Le Téléphone Arabe

Excellent song. They just don't make music like this anymore. 

Sometimes, I wish we could pass along what we have in life when we no longer want it. If we grow tired of life, we can give our remaining years to someone who truly wants to be here. Someone who has children or loved ones that they want to stick around for. It's like that old saying, "Youth is wasted on the young", in the sense that I've found myself at a point where I no longer want or need anything. Life in Kuwait is what it is, and any change that would make me happy is decades away. Who's to say I'll still want it when that time rolls around? As selfish and as ungrateful as it sounds, I'm pretty much over everything. I've given and done my best, with very little satisfying return. I don't half-ass anything, and I'm no longer interested in living half a life. 

I'm going to keep through the motions for the remainder of this summer, but I've decided that I've had my fill of Kuwait. I don't think I'll be blogging after I jet off, and the same goes for all my other social-media platforms. I was never interested in them back home, but it was a lack intellectual sophistication in Kuwait that drove me to pursue things like Blogger and Twitter. Using them, I've discovered that there are many amazing people out there, and I suppose I can now take comfort in the fact that I'm "not alone". 

I started this blog to document my freshman year in KU, and to weigh in on all things Kuwait and I did just that. I don't think I caused as many waves as I wanted, but if one person read anything I wrote here and reconsidered any of the various topics I've covered, then I guess it was worth it. I tried with Kuwait, I really tried. As they say, I'm done.

Let's enjoy the remainder of our time together. Let me know if there's any particular topic or promised post you guys want to read and I'll do my best to put something together.

Letting it all go,

S.

PS - I have a second "Snap Snap" post in the works.

PPS - The title of this post is the French name for a game called Chinese Whispers. The game reminds me a lot of how Kuwaiti society functions. 

Concepts & Rules

Sometimes, you just have to revamp what you already have. This cover is a personal favorite, enjoy!

(It's been a while since I've tuned out the rest of the world and sat down to write, so I'll ask that you bear with. I'm not entirely sure what we'll get out of this post, but it should be fun nonetheless.)

We should get all caught up, right? Let's see... Well, as you can tell I haven't been writing (I really dislike the term blogging) steadily since February. The reasons for this are colorful and varied, but don't worry because I've had a magnificent few months since we last were in touch. What I'm trying to say that, for the most part, I'm doing well and I hope you are all happy and healthy. If you guys are good, I'm good.

Next on the agenda: this domain.

After some pesky family members decided to hunt down my SUPER SECRET blog domain, this thing kind of lost some its luster. While I could care less if anyone from my "real life" reads what I write here, I just really enjoyed the fact I never had to think twice about saying anything here. Here, I don't represent a last name or a family or a religion or even a sect. On my blog, I'm simply me... or at least I was. However, after my initial juvenile rage subsided, I realized that a good deal of my readers know who I am, and my relatives/real life-ers lack the intellectual sophistication to fully grasp what it is I try to say here, so it's all good. 

I would move, and I have tried several times, but it seems as though I've grown rather attached to both this domain and the lovely readers who frequent it. Intellectually, and even sometimes emotionally, this has become something of a home for me. Like a childhood home, I skim through my older posts and realize just how much I've grown here. We've (you, the readers, and I) have had some highs and lows, had some laughs and some serious discussions. For those reasons, I can't seem to bring myself to give it up. Add that to the fact I now have TEN people following this blog (Do you know how hard it is to get an audience when you're NOT blogging about brownies and expos?), so it seems we'll be celebrating our one year blog birthday here and soon! 

That's all the boring and official stuff out of the way, so I think I'll take a self-indulgent trip down memory lane for you guys.

