it wont be long before I get banned tho' :) But it is cute to watch all these youngster being so enthusiastic and them all believing they are the next Rooney or Beckham or Pienaar (he's a Bafana Player - geez why is it no one knows the Bafana players... hee hee!)

And thats about it really,
guess I better get back to work...
but now that I've broken the fast - here's hoping it wont be 5 months before my next post...
Anyway till next time...
xx

SO! Who's it gonna be??

Well now - lets see as of today there are 12 days to go - until it's FIFA World Cup RSA.... :)



Now normally I'd be HEAD OVER HEELS with the thought of something SO MASSIVE hitting Cape Town - I mean I went to the Rugby World Cup in '95 - WOW - that was amazing - and of course did my part dressing up and face painting - of course all for England - just to cause a few family fights.... And then when I was pregant with fatty - I went to all the matches played at Newlands for the Cricket ODI's World Cup - AGAIN - all decked out and screaming my lungs out for England - one cannot begin to describe the atmosphere that surrounds these type of World Cup Events... However - it's nothing like how other country's support and cheer on their team... especially not in such a big sport as...

FOOTBALL - now that is in a whole league on it's own - I happened to be visiting family in England during the last FIFA world cup (Germany if I am not mistaken) and WOW - I could NOT BELIEVE the amount of support with flags and things flying off buildings and cars and whatnot... WOW!!! I also happened to be in Portsmouth (my home town) for CCS's wedding - the week leading up to them winning the FA Cup Final - yes yes - so it was 2 years ago - and maybe a once off - but my point is the atmosphere that surrounds these types of events is amazing - I have not seen RSA decked out like that at all - and I assume that is isn't decked out like that now either...

I am of course miles away so really cannot comment - but I can safely assume that there is not much hype happening right now in RSA and with all the hoo haa thats been happening in my life at the moment - I haven't really given it much thought....

I also cannot honestly say with 100% conviction that I would even bother to go to any of the matches if I was in RSA - the whole building of the stadiums and supporting services such as trains, hotels, etc etc was under such contravorsy when I was there - I WOULD hate to think of how that has grown out of proportion since then - and of course all newspaper reports that I have read now-a-days state that not all the tickets have been sold any way - so who knows if the whole event is going to be a failure or a success....

I certainly hope RSA can hold it's head up high and not let us down... :)

SO NOW my train of thought turns to my 2 main worries with the whole World Cup that is about to happen...

WHO do I SUPPORT and WHEN are they gonna BAN the VUVUZELA!!!! :)

Below is a wee video that shows you what it is - as well as what it sounds like - I have of course not picked an irritating noise level videao - for obvious reason - but am sure if you are THAT interested you can youtube them!!! It HAS TO BE the MOST IRRITATING MUSICAL INSTRUMENT I have ever heard - if any of you watched the recent Super 14 Rugby Final between Blue Bulls and Stormers - you will "know what I'm talking 'bout"!!!! DAMN those things are irritating... :) and I'm no where near the stadium - what is the noise level like in the stadiums... :O!!! they should limit the numbers or ban them outright!!! haha

">

With regards to who am I gonna support - I'm sitting on the fence here... out of loyality it's got to be either the Bafana Bafana or England - but lets face it not one of those two have a chance to hit the final's do they???

OH decisions decisions...

So - who are you gonna shout for??? Are you even gonna follow the World Cup??

Anyways till next time !
xx

Where has all my inspiration gone?

* with apologises to the original author... :)

Where has all my inspiration gone?
Long time passing
Where has all my inspiration gone?
(I posted)long time ago
Where has all my inspiration gone?
I have lost them every one
When will I get it back?
When will I get it back?

WOW 2 months almost huh?? that is just DISGUSTING... and not that I have many dedicated readers - but to those few who actually read and enjoy my blog - I am on my knees apologising... :)

Lets see brief run down on whats happened to the make me EVEN more GATVOL in the past 2 months... :)
* I had two sets of overseas visitors
* I had (and am still having?) a mental breakdown and seem to have lost all my sense of humour with the world
* I went camping
* I eventually learnt how to keep the house cooler in summer (only took me 10 months!)
* I had to start homeschooling fatty
* there was a death in Hubby's family - may they rest in piece - I think of you often
* A school friend passed away - and I miss his humour... :(
* Hubby landed up in Critical Care at Muscat Private - TOTALLY impressed with the medical care he received - and TOTALLY surprised at the amount of Saffers working there!!! haha - lets not mention the bill... :(
* A close friend returned to her home country - and left a huge gapping hole in my life... :(
* As mentioned - I had visitors - so I can now say I have seen a WHOLE lot more of Muscat... WOW - the more I see I more I LIKE! :)

OH - there is much more to list - but I didn't want to depress you too much ... :)

Now - if I could just find something interesting to write about... :)

Anyways - here's hoping I get something interesting to write about...
xx

Dont forget to read the small print...

Erm - sorry this actually turned into quite a long winded rant... :)

Some times I lay awake at night and wonder if I'm the worlds worst mother - I am so NOT cut out for motherhood.

When you are married and childless - all you hear from EVERYONE is "oh motherhood is great, you'll love it", "oh you must have a child - it's magical". When you happen to wipe the nose of a snotty nosed kid that belongs to one of your friends - everyone breaths deeply, sighs and says "ah - you will make such a good mother". (ERM - were you not only wiping her nose so she wouldn't wipe it on your brand new name branded Jeans???)

OR you just happen to be walking through a mall with your shopping buddies when you spot the CUTEST barbie dress in the kiddies section... you stop - you pick it up and all your friends start gushing at you... "AH you are so ready for motherhood...." BUT all you were thinking was "WOW do they make that in my size?" (you can take the body outta childhood but never the mind!)

Then of course - they will start telling you about how you glow when you are pregnant, you will fall in love with your body, you will love everything about pregnancy, including the large protuding belly. Its the best feeling in the world, as soon as you see your child for the first time - you will fall in love and you will realise that you should have done this ages ago.

Everyone talks about pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood in glowing terms - everyone loves it (well - thinking about it they must do - everyone is doing it) - how its a life changing moment and you will not regret it...

WELL time to read the small print I'm afraid...

NO ONE TELLS YOU.....

* the loving husband who promises to help you 50/50... never does... their excuses are numerous - but the two that got on my goat the most were - sorry I have work tomorrow I cant get up in the middle of the night (never mind you haven't slept a full night in months!) and my personal favorite (okay so this would only work if your husband had children from a previous marriage) "sorry honey - I had to do this with my first three children - I'm not gonna do it for my fouth"

* Children ARE EXPENSIVE - do yourself a favour... please - before you have children - do this little excersise... work out how much you would need to spend on the basics:- cot, car seat, pram, bedding, clothing, and general baby paraphanalia, then work out how many nappies you will be using (after you've had the fight about disposibles or re-usables) Bear in mind tho - if the hubby insists on re-usable - he will be washing them!!!! so really can you see him leaning over the bath scrubbing "s****ty" nappies??? naw me neither... so calculate the disposibles - lets say erm 5 per 24 hours so 5 x 365 x 2 (in two years you gotta potty train!) Oh and of course I cant list everything - but just sit back and take the time to do this excersie - you will soon realise there's not much left for any of the spur of the moment luxuries you so enjoy... :)

* Pregancy is NOT as easy as people make it out to be - seriously - its NOT... Fatty was such a LARGE baby - that for the last month of my pregnancy I had to go to the Obs/Gyne daily to be put on a machine to see if the kid was okay... there was no room for him to move... I was so uncomfortable from about 6 months it was AWFUL, I needed to pee 5 times a night and had to wake hubby up EACH and EVERY time cause I couldn't move - did I mention I was HUGE. Let me tell you after 3 months of me waking hubby up 5 times a night cause I needed help getting off the bed - HE was NOT AMUSED!!

