Weekend Challange(s) - language warning included

On Thursday Night Tris and I played pool to decide what we will do on the weekend.

The bet...

T: Oil Museum

N: Colour Me Mine (a cafe where paint ceramics).

Well the game went like this:

T: gets two in a row.

N: i missed the orange big =(

T: i missed the orange small =(

N: damn that orange big!

T: I didn't get the orange small, but i got one in.

N: Fuck you orange big!!

T: Fuck you orange small!

N: I got one in!

T : That was the white one

N: ... FUCK YOU TRISTAN!

T: Oh horrah you got one in!

N: ... FUCK YOU TRISTAN!!!

T: Oh look just the black left

N: NOO the oil museum!

T: Horray I won!

N: Congratulations! Let's play chess

T: Aww something your good at...

N: Indeed

T: Horray I won!

N: I'm going home

So it was the oil museum ahoy! But since I had parent consultation on the weekend and came home shagged we have put it off for this weekend.

But that hasn't stopped us doing the next weekend challenge... KNOCK-OFF-OPOLY!!!

With things like

How could we go wrong...

The bet...

N: Colour Me Mine

T: I dunno... (Creative thinking Hubby!)

After a grueling beginning, my gamble of buying as much as I could started to pay off, until I got hit with the house tax. So...

I paid it off because I was rich as all hell... mwhahahahahahahahahahaha!

Me Mine - Next Weekend! =)

But the real winner?

Lyia! She owns Knock-Off-Opoly!

Restoration or Devastation (and the true origin of a joke)

I can't believe it has been nearly two years since I visited Egypt.

Tristan, Mum and myself travelled from Alexandria to Aswan - we saw fantastic monuments as well as bits of rock, had our own police escort, were nearly mugged and definitely conned, got Egypt belly and sunstroke, frightened by German tourists and delighted by our guides and all the while celebrating two birthdays.

It was truly an adventure to remember.

Our last stop was Luxor - we were happy to get of the cruise ship because we were the only non Germans on board and had a horrible room near the engine!

And while Luxor time spent in Luxor was intense in regards to visiting all the old stuff we could. It was cooler, beautiful (like a true romanticised desert) and less in your face than any of the cities we had visited.

Oh yes, there were still people trying to get you buy things and I got offered a 100 camels for my sister (who wasn't even there!). But it was relaxing.

The discovery of the longest sphinx avenue in Luxor has resulted in $11 million project to excavate it and make it a big open air muesum - it is an exciting project... but at what costs?

Reports from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7060963.ece, http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=50443 and http://www.aina.org/news/20100323193843.htm talks of destruction of homes, historic landmarks and places of worship.

People are being relocated to small flats, or given insufficient compensation or just kicked out - all in the name of what? Rediscovering the past? Saving treasures from being destroyed?

The Times states 'Jihane Zaki, a government Egyptologist. Its restoration, he said, would return “dignity and glory”'

Where does dignity and glory comes from? It has been suggested that it will be made into a Las Vagas/ Disney version of itself; with tourist villages, people waltzing around in costumes and a monorail?

Then I shudder at the archaeological implications too. They are doing a Henric Schlimann - they are destorying upper levels to get their 'Troy'.

What is the cost of that town that I visited? Will the towns people be scarred by this? Will it be less friendly? Less relaxed? Will it have the craziness like Cairo? I hope they survive it.

To sum up the character of Luxor and also to settle a dispute for comedy fans out there let me relate one more tale.

While walking up the street to Luxor temple; there are horses and carts a plenty to take you any place you desire. The drivers would try and lure you in for this bumpy ride and as soon as you say 'La Shukran' (No thank you in Arabic) they keep on trying...

'Well we have Porsche? Hot Air Balloon? Helicopter? .... AIR CONDITIONED DONKEY?'

So the joke doesn't belong to Ross Noble or Wil Anderson - it is probably as old as Egypt itself. I sincerely hope that absurd wit never dies.

Beware of Others Faults

The GCC Road Safety Week commenced this week, with this slogan. While this slogan is sufficient in countries where the basics of the road have been mastered - here, where getting your licence is not based on passing a test, but wasta (influence) - it can only be scoffed at.

This is a country which had 61,000 (REGISTERED) car accidents in 2009 and has the most road related deaths per capita in the world.

Every day collectively four of us in the taxi probably say 'shit' the minimum of 20 times on a half an hour there and back car trip. You put your life on the line every time you go on the road.

Learning how to drive usually begins on a quite road, and only once you and your instructor feels confident do you go to the next level. This is where you learn to drive and simultaneously become aware of other drivers around you.

Why I object to this slogan is that some people here are happy to believe that it was other faults which causes the accident; not their speeding, tail gating, cutting off or crossing three lanes to get off the round about... RIGHT NOW!

Okay, don't think it could be THAT bad... I'll give you some examples of what I have seen:

- Guys doing wheeleys on motorbikes at 150km/h. I have seen this three times. Not only were these idiots doing this stupid act, they were wearing no leathers of helmets.