A couple of nights ago, I found myself at the graduation ceremony for my old high school. I had kindly been invited by a dear friend, and I would have been a fool to say. The girls looked beautiful, the ceremony was (surprisingly) light and it was an enjoyable night overall. I must say, I enjoyed the graduation much more from the audience's vantage point. This time last year, I was a miserable mess. If it hadn't been for the insistence of one particular friend, I wouldn't have gone to my own graduation. Looking back, I'm glad she insisted I show up. Yes, it was horrible and I hated every minute of it, but at least I went. Sure, I could have stayed home and felt bad for myself, but that would have been too easy. Someday in the future, I will be able to tell my cats about how uncomfortable I was during those two hours, and how I felt it was like some sort of reverse celebration of my acheivments. How I felt like my entire fail of a senior year culminated into that one night, with all those pretty lights dangling from the ceiling meant to show me just how little of my potential I had achieved.

I felt horrible for a very long time after that night last year, but you know what I did? I got up, wiped my tears off my face and turned my life around. Here I am exactly one year later, a completely different person with a completely different outlook on life. It's definitely safe to say that this past year has seen me grow up. I'm a different (not necessarily) better person, but that's just how life goes. 

Speaking of life, I should wrap up this post before we run out of ours. Apologies for the long-winded comeback post, but I've suffered at the hand of my writer's block for so long, and I've had so much to say, so you can only imagine how happy I am to be back. I have so many projects planned for the blog, I'm really excited to share them with you!  

Okay, I'll stop typing.

Pasting together the past,

S.

Moving

I think I'm almost over this case of writer's block.

Also, life has been very... full lately, so I do have some updates for you guys. However, things are going to change.

While I'll always cherish this domain for everything it has given me, from comments to friendships, I've lost the main reason I loved it so: I'm not as anonymous as I once was.

As you can see, my writing is still atrocious so I'll wrap it up and leave you guys with this:

I'm moving the blog to a more anonymous domain. Please feel free to leave your email in the comments section below or drop me a note at theexpatess@hotmail.com and I'll update your inbox with the new details.

I'll check back in a few weeks and hopefully get back to writing for you guys soon enough.

Calling it quits,

S.

ICU

Kuwait?

I think we need to start over.

S.

Whispers

Once upon a time, I had a life in Canada and this song was popular. I miss being naive young. 

As it stands, I am six months away from completing my third year in Kuwait. The person I was when I reached this land no longer exists. I don't know where she is, and I haven't heard from her in a while. 

I miss her. 

In her place, I've found this new S. I've been struggling with her for a while now. She's so rash, so young and overly eager. She hasn't seen a world outside of Kuwait. She's forgotten many things I no longer remember; the sound of snow crunching under her boots, riding the bus, walking to school, doing laundry... Someone else did these things, a long time ago. She's eager, and easily excited. I can't seem to keep her in check. Being so young, she's constantly starving, wanting to devour everything in sight. Every emotion, every sound, every glance... She's on fire and I don't know how to quench her thirst.

Schizophrenia aside, life has been good. I'd almost say too good, but then again I have been sweating blood for almost a year now trying to create the life I've always wanted and so I think I'll just enjoy the payoff without worrying about any future debt. 

(The way I see it? If you're not broke, you're not living) (Yeah, I don't know what that means either. Cut me some slack; I haven't written a while).

Writing this, I'm listening to the song I've added above and I'm surrounded by boxes, suitcases and general chaos. No, we're not leaving the country; we're simply moving to a larger home. Why bring this up? Well, this is the most familiar setting I've found myself since moving to this country two and a half years ago. The dull thud of brown boxes hitting marble, the fluid sound of zippers and plastic bags rustling... If I close my eyes, it's almost like I'm in my old life again. It's as though we're back in Canada (my real home), and we're preparing for the next major move. Usually, my nerves would burn with an intoxicating mix of anxiety, anticipation and excitement; just think of all the new people, new teachers, news books!  

Not this time. After the last piece of clothing has been hung and the last screw twisted, I'll still be in Kuwait. A new carpet doesn't change that. The most disturbing part? I'm not as upset about this as I'd like to be.

I don't like where we are. I need to move out of Kuwait, soon.          