* Oh then there was the hormones and bad moods... HAHA - looking back at how horrid I was to my poor hubby... NAW I dont feel bad about it... - he deserved it - it was his fault I was in this condition after all wasn't it??? ;) There was this day - my hormones were really playing hell with me - we had a huge tiff and he said fine - he's going to the office "till I calm down"... Schweet - I grabbed a snack, got comfortable on my recliner / lazy boy (whatever you call them - those lounge chairs that go back with foot rests) and that is where I HAD TO STAY FOR 4 HOURS TILL HE GOT BACK... haha - I couldnt move!!! Okay - so I can laugh at it now - but at the time - being extremely big and pregnant - it wasn't funny not being able to get off a simple chair FFS!!! boy oh boy did he get it from me when he got back...

* What about the partying?? Man - how I miss the parties... sure you still go out and have a good time - but you have to take turns now - cant have both parents being drunk - someone has to be responsible - you never know what will happen?? Little Fatty has croup - it can strike any night, any time, and you've got to be quick on the draw - they need to get on the nebuliser ASAP and if you dont catch it in time - or if you are too scared to administer the medication yourself - you gotta rush them to the hospital. Even now - at 6 years old - we still dont "party" together anymore - we take turns... :(

* Sleeping... Now here's a touchy subject for me... I L I K E M Y S L E E P.. I do... And do you know in the past 6 years I think I can count on my one hand the number of times I have slept passed 6 in the morning... honestly - I have been blessed with an early riser... :) WHAT bliss is that??? OH of course the best times is when it's "your turn" to party... and they wake you up by banging their favorite car on your head yelling... "Wake up Mommy the sun is shining" and then proceeding to open the curtain FULL so the sun shines pleasantly on your hungover face... definetely pure bliss what can I say... (actually I mumble a few choice swear words... :)

* Your time, me time, our time - sorry - AINT GONNA HAPPEN - it's gone, it's over - its no more. Just forget it honestly, kiss it good bye.. I've forgotten what me time is honestly. Seriously - it's taken us 6 years to train fatty NOT to enter the bath room at the same time as us... Yes that's right - just forget about going to "your quiet zone and have a little read..." FORGET IT!!! :)



Seriously - the bathroom used to be my one special room in the house, where NO ONE would bother me... needed half an hour to calm down, have a little me time?? grab a book, a cuppa coffee, go into the bathroom and sit on the floor reading... get a knock on the door - "sorry busy, will be out soon" HA!! have a kid mate... that time is over!!

* And of Course DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON MY SEX LIFE ;) what's that? where's it gone?? I know I did it at least once... cause I got 1 kid... :)

* Your neat house??? GONE! kiss that good bye too.. seriously - who has time to clean up all the time?? To pull out half eaten cookies from the dvd machine? To stop sticky hands going all over your cd collection! OH what about the time he decided to help you alphabetize your DVD/CD collection (yes my collection were once in alphbetical order...) the last time they were that neat was around 4 years ago I think... Fatty helped... honestly he did... he pulled them all out and spread them all over the floor - he did this while I was cleaning up the flour he had thrown all over the kitchen floor, which he did while I was trying to get the save his dad's plants which he had pulled out while I.... well you get the picture... you only stop when they fall asleep trust me on this... :)

* Your expensive computers, playstations, Wii Band equipment, DVD players - whatever you are into... GONE - packed away out of reach.... NEVER mind you never get a chance to play them anymore - you've got to protect them from sticky fingers, half eaten food and - THE WORST - as they get older... them getting hold of Daddy's tool kit and "helping to FIX IT!"

* Travelling with you wee one... AH! my favorite topic... what can I say - DONT DO IT EVER!!!!! :) Here's something you can do to see if you are ready to have a child - Drive from Cape Town to Windhoek - its only about 1400 kilometers... Get 1 Telly Tubbie DVD - play it non-stop for that full journey and then have your partner sit in the back seat and every now and then throw something at your head, be it a toy, a milk bottle or what ever else they can get their hands on... Or - you can practise international flying.... borrow a friends baby - go sit in the transit hall for a period of 10 hours waiting for your connection - as an adult you get bored out of your mind - now try it with a two year old... :) Even better - try and take a two year old into those tiny toilets they have on a plane and change his poo nappy... FUN! FUN! FUN!

Oh I have so many other things I want to warn you about - things like your seats in your car, or temper tantrums in shopping malls, or the time you pack the baby in the car, but leave the pram and the shopping in the parking lot and drive off, watching the same episode of Barney over and over and over again until you want to crawl into the tv and smash that purple dinasors head in... but I wont - I think I've ranted enough for one night... I just wanted you to be sure you read the small print - kids dont come with instruction manuals you know!

But you know what - as much as I lay awake at night worrying that I am the worst mother, because sometimes I dream about how my life might have been if I didn't have fatty - I love him to bits, and I wouldn't trade him in for the world... (okay so there are some days when I wanted to send him back - convinced there was a return clause)

But when you look at him sleeping staring at a wee mini-me, or hearing his belly laugh when he makes a joke, or hearing your sarcastic random humour being flung back at you - there are some times when it's all worth it - last night I had a worth it moment... (side note - have I mentioned my mother and my 10 year old niece are here visiting??) Driving along the free way playing I spy with my little eye... my niece says "something begining with P" and little fatty screams on top of his lungs P*nis!!! the look on my mothers face just screamed "WORTH IT".

Anyways till next time - make sure you read the small print... LOLZ
xx

Is your kid too sexy??

Want to determine if your kid is Sexy HOT???

Take them along to the Fun Fair at Qurum Park (Marah I think it's called).. :)

if they are not allowed on the adult rides - sorry they are just not HOT enough... :)






I can quite confidently say - my little kid is apparently way tooo sexy hot for these rides... :) (He's also unfortunately too short for them... :))


Anyways till next time... :) gotta go play tour guide to me mother ;)
xxx

Roald Dahl I'm not... :)

They were only a hundred meters away, but she wasn't sure that she could make it.

She couldn't remember why she was standing here or how she got here, it was like waking up and finding yourself in a weird place. All she could remember was that she had to get to that person standing in front of her.

Somebody suddenly appeared at her side. She tried to focus but couldn't, so she looked away. Why were all these strangers looking at her as if they expected her to do something?

The person next to her took her arm and started leading her forward, she resisted, but was not strong enough. For some reason, she did not know what, she wanted to go there by herself.

As they drew nearer, she started to hestitate. What am I doing? She didn't have much time to think about it as they had reached their destination. The person let go of her arm and smiled at her. Only then did she see the doctor all in white smiling.

The person who had been waiting for her took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. The doctor started to speak but she couldn't hear him. Only then did she realise why the two people who had helped her were dressed in black. They must have been the nurses, the people who fetch you when you get locked away.

She tried to listen to what the doctor was saying, but she couldn't. She didn't know when she went deaf, she just was.

For all she knew they were telling her the rules of the asylum. It looked as if they were finishing, for the person next to her said something. But they hadn't finished, they were looking at her, waiting, anticipating.

She started to feel nervous, what should she do? She did the first thing she could think of, she nodded her head. That must have been the best thing to do for the doctor started to smile. The person standing next to her, kissed her.