-8 to 12 year old children going down the highway

- 3 year old child sitting on Dads lap behind the wheel of the car at a busy intersection... lights change... the child is using the wheel... not his dad.

- A police car speeding then overtaking someone before going up the curb hitting two parked cars

- Child restraints... seat belts... what are they?

- Cars racing up to 250km/h

Most horrific story this year
8 die in illegal race

Now... last year the Head of Police said something like people speed because their drunk, crazy, or just need to get somewhere quickly. So make sure you get out of their way.

*facepalm*

Nerdy Pants

When watching the Star Trek Ep Operation Annihilate - Spock (because he was infected) decided to go down to the planet surface to capture one of the pancake things that got him... he was so serious and this image hit me...

Sexpedition on Gaia made my vision possible!

Ehehehe!

Disaster!

In the summer, one of the main sewage stations broke down (Yes, broke down) - and this lead to some sewage water being pumped into the sea. If we were in Australia this would be called a national crisis - but here, well it is mostly ignored.

Tris' students are unaware of the problem (although I don't know how when you have to go past smelly pumps where ever you ho) so, he showed him the image I found in google maps.

This is the recent image:


View Larger Map

The one he showed to the students has less green around the coast!

Today the Al Watan came out with this:

http://www.alwatandaily.com/articleviews.aspx?id=71856&cat=1

They are now pumping all sewage into the sea and now there is 4cm of sewage! It's frightening.

Horray for Kuwait.

Sprouts and Sha'ab

In Amsterdam we brought bulbs and seeds of: Darwin Tulips; Rembrandt Tulips; Mini Sunflowers; A Orange tree; Birds of Paradise; and a Bonzi Tree. This was to add to our magnificent green collection (of two plants)

Now I haven't planet anything before; so when the flowers began to sprout I got childishly excited - often commenting 'Oh look how he has grown today!'

So more pictures to comes as they grow! =)

Earlier this week Tris and I decided to play Yuka. But to make it interesting we put a bet on it - the bet is what we would do one day of this weekend.

Tris wanted us to go to the Oil Museum. I wanted to go to the Fun Park - where Tris would have to come on the scary rides with me, and had to win me a toy.

So off we went to the Al Sha'ab Leisure Park; built in 1996 it hasn't seem to be have been upgraded since.

We first went past this water slide; which I thought the mouths were beautiful - but I regretted putting my camera down. Because two screaming woman came spilling out - dressed in the full burka. What a surreal site!

Then we went past this ride; which I think would have redesigned for political reasons other countries

Off next we went to Ripley's Believe It or Not... and while some of it was quite gruesome, and vaguely interesting but because of TV, the internet and easier access of travel it made the whole exhibition have little impact.

Next was the Haunted Castle... oooOooooo.... a ride which we first had to walk up this dark corridor (with me pushing Tristan in front of me) we made each other really nervous - until we realised it was just the walk way up to the start of the ride... and that disappointment is how I could sum up the ride. Lame animatronics, parts of the ride not lit up correctly to actually see what was there, some parts not even working... it would have been all worth the lameness if one guy jumped out and said 'Boo!' but alas... even though it looked like it was designed for that, it was not to be so. I can just see some of the locals losing their shit at someone who was trying to scare them. Sad!

We went past this ride; which strapped you up to a rope and you went swinging. We decided not to go on because we thought we would violate point 6.

Next was Mini Golf; and with the way the park had maintained it meant there was no smooth course and with seeds all over the ground it made for an interesting game.

Here is Tris on the last hole... well on the grass after hitting past the hole. But, as you can see he got back on the course, and got the ball in.

Tris did win the game, and here is me getting angry at the ball.

We did go on the roller coster, and that was damn scary! Especially the part when we thought it the coaster was going to fall off the loop!! The thrill is not the ride itself... it wondering if it's not going to fall apart while your on it... although I use to have that thought with the Big and Lil Beasty in Wonderland.

We went on a couple of more rides, then it was time for Tris to fufill the last stipulation of the bet. We tried at a couple of chance games - and failed miserably. Until we found one where we would definitely win a prize. Tris won me the teddy. Im won him the... thing... with blue breasts and tassels....

Overall, even though how expensive and lame the place was - it was loads of fun!! =) Next time we will go to Entertainment City (which is also called Risk Your Life City named after a school visit there where my friend had a server bumper car crash and I got knocked in the head with a safety harness - causing me to puke on the swings ride.) but at least you don't have to pay for every ride... =)

Hello World

Hello *waves*

After seeing how Jarod and Liz have made their blog interesting I thought it would be good to start one of my own and while I leave my angst ridden LJ behind - I hope to contribute something at least slightly interesting.

This will have lots of information about knitting, travel, archaeology and maybe some baking. Also recounting my experiences in Kuwait and possibly a rant or two on some subject (most likely about Kuwait)

So as Wil Anderson says
'Let's Fuck This Puppy!'