Feeling blissfully spent,

S.

PS - You are the one that lies close to me, Kuwait. (Unfortunately for both of us).

PPS - How fucking excited are we to have the sun back? Spring rocks.

No Sole

She walks like this cause she can BACK IT UP.

1/11/11.

Also known as January 11, 2011. A momentous day for people who like to add significance to what I'm guessing are their insignificant lives. Oh, the privilege it is of being a member of this dumb ass generation.

(I promise I have some actual politically charged and thought-inducing posts about recent events and topics that relate to Kuwait... However, for the next little while, I'm going to need to vent. Bear with me). 

Let's go through a little rundown of how things are going in my life, shall we?

• Finals - They start Thursday. I'd ask you to pray for me, but we both know that doesn't actually help matters that we're all busy people, and there are people out there that deserve your prayers more. 

• Men - Unless they're gay, I honestly can no longer deal with them (Except my Dad, a.k.a Caribou money supplier a.k.a hero). I  have neither the time nor energy for their bullshit. Period. (Hormonal pun... intended).  That's a lie; putting up with their bullshit is fun and a great way to waste time.

• Health - When I was 15 years old, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. About a year later I had my thyroid removed and now subsist on a daily dose of Thyroxine. The thyroid controls everything in your body. This includes your mood, sleeping pattern, ability to focus, your skin etc. I haven't been to KU in three days because I haven't been able to get out of bed. I've been sleeping almost 18 hours straight everyday and I have pounding headaches round the hour. It's all good though. Not. (If I die, please tell the world my story. Don't forget to mention I was a good writer. Thank you in advance).  

In short, I don't like who I've become. The following is an excerpt from an essay I found in my senior year English binder. The question was "What future career plans do you hold for yourself?". The following was the answer I wrote on October 28, 2009: 

"My future career plans are quite ambitious, but I never saw any harm in dreaming. After I complete medical school, I hope to complete my residency in Canada, the US or England. After that is completed, I will partake in a fellowship to be able to specialize even further in an area of my work. I will work, try to open my own private clinic  and someday open a hospital with my father, who is also a doctor. However much I dislike living in Kuwait, I can see myself working in the country. Although I would work here, it would not be all year, but rather a couple of months at a time while I split my time between here and North America. Lastly, but certainly not least, I would love to become the Health Minister of Kuwait, which I believe would make me the first female to hold the position if no other woman attains.

Unfortunately, my plans are not as random as I had hoped for years ago, but with a general structure I feel safer and more confident heading into the intimidating world of adulthood." 

Looking back, I guess I did have ambition. This new girl I've become is not cool. I hate her fucking ambition-less guts don't like her. Considering how it's me, myself and I at KU, this is proving to be quite the problem.

Oh, and in regards to the title of this post and the photo...

Christian Louboutin was in Kuwait.

Mass hysteria ensued. Apparently.

The masses continue to live deluded lives, unaware of what is actually going on in their own country... but Hey, 600kd shoes are a big fucking deal, okay?

Too pissed for a pun,

S.

PS - How are you doing?

PPS - This was supposed to be posted before midnight. I failed, therefore the glitch between the dates. I apologize for my inability to be my usual epic self.

The Meat Grind

No burgers OR hot dogs. Metaphorically speaking. Yeah.  

The first week of the new year is quickly drawing to an end, and here I am... Or should I say, here we are? Yes folks, you read that correctly: The Expat Files now has FIVE followers! Count them and weep! Also, when you're done weeping, get back to reading this post. Please and Thank You in Advance.

(If I ever get ten followers on this thing, I'm starting a religion. Humanity... Consider this your warning).

However, I'm getting off track here. Let's head back to my main point: The new year. 