They lead her away, placed a pen in her hand and made her sign a document. She had committed herself. As they were leading her away she noticed that everyone was smiling. She couldn't understand why, she wanted to scream, "This is no laughing matter, this is very serious."

As they got out of the building there was a crowd of people all throwing things at her. She wanted to cry, but couldn't let people see just how weak she really was.

They opened a car door for her and she climbed in. As they were pulling away she looked back and saw all the people waving, smiling, laughing.

Why are they so happy? What am I doing here? She started screaming, "NO! NO! I don't want to go through with this, this was just a game! You can't make me stay with you! I will NOT stay here with you!"

Her screaming woke her. She looked at the clock and realised, she had less than 12 hours before her wedding.


When I was younger (much younger) there was only 2 things I ever wanted to be - one was a teacher and the other was to be a published author - and seeing as not one of those dreams materialized - I thought I would subject with you a story I wrote many, many, many moons ago, when I was young and naive! :) hope you liked it... :) Let me know either way.... haha but remember I dont take bad press well... :)




Just one other small thing I wanted to mention in this post... :)

This place sucks... :( -> you just get to meet really great people - and then BAM their contract is up and they move on to the next big thing... :( it saddens me... SAMS... it was great knowing you even if it was for such a short time... here's hoping you have a blast where ever you land up in the world... and here's hoping you will never forget that crazy woman who accosted you in a parking lot at 2 in the morning... ;) Dont blame me - its not my fault you're famous ;)


Anyway - till next time - give all your friends a hug - you never know when they might move on to the next big thing... :)
xx

Everything happens for a reason....

I'm a firm believer in that, I truly am... :) It's the reason I'm sitting in Muscat right at this moment - wont bore you with the sorbid details - but lets say something happened and I took it to mean that I was meant to be in Muscat... BOY was I wrong... :)

Since I've been here - its been one bad event after another..... I feel as if I'm staring in my own life movie - Gatvol's Series of Unfortunate Events - haven't seen the movie - so am not comparing what's happened in the movie to my life - but I sure like the title...

Dont get me wrong - my time in Muscat has been magical - I would do anything - ANYTHING - okay stopping short of selling my soul... - to be able to stay here - I love this place and I see sooo much potential... :) But bad things have been happening along the ride.

Funny thing is tho' - these bad things have been intermittently interspersed (naw not gonna bother with spell check on those two...) with good things - So I've been sitting here going over and over (and over) the events of the past few months trying to look for clues to find out if I should actually be here or not...

I know it doesn't make sense does it - but thats how I think in my weird world - something happens and I take it as a sign - either a good one or a bad one - so I've been making lists (YES am back to my lists... refer earlier post!) of everything and putting it into Pro's and Con's as it were...

But looking over this list - I am not sure what to do or where to turn - I KNOW I'm at a turning point... but unfortunately my head is spinning so much I cant really see what the options are... :)

I've had it in my head that I dont have to make a decision until after my mother's holiday - which would be the end of April - but then a bad event happened - the school wants me to pay OMR 100 (ZAR 2000) to book fatties place for next year by the 10th of March - but then a good event happened - I was asked to help out someone and he would pay me EXACTLY OMR 100 (KARMA - what can I say!) yes yes I know totally illegal indeed - but desperate times call for desperate measures... :)

BUT THEN - bad event occured - I did the work - went looking for my money - GUESS WHAT... turns out I helped this guy for nothing... he doesn't have the money to pay me... and dont think I didn't believe him - I went to his bank and got a statement - s'true as bob - he cant pay me...

So it seems the decision has been decided for me.... I'm outta here... :(

OKAY WOW - STOP THE PRESS.... I have just taken a break to check my emails - and there is an email from the guy to say he's scrapped up my money.... so I will be seeing him at 4 today to get it...

DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN... my life at the moment is a series of weird events and I have no idea if I am meant to be here or not...

Oh - and dont think I'm just sitting on my fat arse waiting for good Karma to come my way - I'm trying my damdest to get a job this side of the world... Lets just say that even tho - having 20 years experience, starting up my own company twice - sold one to a jealous competitor who wanted my clients, and closed the other cause I was coming here - and helping out with hubby's company until that was sold - I'm under qualified... 2 Diploma's and a huge amount of experience is not enough to get a job here apparently - not sure of the details but apparently to get a job you will need to be sponsered by the company (old news) but (new news) only DEGREED people will be able to get sponsered.... still trying to figure out how that would work for the - how can I say it diplomatically - for the... the... damn cant think of a word here... for the lower level labourers... (there sue me for not being PC)

So there you have it - I'm not sure if I'm gonna be around much longer - but will just have to wait and see - try and figure it all out and try to get my head to stop spinning...

On a lighter note to my morbid life - someone left a comment on my status last night (for those who have no idea what I mean - mother - that would be you - I think you are the last man standing when it comes to facebook.... :) ) This comment made me spit cooldrink all over my laptop I was laughing so hard.... :)

In the immortal words of Homer Simpson....
"Trying is the first step towards failure"




Good ole Homer - always knows how to make a person feel better don't he... :)

Anyways till next time... DO'H! :)
xx

Happy Birthday Miss Possible

I missed you at Christmas

I missed your first day of High school

And now....

I missing your 14th Birthday


Hope you have an absolute blast........

and if there is just one piece of advise I can give you for your party.......

Who moved my cheese, a urban myth BUSTED and the joys of blogging

Ah - the joys of running out of things to say... can you Adam and Eve it??* yes me of all people running out of stories and inspiration - DOES THAT NOT TELL YOU HOW BORING MY LIFE IS AT THE MOMENT???

I lied - my life is not that boring - but I think it'll be boring to you - so decided to not subject you to the pain :) HOWEVER have now decided to share a few "juicy" thoughts... :)

Lets see where to start - where to start... so many stories - so little starting points... :)


Omani Blogs
===========
Firstly - let me clarify that label - I mean both Omani Nationals who write blogs as well as Expats (how I hate that word but am yet to come up with another one) who live in Oman who write blogs.

As I've said before I'm ADDICTED to blogs - I follow quite a few now - more than I mentioned in one of my previous posts and I've created little avatars of the blogger in my head - weird aren't I??

Now - a lot of people I chat too look at me strange when I mention blogging and following blogs - a lot of them are like "oh get a life woman" :) indeed that could be a true statement - HOWEVER in my defence - I want to be given the chance to explain myself

I started reading blogs cause I was bored outta my mind one day - and found a few listed on a social networking forum here in Oman - and of course as happens you read one, you get lead to another and then another and so on and so forth until you reach the level of stalking on which I am now sitting... :)

There are different types of blogging styles - journalistic, diarylistic (not sure if that is a word - but hey it goes with the first one), random thoughts, information into life as an Omani, etc etc and I follow a broad range of them.

The "diarylistic" and random ones I love reading cause they are generally all good, full of humour, and I can SOOO relate to them. And of course the journilist ones I follow because if you want to know whats going on in Oman really going on I mean - you need to read these ones

Recently 3 things have happened that made me realise that blogging is a HUGE thing here in Oman and real people actually read these blogs (not just boring old ex biz woman who's brain has turned to porridge - like me)

A) Suburban - author of Other Oman - recently blogged and tweetered about a stolen car (crime here in Oman I hear you all cry!!) you can read about it -->here<-- And thanks to blogging and tweetering - the car was recovered... YES indeed - it was thanks to putting it out there on a social media format that it was recovered.