Culturally speaking, a new year generally means a new beginning, right? Seeing as how I successfully killed it with three out of four of my resolutions for 2010 (I still get panicky around Kuwaitis in large numbers), my ego was feeling rather fluffed and so I decided to really challenge (read: willingly make myself miserable) this year, and set out on conquering a few more goals. They are as follows:

• Become a vegetarian, and slowly phase into a completely vegan diet - This one of for my health, and because I didn't think I was giving people enough reasons to dislike me. I've been meat-free for almost 10 days now, and I'm feeling good. I'll dedicated a more detailed post to this and the reasons behind sometime

• Get out of KU - My entire blog is dedicated to this point. Any further explanation will see me jumping off of Kuwait Towers. Seriously.

• That's it - I apologize for not having more of a life. 

Bullets aside, I can't deny I've been feeling very disillusioned as of late. My first semester at KU comes to an end next Wednesday, and so you would assume I'd happy. Why would I be happy? Well, let's see:

• I should be happy to have made it through the first three months there.
• I should be happy to have made it through the first three months there.
• I should be happy to have made it through the first three months there.

The only downside to that fact would be the fact that I still have semester 2 and the summer semester to get through... AND SCENE. 

I'm done bitching. For now.

This entire charade was just my way of declaring my new meat-less life. Think of it as my way of protesting my time spent at KU, as in I refuse to kill animals to survive if I can't kill the cows I got to school with.

That, and I'm trying to get out of a creative funk.  

Basking in the after-taste of inspiration,

S.

Lyric of The Day: "She could kill me, just like she did before..." True Love Way - Kings of Leon

PS - Have you conquered any goals recently? You know where the comments go.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

S.

The Bullets Are Proof

A beautiful song. The perfect melody to start off the new year with.

2010. What a year. 

Where does one begin? Is there even a beginning, or end for that matter, to all the wonderful and horrible things that have happened this year? 

The Good

• For the longest time, I truly believed I would never find like-minded people with whom I could identify. I'm not ashamed to say I'm very proud I was wrong. I hope to remain wrong for as long as it feels right. While we should all be able to go it alone, it's healthy to realize that even someone as awesome as The Expatess can get lonely (from time to time). It's not weakness, it's a sign we're alive. Because, you know, heart beats are faulty.

• I finally got my act together, taking my medication like clockwork, getting my 2.0L of water a day and feeling better than ever. My illness? High school. Once I graduated, life improved drastically. So if you're reading this and are miserable (and in hell school), let me tell you... It gets better. It'll be over before you know it. Hey, I made it out alive! 

• Speaking of quality of life, 2010 taught me many things. It crushed my foolish and unnecessary pride, handed me back my dignity and left me with a pretty good head on my shoulders. Traumatic? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely.

• Scoring a 6 (OUT OF 7) on my HIGH LEVEL IB English course. I don't generally toot my own horn, but I'm very proud of this acheivement. As one of about 25 (give or take) students who took IB English in ACA, I beat all the girls AND THE BOYS. I got the highest mark! Okay, I'll stop abusing the Caps button.... NOW.  

• Got my fashion game together. I feel compelled to say it's a little bit military, androgynous, James Dean and a whole lot neutral. What can I say? I dress in shades of gray so my colorful words can really POP! 

• So, um... Apparently not all straight guys are evil. This? News to me. 

• I ended up in Kuwait University. 

The Bad (Here's where it gets funny)

• Working with my PreCal teacher (During high school) in order to pass her class. Which I did, albeit by a measly 1%... Not one of my better accomplishments. Looking back, I think she was more stressed about it than I was. I maintain, to this day, that the numbers were racist against Canadians. You laugh, but you know it's true (Or not). Also, I do not care about Sine/Cosine/Tan waves. Like, at all.

• Having no one believe I'm Kuwaiti, so just giving up and telling everyone I'm from Bahrain. I'm kidding. Or am I? 

• Walking into the boys washroom (BY ACCIDENT!) (Maybe) three times in my first two weeks of school. Thank goodness no one actually uses them. Well, other than to smoke in. And call their girlfriends. Oh, have I said too much?

• I'm going to dedicate one simple bullet to the lack of (fashion) inspiration I faced this year. I'll just say that I'm grateful for eyeliner, fashion blogs and my hard-working Father's money... and we'll leave it at that. See, this is what happens when you don't have an older sister and/or a Gay brother. Ugh). Thank goodness I cleaned up my act. 

• Realizing KU's library doesn't have any interesting books to read. Like, not a single book. One can only look for typos in various volumes of Sharia law books for so long.

• On a slightly more somber note, I faced many emotional hurdles this year. I know I'll continue to face many more in the years to come (it's part of this thing called "life"), but with help and hope given to me by a few amazing rocks in my life, I made it through. I still have those pebble-kicking kind of days, but I've got boulders supporting my castles in the sky. For that, I am so unbelievably grateful. (You guys know who you are. I love you all so much).

• I ended up in Kuwait University.    

Here's to the end of this decade, and to the beginning of everything (and anything) else. Here's to you, to me, to Kuwait, to him, to her and to anyone else with a decent internet connection. 

I'll leave you with some words from my boy Billy: 

“Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.” - Shakespeare 

2010... You made a woman out of me. 

Toasting the year in which my only love sprung from my only hate,

S.

PS - Any thoughts or hopes for 2011? Please share, I love reading these types of things.

PPS - Last treat of the year? A Twix bar.

Bits and Pieces

Don't say anything. Just listen.

My original intention for this blog had been to virally document my time in Kuwait (and KU) in a humorous, albiet distanced, manner. I was hoping to touch upon some social issues, garner some laughs and if I could get  even one person to rethink their approach to any of the topics I've discussed... Well, that would just be a great bonus to an already fulfilling endeavor. However, in this journey that I set out on (for all the wrong reasons), I've come to realize many things. Truths about myself, Kuwait, the people that make up my life and life in general. Some of the discoveries have been good, others great, while some were altogether heart-breaking. The fact that I'm using the word heart-breaking to describe events in my life shows me that I've grown as a person.  Perhaps you, my loyal readers, can sense it too? I don't know, but I'd hope so. This "honest vulnerability" thing is harder than it looks.

In the past, I would write and speak in a manner that was brilliant (or so I was told), but cold. I taught myself to inject passion into my words, rendering them relevant and sincere, without ever actually expressing emotion. At least, none of my own emotions. I spent many years living, speaking and dreaming in an abstract world I had created for my own amusement and, now looking back, protection. However, I think that phase of my life is (if it hasn't already) ending. As I slowly grow more confident with who I am as a person, a woman and a thinker, I feel  less of an urge to constantly blur my reality with ambigous words, which I only ever used to protect mysef from my own thoughts. Looks may kill, but thinking can torture. That much, I've learnt from my short time on this planet.

Since this was meant to be an update on my life, I suppose I should add some of that jazz into the mix: life's been very interesting lately. There's been some anger, a few surprises, a couple of comforting revelations and a lot of love. I really like that last part. It's a nice change, to have a heart and mind consumed by insane amounts of love and affection, as opposed to the hatred I'd been used to for so many years. Going back and forth to KU is still a stain upon my life, but it's my job to take advantage of all the resources I'm lucky enough to have (especially as a woman), so I'll just white-knuckle it and do my best. On a brighter note, I hope next fall will see yours truly blogging from Ireland, granted I make it alive and sane through this year. It's going to be interesting to see if that ever actually ends up happening, but time will tell.   

To wrap up this sickeningly positive post, I just wanted to let the universe know that I can feel it; I can feel the change, the energy surrounding this next stage of my life. I worked off a heart to get here, but I wouldn't change a thing. Hopefully, this advent of love will make for some interesting reading for the two of you that keep up this thing. 

Now if you'll kindly excuse me, I need to go ruin someone's day with a snide remark. I can only be so nice at a time. Baby steps, right?

Feeling half-heartedly whole,

S.

PS - How's your life these days? 