B) Sythe - author of Muscat Mutterings - recently had "a dig" I think you call it at of the local radio stations - lo and behold - if it wasn't all over the radio station a couple of days later... You can read all about it -->here<-- AND PLEASE DO - I get a mention "whoop whoop" I made it to someone elses blog - YAY ME!!! fame at last!! But you must also read the previous blog to find out what it's all about... Apparently Da rren S hortt of the radio station googles himself everyday to see if someone talks about him on the net - LOVE IT - (psst - hence why I put spaces in his name!!!)

C) Undercover Dragon - author of Muscat Confidental - is IMHO** the King of Journistic Bloggers in Oman - in fact I had a arguement with someone recently about something small and unimportant - but he was being a a'hole about it - then I realised the guy was drunk and being a typical South African male - in otherwords - not listening to a word I said - I decided to end the arguement before I slapped him - and my parting words were "I wont believe you until I've read about it in Muscat Confidental" (side bar - in fact cant wait till I bump into him again - it aint been blogged about yet - so it aint true!!! haha)

Anyway back to the point - UD is a mine field of information about what is going on really in Oman and recent activity has brought the blog as well as other "journalistic" blogs to the lime light - and its in the paper here - I wont list all the blogs here - but please visit these sites it will give you more insight to not only the blogs that are available, but also the why they do it and the legal ramifications of being on the web and the need for being on the down low all the time.

Times of Oman article -->here<--
Muscat Confidential blog about it -->here<--
Dhofari Gucci blog about it -->here<--

Anyway - so thats my view on the happenings in the blog world around here at the moment - exciting stuff no?? :)

I was planning on giving you a full and comprehensive list of all that I follow and the reasons why - but decided not too - a) dont want you all to fall asleep b) this post is getting kinda long and I haven't even gotten to the myth or the cheese yet and c) seeing as around 50% of my "followers / readers" are bloggers themselves... what's the point... rofl...

HOWEVER there are 3 more I want to mention - cause I want to convince you to read them if you aren't yet... and because I want to be able to write like them :)

1) Angry in Oman - If I knew my mother wasn't reading this blog I SWEAR (excuse the pun) I would rant like Angry on a good day - do you KNOW how many times I read her blog and end up either p'ing myself or screaming at my screen - saying things like "Amen Sister" or "Hi 5" or just plain "fuck - I know what you mean"

2) Delirious in the Desert - I enjoy this one - I like Delirious' world... :) Delirious recently ranted about a Saudi blogger who has no heart and there was a few insults flung... I grabbed the popcorn and was getting ready for the biatch slappin... alas it didn't happen :) woulda liked to have seen that - am sure Delirious woulda won hands tied behind her back (you see she knows people... read UFC post)

3) Eternally Distracted - now this is the type of writer I wanna be... this woman is hilarious - I am not worthy... oh to be able to write like this... with such perfect timing and wit... I am soo not worthy...

My humble apologies if I offend anyone by not naming their blogs :) but seriously I'm running out of time here - am sure most of the readers are asleep already - and I do follow so many... SORRY...

Urban Myth BUSTED ++
=================
So - there's an urban myth that did the rounds in this place - apparently its illegal to have a dirty car - which makes sense - after a month of not washing the evil Ford I drive - it could be classed as a health hazard - there is so much dust on the windows you cant see outta them. I was NOT being lazy - I was doing an experiment to see how long it would take to completely block all views outta the windows... (thats my story and I'm sticking to it!)

I say this is a myth because come on the cops cant even police the bad driving here (will not go into that topic right now!) so really HOW ON EARTH will they police the dirty cars???

MYTH BUSTED - spin cycle was pulled over the other day - apparently because her car was too dirty... she managed to get outta the fine with a wee Assalaam Alaikum and a smile - lucky gal - I'm convinced the cop actually wanted her phone number :0

And finally - who moved my cheese???
I've noticed over the past few weeks - my fav cheese is not available on the shelfs in the shops anymore..... WTF*** - are there NO MERCHANDISERS employeed by the 3 largest chainstores here in Muscat??? It's not like its an unusal cheese - its the non coloured (white) Cheddar - you know the one that has no E chemicals in it to make it a sick orangey puky colour?? Surely the people employed by the supermarkets here are taught about something called supply and demand?? - if not let me give them a hint - if the product sells - stock up on it... and dont tell me the supplier has run out... then the supplier is an idiot - he could just make a batch of cheese and NOT throw the colourants in it... erg... no seriously how can large supermarkets run out of something thats popular - if it was an imported "luxury item" fair 'enuff - but come on its cheese made in *SHOCKED FACE* just went to read the label of the awful orange one - it is an imported product - its made in Germany... weird... is NOTHING made here in Oman?? well it's a common product anyway and it's always been available in the past - why now suddenly run out - its called thinking forward and planning ahead... :)

Anyways till next time - feel free to post me some colour free cheddar!

* Adam and eve it - Rhyming slang for believe it
** translated for my mother - IMHO - in my Humble opnion
*** again for my mother - WTF - what the fudge :)
++ of course when I say busted - I actually mean proven - but BUSTED is way better to say isn't it... :)

Okay THATS IT time for a name change....

Just a quicky today.... (I hear you all gasp! - me a quick one - not bladdy likely) :)

As you know from my previous post - I have a new kitty... cute little bugger - roughly 4 months old, extremely loveable, and he's managed to integrate himself within the Gatvol mad house within the space of a week. Both Cat and Dog are enjoying his company.... well the dog keeps a wide berth - BOY can this little kitty HISS!!! :)



Cant say hubby is happy tho'- the little bugger has decided that hubby's office chair is HIS... and if hubby is sitting there - no problem - I'll just walk all over the key board a few times until he gets upset and walks out... problem SORTED.

He was initally called Gizmo - then fatty decided to change it to Gizma - from Cuzco on Disney Channel - HOWEVER - I've decided to change it again - from now on he's gonna be called HOUDINI...

I live in a largeish villa - basement, groundfloor, 2nd floor and roof... since I bought over my Dog and my Cat from RSA - I made the house escape proof - there is no where for any animal to escape here - C & D have been living in this house for around 7 months now and NOT ONCE have any of the two gotten out - NOT ONCE NEVER...

All the windows are shut, or rather - now that it's "winter" they are open - but since the arrive of Houdini I have shut them slightly so now there is just a small gap in each window - else the useless non working mossie screen is over the window. The back door, front door and sliding door are permanently shut now - we used to keep the back door open so C & D could come and go outta the side driveway / alley as much as they wanted - but with Houdini joining we've been extremely vigalant in keeping then shut. The door leading to the roof is open YES, but in my defence - I keep the kitty litter out on the roof - erg - that has got to be keep out in the OPEN...

BUT again, the roof door has been open for 7 months - no escapee acts whatsoever.

So up until about week and a half ago the stats were

House 2 - Escapees 0

ENTER HOUDINI....

So - initally the first week he was locked up in fattys room, where we slowly intergrated him into the rest of the madhouse.... me, hubby, fatty, Dog, Cat and Terrepin.... it went so well that within 5 days he had the run of the house...

So lets say within the last 4 / 5 days or so - we have found him outside TWICE - once making a hell of a noise at the front door, and now this evening - I noticed there was no cats running around creating havoc - so I went investigating - couldn't find him - peered over the edge of the roof and there he was crossing the road!!! 0_0 (my weak attempt at a shocked face)

If someone could please just tell me how the hell he is getting out of this house - we have CHECKED everywhere and can find no loopholes, hidden tunnels, and I have tonight checked all animals for tattoos (a la Micheal Scofield) NOTHING...