PPS - Yes, I listen to a select few Arabic singers (More on them in a later post). Don't give me hell about it, it's bad enough my mother thinks I'm "in love" because of my newfound musical leanings...

WE WON!!11!!!Eleven!!!!111

This would look AWESOME in a dewaniya.

Our boys (Hands off the one in gray).

S.

PS - Number 22, Al Khaldi? Call me.

Sunny Side Up

He whips it back & forth, real hard.

(I find this article's summary of the game very... humorous.)

While I'm over the moon about tonight's victory, I feel as though I need to point out that it was only the semi-finals. Not that the people outside my window seem to care; from all the honking I hear, Kuwait is definitely counting their chickens a bit early. Oh well. Who am I to begrudge people a little fun? The cops should make a killing with tickets tonight, so I guess there is a silver lining to all this. Hold those street hooligans accountable!

Iraq played well, but our boys definitely turned things up after an hour into the game. That's pretty much all I can say about the game. I'm still new to this watching-sports-willingly thing. I'm surprised to say this, but since catching World Cup fever back in June, I've really taken to watching soccer. Maybe it's because it makes me feel like a part of something., and it's something both my family and I enjoy. Or maybe it's because soccer players are hot. Either or. 

Speaking of hot, I want to add that Fahad Al Anizi's hair is awesome. I'm dead serious. I think I'm going to call into Marina FM and dedicate Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" to him as soon as I'm over this cold. Speaking of which, is not fun. Every 6-8 weeks, I'm hit with a crippling bout of the flu and this round has been particularly horrid. I've even lost my voice, which would have been tragic except for the fact I've also lost my phone, so the universe has taken care of things for me. It's all about the cosmic balance folks...

 

Iraq, The Expatess' thoughts are with you and your team. Well played and you've done the Middle East proud. Better luck next time mates. 

Always and forever kickin' it her way,

S.

PS - Can someone tell me exactly why our national team's color is blue? Seriously confused about this one.

Blow 'Em

That's "Birthday Sheikha" to you.

Today is the 19th day of the 11th month of 2010, the last year of this decade. Coincidentally, it also marks the beginning of a somewhat relevant countdown. In exactly three months time, my next birthday rolls around. Now, there isn't anything particularly relevant about this age; as a matter of fact, it's a rather obscure number, one that is seldom brought up or spoken of. As teens, we look forward to our 18th birthday because it marks our induction into adulthood, the next phase of life. After which, 20 (Or 21, if you're fond of  consuming alcohol legally) is usually the next milestone. From there on, it all seems to go downhill, but that's another post for another time when I'm old and no longer have anything to look forward to other than blogging. Wait...
Laughs aside, I am genuinely excited about my upcoming birthday. Last time around, my plans fell through. By "fell through" I mean I missed my own birthday dinner. Relatively speaking, that was a rather tragic event. Moving on, I still don't know what I want to do on the day, if I end up doing anything at all. The reason it carries some slight significance is due to the fact *fingers crossed*, it may (will) be my last birthday as a full-time inhabitant of Kuwait, as a KUer,  as someone who can still drive down to her dreaded old high school. Yes folks, The Expatess had a (kind of) horrendous high school experience. However, that's the past and a better Irish future lies ahead, so let's move on. Here's a list (Notice the current trend of list making?) of things I'm looking forward to as I approach my roarin' 20s:

1. Becoming a woman - Now in the Middle East, that's kind of a catch-22 but I'm working on it. Independence is sometimes a struggle, but one day at a time, right?
2. Age and its connotations - However juvenile I may sometimes feel, the reality is that the older I become, the less time I have to spend with simple minded teenagers. At 19, I can chill with adults and not have it be creepy. Well, not as creepy.  
3. Le Culture -  The closer I get to 20, the closer I am to all the.... let's say "fun",  that the 20+ are (in)famous for.
4. Mannequin Hands - The older I get, the more fashion options I have. Yes, I had the attitude to pull of a studded blazer, but it still looked ridiculous when I was 12. Now, not so much. It's a menial joy, but I love sophistication. 
5. FedEx - Voting, driving, hanging out with whomever we want, going out alone.... Who doesn't love these freedoms we often take for granted?
6. Rent! - One day closer to a future in which I am living somewhere that is NOT Kuwait (Cuba or Italy or France or.. Okay, I'll stop) and ALONE. Blame the "Oldest Child Syndrome," but I need the next 5 years of my life to be shrouded in silence. Preferably European silence.

Working the exchange rate to her advantage,

S.

PS - How do you feel about birthdays? Let me know in the comments below if you miss anything from your past days, or whether you're looking forward to something in the future.

3rd Time's The Charm?

I love you Colin, I swear I love you.

After a stressful fortnight of midterms, anxiety, nightmares and all around depression, Eid break has finally rolled around and graced us all with some much needed rest. Might I add not a moment too soon, because I literally walked out of my last midterm with blurry eyes and a heavy tongue. Blame the toxic fumes of KU textbooks. Or the lack of sleep. Or the constant abuse of caffeine. Who knows?

After spending a lovely Thursday afternoon with my parents (lunch & Avenues), catching up with friends (Skype & Wataniya) and then reading 1984 again (I can't get enough of this book! LOVE) I realized something: I like life. I don't love it, not yet anyways, but I've warmed up to it. Especially since the weather cooled down. Before I move on, let me just say that Kuwait's weather has been nothing short of scenic lately. The Expatess definitely approves. A lot.
Moving on, in between the slumber, lounging around and trips to a secret bookstore, I find myself with very little time to indulge in my favorite past time: Twitter. 
Uncharacteristically, I went almost 4 whole days without a single Tweet, or cheat (where you login, but don't Tweet). This is what I did during those four days:

1. Took my two brothers and the driver on a 95 minute adventure, driving up and down a street, looking for a small independent bookstore I heard about through a friend.
2. Found the bookstore (which is beyond words) and bought 1984 and The Scarlet Letter. They didn't have One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. A tragedy of the grandest proportions? It is. 
3. Watched The Diary of Bridget Jones in bed (and under the covers!) and sighed over Colin Firth. 
4. Did my nails. Currently sporting "Mannequin Hands" (Inglots color #842).
5. Spent a combined 5 hours agonizingly building an Asalah Nasri playlist on my iTunes. It's confusing; I blame the Arabic language and lack of willingness to illegally share music in the Middle East. (Don't look at me like that; I'd download a car if I could).
6. Sat on my bedroom floor, in my pajamas, and just thought about things. 
7. Basically spent an entire day in bed. In my defense, it was Friday,
8. Won a debate with my Dad about the negative (my stance) impact the Islamic Revolution had on Kuwait. This deserves an "Ayabah" (It's a local Kuwaiti exclamation of victory). 
9. Spent some quality time, alone. Not possible when you have Twitter; I hate being "connected" all the time. I enjoy my solitude. I've missed my own company as of late... I should do something about that. Soon.
10. Ate badly for a bit, felt a bit guilty and then got over it.
11. As a result of 10, picked up the gym habit again. The things we do for health...
12. Tried going back to FaceBook. Never again. 
13. Had a brief "I want to go back to hating everyone and everything FULL TIME" moment, but worked through it. Can I get an "Amen"? A "Praise Jesus"? No? Fine.
14. Put on a face mask and brushed my hair 100 strokes (each side) with my fancy expensive brush.
15. Figured out how to make a home-made Frappe. It tasted pretty good, and was guilt-free. Okay, political-guilt-free.
16. Cleaned out my closet, got rid of a ton of junk, gave away about 70% of my clothes and redecorated.... a bit. Okay, I got a light bulb for my lamp.
17. Laid in bed for a good hour listening to "Lovefool" by The Cardigans.
18. Discovered that the battery in my MacBook Air won't charge. A trip to iCity is in my future. Shoot me.
19. Thought about Tweeting. 