Now I have to try and convince the vet to "fix" him earlier than the usual 6 months. I, along with the rest of the family, will be devasted if anything happened to this little cutie pie - and my main concern that if he is "jumping of the roof" how is he gonna get back in....

Any other ideas for the interim???

anyways till next time...
xx

Illogical Randoms

I have so many small illogical random thoughts I wanted to share with you - so I thought I would just pop them all into one long blog - saves you reading many small ones hey?? Ain't I nice?? :)

* I have a new cat! SO excited to be able to adopt a cat in plight - I didn't even ask hubby - I just put my hand up as soon as it was mentioned that there might be a possiblity of a slight chance of a kitty looking for a home - his name is Gizma (taken from Cuzco for those without kids who are addicted to Disney Channel!) although he was initally Gizmo - he's a 4 month old little cutiepie and just wants love and cuddles - it's taking a while to integrate him in to the Gatvol Mad House what with our other cat, a Jack Russel, a Terrapin, and a 6 year old! But am sure he will settle down soon.

* I saw a resturant the other day called Green Deera... now imagine driving down the road, where you have to a) drive on the "wrong" side of the road b) watch out for crazy drivers and c) try to figure out where the hell you are going - you can see why I read that wrong.... yes I read it Green Diareria... seriously I went around the block just so I could double check that...

* I need to get over my coffee addiction.... :( the other day friends where trying to explain to me how to get some where and instead of the usual take this road, that round about, etc etc - they started telling me "you know that coffee shop, turn there" - Sad BUT TRUE... rofl... :)

* I have finally met someone who can say "Huston, we have a problem" and mean it... it's one of the many quotes that I like and say often - even young fatty says it now and then - and I am soooo excited to have met someone who can say it and mean it! (my world remember!) Her husband's work (no idea what who or where) has a head office in Huston. Just before Christmas they were advised that his services were no longer required here - so he was to go back "home" but they were waiting on Huston for the date - what with the school fees years etc. It took Huston about a month to get back to them and they were stressed to the max... I had great pleasure in saying "huston, we have a problem" every time I saw her... :) Oh the little things that make me smile... :)

* My Aunt and Uncle from the UK are visiting my family in RSA at the moment - and I SO want to be there... My Aunt is madly in love with elephants (even though she has never seen one - weeeelllll unless you want to call my Uncle an Elephant) and I would love to take her to the Kruger National Park - it's the most amazing place in South Africa and a MUST for any visitor to the country. (google is your friend - look it up!) lol... there is so much info out that - that I cant even begin to tell you about it - hummm maybe an idea for another blog - let me know... :)

Here's a few pic's I took on my last trip there :-

A herd of Ellies crossing the road


A charging Bull Ellie


Every overseas tourist FATAL mistake... getting out of the car to get a better pic of ........


..... a Leopard under the bridge


So - word from the wise - if you are gonna go visiting a game reserve or park - stay in the car... Us Saffers point and laugh at you and we actually stay to see if you are gonna get eaten... (sometimes we even take bets! :) ) Unfortunately / Fortunately the tourists in the above picture understood me when I explained to them that Leopards eat meat, and they are made of meat... so they climbed back in the car...

* I went for a job interview today - weirdest one EVA! Firstly - they do job interviews in coffee shops here (who am I to complain!) we certainly don't do that back in RSA - so it was weird for me... but enjoyable... Secondly... imagine someone who talks more then me (oh the shock yes I know!) so in fact I think I spoke about 3 sentances the whole time - one to say hello, one to say goodbye and the last to order the coffee... oh wait I said thanks to the waitron... so thats 4!! At the end of the interview he said he would call me later regarding the hours and the salary, but can we have a meeting tomorrow to go get the accounts from the book-keeper I will be taking over from... (and the advert said I would be accountant overseeing this poor book-keeper who it seems has now been fired?? erm... ) so I dont know hey... will wait to see what happens I guess...

* and finally, as am sure a lot of you are, I've been thinking a lot about Haiti lately - the TV is on CNN or BBC world all day every day since the earthquake has happened over a week ago - I tend to go from teary to smiling in the course of a news clip... I know I know we have more problems, proverty, homelessness, hunger, abandoned children etc in RSA - but somehow something that is this devastating from NATURE, God, Allah or whomever you may believe in - seems to hit me harder than the problems the RSA Government has managed to create.... my thoughts are with everyone involved in either the earthquake or the rescure / aid operations. I wish I could do more to help.

Anyways till the next Random thought pops into my head... :)

It's Badass and I want one..... but will I get arrested?

My husband knows me too well... It saddens me - nothing I do surprises him any more, and he pre-empts me all the time... :( BUT THEN AGAIN - it means he knows things I would LOVE and boy oh boy did he get it right this time... :)

All of the cars I've owned over the years has been because of him saying to me trust me - you will love this one and he's been right every time.....

The other day when we were out on our adventure of trying to find this famous pork shop here in Muscat - (Man was that worth it!) and as we were near the car showrooms he says oh I have to show you this car and he promptly pulls into the Ford Showroom - I refused to get outta the car - he KNOWS I hate Fords - cant stand 'em sorry. And on top of that I was sitting in a Ford - the company car we have is a Ford Double Cab something or other (dont know dont care) the car SUCKS and I want to kick it in the teeth every day.... (but hey it gets me from A to B and back again and it's free - so shouldn't complain too much!) (thank goodness the car cant read.... erm it cant can it??) :)

So anyway there I was refusing to climb out telling my husband he's got it wrong this time I aint interested in Ford... no way no how... until of course he pointed out that there was a toilet inside I could use... so I had to go... :)

He showed me the Ford F150 - it's Badass and I WANT ONE...



Man that is one badass car - it's huge.... Hubby - who is fairly large - can fit VERY comfortably in the back seat - it's great. I could just picture myself driving this around Muscat. (might have to get other people to park it for me tho'!)

LOVE IT...

One small problem tho' did you know Expats (as we are called here) are apparently NOT allowed to own Bakkies here in Oman! In my world - that's weird... and it saddens me....

I can just picture my Badass self in this Badass car...

O

Do you think people would be offended...??

Firstly by time I finish this - there might be a few swear words...

Okay - so what do you do if you have overseas visitors.... you take them to all the usual tourist attractions - as you do in any country when you get guests from overseas - apparently it the polite thing to do - take them around, show them the sites (read coffee shops), road trips blah blah..

So yes - I had a overseas visitor - my "middle" step-kid.. (side bar - hubby was married before and has 3 kids from that) Now he has been here before - 2008 - June / July - he did a months intership (I think you call them) at an engineering company - so in "theory" he's seen it all right? right? wrong... LOL Poor little sausage was here for a whole month on his own and by the end of the month didn't realise there was actually bars here.... (Guess that what happens when you put your step-kids life in the hands of a really great Omani family to look after for a month... :))

Anyway - so this old step-mommy had great fun taking him out on NYE to show him that - yes you can get rip roaring randomly PDA'ing (shall I call it) "happy" (or just be blunt and say) "blotto" here.... :) We went to the Muscat Rugby Club and had a whale of a time (okay so I am speaking for myself here - but seeing as in all of the 15 years I have known this kid we havent hugged each other *refer earlier PDA post* and here he was on NYE hanging on me - I safely assume he also had a good one!)