All I can conclude from my mini-vacation-within-a-vacation is this: Tweeting proves we exist; not Tweeting proves we are living.


Happy in her bubble for one,

 

S.

PS - Have you given up anything lately? Give me the What/When/Why/Who and the Where.... but only if it's appropriate. Yes, #lolwut indeed.

Countdown To Lockdown

Get it? I'll be imprisoned by my desire for an education.

Today it all ends, only to begin all over again. In this moment, as I sit here typing this, everything is everything. Tomorrow, everything will become nothing and I'll start over.

Today is officially the last day of Summer 2010. It has been a ridiculously crazy and insane four months. I've learned a lot about myself, life and Kuwait. Well, not really but it sounds nice to pretend I actually did.  Jokes aside, I did spend a lot of time just reflecting on who I am, whether she's who I want to be and what I can do to bring the two closer together. I suppose that's the hardest part about this whole transition, trying to reconcile who I am with societal expectations. For some reason, I feel as though I have to make a good impression in Kuwait. Maybe it has something to do with the country being so small, word (good OR bad) traveling so fast or my habit of turning everything into a dirty joke. Maybe it has to do with the fact I don't know anyone, at all (All my classmates are being GUSTed, whatever the hell that means).

Did you buy that? Yeah, neither did I. I mean as someone who attended 11 different schools in several different countries, I'm not really worried.
THAT is what is freaking me out, more than anything else. Well, that and the fact that KU's benches look like a tetanus deathtrap.

Thanking the good Lord for vaccines,

S.


PS - Tell me about your University experiences and/or expectations. Misery loves company.

Sit The Hell Down

Let's pretend they use these in KU

And listen to my rant. Please & thank you in advance.

Kuwait University opens it's Hell gates in 4 days and counting. Do you see the problem with this? I am not prepared. As I type this, my heart is racing and my head is pounding. I'm playing out several awkward social scenarios in my head on loop, anticipating hellish professors and trying to figure out how far I can make it out of Kuwait before my parents realize that S. isn't home. My guess? Not very far. Kuwait is stupidly small country, with an even stupider and smaller society. Your next door neighbor got a haircut? Check your phone, because I already sent you a text about it yesterday. News spreads that fast in Kuwait. So that means even if I do make it to Bahrain (Which is, let's admit it, an extension of Salmiya), they'll have dragged me back home in time for my first lecture. Great.

Seeing as how I can't escape this social apocalypse, here's my plan for the (HOPEFULLY) one year I will spend as a student at KU. It hurts just typing that last bit.

1. Speak to no one
2. Only listen to someone with the power to grade my papers
3. Play dumb and deaf between classes
4. Drink 8 glasses of water a day
5. Get a BlackBerry so I can log onto Twitter in between and after classes. Oh, who am I kidding? During class too.  

This system has never failed me. Yet.

Averting her gaze from the almighty coneheads,

S.

Tik Tok

Apologies for being AWOL for the past few days, University prep has seen me running around in a rush trying to get things done. Luckily, I've pretty much covered everything I need to take care of, and so now I have a good two months to kick back and relax. I can't deny that the experience has been bittersweet; I always imagined myself attending a university in Canada with my childhood friends, but life is like that and I've learned to embrace all and every opportunity that comes my way.

Anyways, I've got my first semester courses picked out (Biology, Chemistry and English). Two of my Profs are Kuwaiti and the third is Egyptian, not that it really makes much of a difference what nationality someone is. As I mentioned earlier, I start classes September 26th, so I've still got quite a bit of time to kill. I hate to admit it, but I'm rather excited about starting this next chapter of my life. I am so unbelievably done with high school, all its drama and embarrassing moments. It's over and done with, and I can't say I'm complaining. What I can say is: Bring it on KU!

Sharpening my #2 pencils,

S.