So yes for the past couple of weeks - I've been showing him around - and yes I did get him addicted to Iced Coffees (score!!) I've had fun proving to someone that I am getting to know this place and that it is a great place to live... he admits it now - although when he came back from his internship he was kinda anti - BUT bear in mind he was here in June / July - SUMMER peeps... 45 deg C + and of course he has come to realise that there is booze and pork... I loved his face when I whipped out ye ol' bacon.... (big up al Fair!)

Geez - I was meant to keep this post short n sweet - but again end up ramabling on and on and on about nothing... :)

Anyway - so this being his last night we took him to the main tourist attraction - he had been there before (see main tourist attraction EVERYONE has been there at least once) the Muttrah Souq.

Now there are 2 things about this place that has me in giggles everytime I go...
But wait - first - let me explain what it is... *slaps forehead* DOH! Muttrah Souq is a market - similar to the flea markets (as we call 'em) back in RSA - HOWEVER - it is in an area of buildings that are built so close together its teeny tiny weeny alley ways and a real mish mash of things and people and smells - its kinda hard to explain I guess - you can get everything, and I MEAN EVERYTHING - I have photographic proof of a Bulls Baseball cap - YES - a RSA Rugby Teams' baseball cap can be purchased at this Souq. There is sections, general, cloths, gold, silver blah blah - one can get lost in there - I am sooooo glad I have the most amazing sense of direction ;)

Anyway back to the 2 things...

- what do you do when you go to a flea market - you are looking for stuff right - bargins or something specific - but still looking (okay unless you are forced to go with an overseas vistor - you are generally going to look for something right?)
Well - now Souq = arabic for market and soek = africaans for find - both pronounced EXACTLY the same - SOOOOO anyone who says they dont know a word of africaans can now say they know one... and any one who says they dont know a word of arabic can now say they know one... cool huh... but for me I giggle all the time cause I genereally say lets go to the souq to soek for ..... (fill in random thing you want)

Weird?? yes?? - my world remember... :)

- and now onto my main rant...
EACH AND EVERY BLOODY TIME you go there - the "stall" owners / workers / employees / slaves whatever - will be out in the alley with their wares trying to force you to buy it... I DO NOT WANT A CASHMERE SCARF (btw I wouldn't know cashmere from nylon - so it could be fake) stop throwing it over my shoulder or forcing me to touch it... my 6 year old DOES NOT WANT a dishdash nor the hat that goes with it - stop putting in on his head. I DO NOT WANT TO SMELL YOUR PERFUME stop rubbing your stoppers on my arms....

yes yes - OBVIOUSLY - its best not to go when a big freaken cruise liner filled with weirdly dressed foreigners on hols is in the harbour - so the market is FILLED to exploding point with "western expats" who will buy crap from pushy people - but I have been there without the cruise liner and it still happens...

and yes yes I know - they have to sell to make money - but really am I the only one that refuses to buy from those pushy ones - I find the ones that stay inside their weeny shops and ask them if they have what I am looking for - surely there are more people that feel that way???

Do you think they would be offended if I get a T-shirt made with the following on it..
I'm not a F*CKEN TOURIST
I live here you D*CKHEAD
leave me alone
I DO NOT BUY CRAP from pushy people

I would wear that every time I go

Of course it would have to be a large T - cause it would need to be in English, Arabic, Hindi and Urdu - but thats okay - cause I'm kinda large too.


* *shocked face here* I felt bad about the swear words soooooo put in some stars...

Anyways till next time - rant over... :)

51 reasons why I love Oman

I'm dating this blog in the actually blog - its 22h10 on the 8th of Januray 2010, and my reason for this is cause I want to see exactly how long it takes me to make up a list of 51 things I love about Oman. ( I was gonna make it 101 - but then realised the blog will be miles long and probably bore the hell outta you... LOL)

I have realised that I have been "kinda" negative in some of my posts - and I have had a few discussions with the kid about moving back to South Africa - but he's adamant he wants to stay here - "We can go back for a play date with my friends mom - but we have to come back here okay?" I think were his exact words - YEAH right - I'll travel that long on a plane for a play date... WAIT - dont write that off just yet - I might get that desperate one day... LOL!

Anyway - so I've now decided to list the reasons I love Oman, so you can all see it's not so bad... :)

1 - Starbucks
2 - Costa Coffee
3 - Tea Leaf and Coffee Bean .... ummmm Iced Mocha Extreme...
4 - Cafe Carribou
5 - 2 Macdonalds Drive through's RIGHT off the FREEWAYS!!! - I racked my brains and I cant think of any Mickey D's in RSA that are just on the off ramp of a free way?? anyone??? (Okay Okay - it's also inconvienent cause kiddy sees it all the time... but it is convienent! LOL)
6 - Less Fan Fare and money spent at Christmas
7 - the Driving - yes yes - can also complain about this - but it does create a few laughs at the idiots out there and its a great topic when all else fails
8 - Petrol is CHEAP... 0.120 OMR per litre - thats ZAR 2.40!!! YAY ME
9 - Cars are Cheaper... Oh I dont know the actual prices - but hubby does and he tells me they are - I know I can buy a Porsche Panamera here for the same price you would buy a lower level Toyota Landcruiser back in SA
10 - (making this another point to make up the 51!) one of the Hummers that are available here are actually manufactured in RSA - and they are cheaper here... Got love the Maximum Import Tax here... I stand under correction - but it's around 5 % I think (so I have been told - who knows!) in SA its a mathematically nightmare to work out the import tax - 100% duty + 14% VAT + 10% ad valerum tax - so thats what 124%? so a ZAR 10 000 car will have ZAR 12540 tax - so the car will really cost you ZAR 22540.
11 - Kid goes to school on a Saturday and a Sunday... LOL Oh to be able to actually SAY THAT... yes yes - no need to point out that he's then home on a thursday and a Friday
12 - Winter... YES - I say it again - WINTER... I giggle everytime I say that... its Winter here at the moment... WHAT?? WHERE?? I spent the day at the beach today - and got burnt like a lobster - cause I didn't use suntan lotion - WHY??? cause who puts on suntan lotion in Winter... yes yes (idiot!) LOL
14 - getting a ADSL phone line installed... HAH! YES... Got it within a week of application... :) YAY ME!!! and it's had one problem - and they were out and fixed within 2 hours of lodgeing the complaint... hee hee (wonder if that's the norm? or if my pretty face has wasta???) LOL
15 - School hours here run from 7h30 till 2... again YAY ME... I think for KG3 / Grade R back in SA it was 8h30 till 12h30??
16 - washing takes so quick to dry here... :)
17 - Shops are open ALL the time - okay well not literally - but all the supermarkets are open till late... :)
18 - Ladies only queues... I only recently discovered this - but there are queues in banks and shops JUST for LADIES... hee hee... nice!
19 - being able to speak a foreign language and have no one understand me... okay so this can also backfire... ;)
20 - Safe - I can walk down the street / beach at night and feel safe - I might get stared at yes - but I feel safe here whilst being stared at... LOL
21 - All the tinned food has pull off tabs... It's the lazy person in me... No need to go to the drawer and get the can opener... just pull it open.. :) LOVE IT
22 - Cafe Ceramique... yeah I promised a post ages ago - will get to it... I SO think this will WORK well in RSA - hey there ya go a biz opportunity... :)
23 - The lights on the freeway around HM the Sultan's birthday... very pretty, very well looked after
24 - Again - HM the Sultans birthday - the flowers and grass patches they put up around the city for this occasion - wow almost 2 months later and the flowers still look pretty - I guess when summer hits they will die out tho...
25 - Again - HM the Sultans birthday (can you tell I'm struggling to come up with a full list - so stretching it out?? :)) they put flags up everywhere... and unlike RSA where they would be left up to rot and never replaced - these were taken down timeously and neatly... you never even noticed the small army that must have done that...
26 - the fact that going to new places - even the local airline offices - turns into an adventure. First you have to get verbal directions, then bug someone for a wikimap, then try and get the GPS to say ANYTHING other than off route recalculting... FUN FUN FUN !!! and I get so EXCITED when I manage to find the place FIRST TIME.... :) I get so proud of myself... :) (pat on back)
27 - the fact that they work on the roads 24/7 and they are constantly changing... There's a major road work taking place here on the way to Qurum - everytime I past that junction they have changed it - one day theres a speed bump, they then realise that backs the traffic up - and over night they take it down, 2 days later they change it into 2 lanes vereing off into to different directions - so you panic as to which one to take - then they suddenly reconnect... I LOVE IT
28 - the fact that the GPS maps (well mine anyway) are not uptodate with the speed in which roads are changed here.... I hear more off route recalculating then anything else outta my GPS... LOL - okay okay - so that could also have something to do with my driving... No Comment... LOL
29 - The Total Mixing pot of nationalities here... It's great being able to meet other nationalities and find out things about them - discuss issues - even if it is things like why a Polar Bear should be clean and not dirty.... Its great - and I know my Kid is benefiting from it - he has 17 nationalities in his class of 20 and there are a total of 21 languages spoken in the class... WOW - where else can one get that type of exposure??
30 - You can go to the beach 365 days a year here... yes - even when it rains... :)
31 - they do NOT have the CAPE DOCTOR - the howling south easter that Cape Town experiences - I hated it... hardly any wind to speak of here...
32 - the beaches... thats gotta be a plus... :)
33 - OH - the snorkeling - my newly found hobbie... WOW - the seas are amazing here... well worth a visit just for that..
34 - The amount of different types of food available here - at good prices... yummo
35 - Ah almost forgot the drive thru' coffee shop... What more can a gal ask for hey... drive thru and get your cuppa...
36 - Muscat Bakery Al Khuwair (I think thats the branch) it's near me anyways - they have wraps - YUMMIE.. :) OMR 0.300 - yip ZAR 6 for this yummie wrap filled with something - I have NO FREAKEN IDEA - hubby says chicken mincey spicey whateva - then some salad and then slap chips (french fries) OH MY WORD... yummo
37 - the bread here - we just call it arabic bread - who knows what the correct term for it is... again yummo... :) erm - it looks like a pancake I guess but is more like pita breads - ie can be opened up and stuffed full of whateva.. yum yum
38 - Iraqui (does it have the u?) bread - I know the name cause I asked... :) there is a teeny weeny hole in a wall here nearby - you go in - not much there except this large round hole with a large gas fire at the bottom - you order the bread - they roll out the balls of dough - flatten it and stick it to the roof of this "oven" couple of secs later you have a yummo large piece of hot breadie / pancakey / something... flip - we end up eating it all on the way home and whatever we had made to eat with it gets stuffed in the fridge... (note to self - on the nights you dont want to cook - just go get the bread)
39 - Qurum Park - love the place - I dont go there often enough - beautiful large gardens - stunning now that all the flowers are out - large lake - you can spend your evenings there picnicing, walking, jogging, eating whateva... Now back in RSA - yes you get nice walking areas - but ask yourself this - would you go there alone with your kids after dark???
40 - Friendlyness and random acts of kindness from total strangers - yes sure they are world wide - but it seems to stick out here more.. dont ask me why
41 - did I mention the coffee culture?
42 - okay this one might sound weird... and is totally hard to explain unless you have been here - but I love the random randomness of this place... you have things all over the place, strange shops next door to weirder shops, the shop names make me giggle, seeing people on the side of a freeway on a wadi mat drinking coffee makes me smile, seeing 2 men holding hands makes me smile - randomness I tell you randomness.
(can you tell I'm struggling here... LOL)
43 - I LOVE the fact that if you are out shopping and you spot something interesting - you have to sms / call everyone you know to let them know what you have found - cause you have to BUY it then and THERE cause it will be gone within the hour... so if you see the ABC and you know X wants one BUY IT NOW! - 'cause if you call her and tell her you saw it at XYZ - she will not get there in time to get it... its weird but fun I tell you FUN - makes shopping an adventure... :D
44 - OH Almost forgot (thanks wingman) the smoking laws here... :) big plus... HAHA you can basically smoke in most places here... In malls for me was a biggie - but I have gotten over the novelty and no longer stand around like a "bergie" leaning against pillars having a fag.... I try and act with manners now... LOL
45 - okay another one that sounds good in my head... the "brain trust" as I call it - a social networking site on the internet for people who live / lived in Oman - regardless of nationality - you can get soooo much information of there its amazing - and meet a whole bunch of great people... :) no where in SA - if you join a social networking site will you meet nicer people, have accurate info, and find exactly what you need to know - I guess it boils down to the fact that Muscat itself is actually tiny - so everyone is based more or less in the same place - and not spread out in different citys etc etc.
46 - Did I mention you can swim 365??? indeed you can swim all year round... granted to water temp drops over "winter" but it drops to swimable levels not freezing levels...
47 - This one is for the kid - I know he loves this... You can sit on the floor, eating with your hands making a mess and mommy dont moan... he loves it... :) (granted I only allow that in resturants where I dont have to clean... LOL
oh bugger - running out of steam here... help
48 - I learn things here - like I have finally figured out the definition of a split second... Its the time between the traffic lights turning amber (they do that here - red amber green amber red) anyway between turning amber and the guy behind you hooting... split second
49 - There is no income tax / paye what ever you call it - granted I dont have a job... BUT if I had one it would be tax free... Now that is a good enuff reason hey... :)
50 - smokes are extremely cheap here... EXTREMELY... :) Back in RSA I think I was paying over ZAR 25 + a pack of 20 - here I'm paying around OMR 0.600 per 20 so thats what around ZAR 12.... yay ME!!!! :)

and Finally

51 - Double D, Spin Cycle, Wingman and Dave (after much debate we settled on this nick... sorry but it works...) are HERE!!!! :D Coffee buddies... Gotta love 'em... :)


Okay who spotted I didn't have a 13??? LOL

Anyways till next time...
XX

PS - if you think of anything else positive about this place let me know... :)
PPS - its 11h30 on the 11th of January - so it did take me a while - but bear in mind I had a overseas guest - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it... :)

You can spot us a MILE away... :)

I'm telling you - you can spot a South African a MILE away in this place... :)

Four recent things have bought me to this post

Firstly Delirious in the Desert - wrote a blog about the Degrees of Seperation - you can read it -->here<-- and this got me thinking about how close we all are, which lead my warped mind to how many South Africans I randomly bump into in this place, and of course it wasn't long before someone I met here knew someone who knew someone I knew.... (yeah confusing I know - but thats facebook for you.... LOL)

And then I got to thinking about maybe using Africaans as a means of "Skinnering" (for those who are too lazy to read my earlier posts thats "Gossiping") just MIIIGHT not be the thing to do in this place - even tho' you assume there isn't another Saffer for miles around...

Let me give you an example... (this being recent event 2)

My family and "R"'s family decided to spend the day at the beach recently - there we "spied" this old Tannie (polite way of saying old lady) who's hair was not "up to our standards" LOL - it was really long and really grey - and we were generally discussing how when we got to that age should we dye it, cut it - as you ALL know - people over "a certain" age should have short hair (or so the myth goes) (my world remember.... :)) Bearing in mind that me and R hadn't had a hair cut for months - so we were not looking up to scratch either - never mind the grey... LOL
So anyway there we were "skinnering" away in Africaans about this tannie - without a care in the world - even though she most probably heard us (here's holding thumbs she didn't!).... Later on in the day - oh a couple of hours later - along comes - we assume her husband and her son.... LO and BEHOLD - the son had a togbag with a South African FLAG on it..... YES Murphy's Law - skinner about someone in a foreign language and YES they will know that very same language... OOPS!! Needless to say - we were MORTIFIED... and proceeded to take the long way around to the sea for the rest of the day... :)

And then there is the way - and I'm sorry to say this - REALLY I AM - but I just have it... its the way the SOUTH AFRICAN MALE dresses... Sorry - this had to be said...

Recent event 3
I went to a Mall a little while ago - standing next to a pillar having a fag (as you do... LOL - I LOVE IT - you can smoke in the malls here... I dont any more tho' But I did then cause it was a novelty... :)) anyway - moving along - a guy walked passed wearing plakkies (flipflops) Rugby shorts and a vest with holes in it (any South African that reads this will know WHAT I'm talking about!) and a bum bag / moon bag (whateva you call it). Hubby and I just looked at each other and burst out laughing... Of course I said "I wonder how we could prove he was a Saffer?" The words were bearly out of my mouth when I looked back and saw the moonbag had an advert on it.... Thats right people it was a Cell C moon bag... ENUFF SAID - thats all the proof I NEEDED!

(Erm - prehaps I should clarify for any non saffer reading - seeing as I know of at least 2 "foreigners" who read this (thanks Delirious and CCS!).... Cell C is the 3rd Cellular Network in RSA who were too lazy to think up a real name - so they called themselves C ... LOL)

and finally recent event 4
This happened today actually, we went to the beach for the day - as you do when
a) its the last day of school holidays
b) you have overseas guests
c) its a "Sunday
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY
d) its the middle of WINTER... OH how I love that...

Anyway there was another couple there and me and SK2 discussed them and were undecided if they were Saffers or not - again PURELY on the style of clothing the male wore. About half hour later when hubby came back from his swim - he proceeded to have the same conversation with us... I was like "wow - I'm not the only one who thinks people are South African based solely on the clothes"

Anyway we were left undecided - hubby and I were yes they are and SK2 was nope they are not - so no out right win on this one - no solid proof...

One other thing I have noticed here as well is that Saffers all seem to have a South African flag on their cars as a bumper sticker... I haven't noticed that many other countries - but a damn lot of SA Ones - strange dont you think?
Dont they realise that just means that other people will know that its a South African who's stolen their parking spots?? or parked badly?? or cant drive??

I have not succumbed to this - purely because you cant buy them here ;)

Anyways till next time - feel free to post me a Flag Bumper Sticker... :)
xx

It's the little "weird" things that make me smile......

I just had to post about this.... I had such a giggle to myself when I "discovered" these and I soooooo wanted to email tonnes of peeps and say LOOK WHAT I GOT... but of course that really only works well in my head... LOL

Firstly - according to "my world" - the real world is made up of "camps" - for and against - you are either with me or against me so to speak... I used to have a whole list of things on this subject - but due to my move I've lost the list... (refer wobbly post!) Seriously - I cant remember the whole list I made up - but here's a few

- You get MacDonalds - you either eat the chips first or the burger - simple as that you never eat them together - one or the other... - I'm in the burger first camp.
- Elvis or Cliff - It's true - you either like one or the other - never both - please someone tell me you like both... :) Due to my mother dear being Cliffs number 1 fan and groupie - I fall in the Cliff camp.

Like I say I did have a longer list - but I'm getting old now - so forgot...

BUT last one (I can remember... lol) is BAKED BEANS
- you either LOVE 'EM or HATE 'EM...
I'm in the LOVE 'EM camp - yummmmmmie.... Beans on Toast with a fried egg on top... (where's my brother when you need him??? ) LOL

ANYWAY's to get to the point of this whole blog...

South Africa can be so "developed" (read first world) in some respects - yet so "undeveloped" (read third world) in others... 'Strue - there are many areas that South Africa outstrips Oman on development (Driving, having to pay for plastic bags, the packers at the shops - for a quick off the top of my head list) but one way RSA lags behind is food stuff - In a earlier post I mentioned a shop in RSA where you can buy tonnes of your Fav UK foods - and boy do the British people buy from there... The UK has quite a few yummie things for a nation that "supposidly" cant cook... LOL

One thing I always thought that RSA should import was the frozen Yorkshire Puddings.. cause DAMN - I can only make Yorkshire thin waffers - yes yes apparently its the heat of the oil that makes it.... NOPE! cant do it... Although my Boet brags that he can - but he never invites me around when he makes them - strange now that I think about it... LOL (BTW - they have 'em here - I have a few stashed in my deep freeze for the next roast... :))

Anyway - For the person WHO CANT COOK and likes to make meals as hassle free as possible (and also bearing in mind the clean up that goes along with the making of the food..... LOL) I have DISCOVERED this weeks BEST INVENTION.... (I feel like Dr Livingston! ROFL)



Thats right people - Microwaveable, individual portions of BAKED BEANS...

They look like this....



Below you can read all about it... LOVE IT
Just enough in one "bucket" for beans on toast for one person - peel back the plastic cover and pop in the microwave for 1 min... :)



What more can a person ask for hey??? :) (of course if they could pre-pack nice fresh fried eggs... I'd be in heaven... LOL)

Anyways till next time.... MBABT.... ROFL...
xx

bleh...... oh - WARNING - this is age restricted... :)

Geez - slump time again....

Not gonna bore you all to death with my slump days...

Just wanna tell you NEVER EVA move to a foreign country where you have a rely on sponsorship for work visa's to start up a new business... JUST - DONT - DO - IT!!! :)
And dont EVER do it if your Hubby dont handle stress well... FUCK IT - we are living in a muslim state for crying in a bucket - the amount of times we have screamed I'm divorcing you at each other - by this time I am sure we are actually legally divorced.... ROFL...

Anyways you know how you end up having certain songs you play over and over and over again - cause they just really touch the mood you are in, and every lyric pulls at your heart stings and you wanna shout - STOP SINGING ABOUT ME...

Well - I have a song for this phase in my life right now - Eminem - Beautiful

I will try and link the youtube page -> here <- its the lyrics up until roughly 2 minutes - I can listen to them over and over and over...

They touch me...

dont click on it - if you think Eminem is a tad rude... LOL

Lets see if I can find the lyrics and copy and paste them - then you can sing along hey???

DAMN IT - Cant find one that I can copy and paste from... Wont even let me print it... LOL

Here goes - its a re-type - so excuse any spelling mistakes

Lately I've been hard to reach
I've been too long on my own
Everyone has their private world
Where they can be alone

Are you calling me?
Are you trying to get through?
Are you reaching out for me?
I'm reaching out for you

I'm just so fucken depressed
I just cant get out this slump
If I could just get over this hump
But I need something to pull me out this dump

I took my bruises, took my lumps
Fell down and got right back up
But I need that spark to get psyched back up
and in order for me to pick the mic back up


then the rest - obviously dont relate - but the Chorus does... :D

Dont let 'em say you aint beautiful
They can all get fucked, just stay true to you
Dont let 'em say you aint beautiful
They can all get fucked, just stay true to you

So anyways thats my bitch for the day - sorry it wasn't more interesting... but I had to get that of my chest... :D

Anyways till next time
xx