Potty Time?

I thought I had seen it all, but the Bumper Dumper takes the cake (and more!). I'd love to label it an "Only in Doha" moment, but alas, it's 100% Texan! Those country boys are ingenious, are they not?



Oh, it gets better. Check out their slogan.



Don't delay. Order yours right here, right now, for only $69.95*!



*Reading material not included


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Random Tidbits

No formal theme today (do I ever?!)....just some miscellaneous ramblings bouncing around in my head...

• You're never gonna believe who I saw yesterday....Midriff Granny from my People Watching post! And guess what, she lives in our complex. We stopped on our way out of the gym to speak to friends and lo and behold before my eyes there she was. Lol, now I know where she gets that tan!

• A burden has been lifted from my shoulders. I've booked our summer flights to TEXAS! Sigh of relief. I'm famous for waiting until the last minute when all the good flights are gone and the prices have gone up. I do recall a 31 hour flight because of my procrastination. It's not the exact flight that David wanted, but he'll get over it. Flight length: 20-22 hrs, not bad. Besides, the $1400 saved from the flight David wanted to the one I booked will just about pay for my much anticipated "Girls' Trip". I'm sure David won't mind sacrificing for us :) Anyway, we'll be heading to Texas mid July. David will be returning to Doha after three weeks and I will be staying on until late August.

• Qatar Airways is handing out face masks to all passengers on flights from the U.S. to Doha and requires all staff to wear the same due to the Swine Flu. According to their Operational Update, this includes counter staff at the airports. They're taking this stuff seriously.

• Kristi has put her resignation in at Pluckers Wingbar in Austin and is much relieved after doing so. She said that tips are crummy (she didn't put it that nicely) and it's time to exit. She wants a job with more normal hours and guaranteed pay. Good luck on that one! And Kayla? Well, she's still "plucking" along there, forgive my awful pun.

• Doha is building an 8 kilometer long shopping mall as quoted in Constructionweekonline.com. According to the report, it should be completed around the middle of 2012. That comes out to 4.97 miles with my trusty Internet converter.
  
  
• What else is up around Doha? The temps, that's what. 108 was Monday's official high. I took advantage of this morning's cool 95 degrees and headed to the pool for a while. With a 25% humidity, it was quite nice.

That's it from the sandy trail...later!


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The Bonehead Award

...goes to whomever is responsible for the "photo op" that took place over New York's downtown Manhattan area yesterday. Does the term shouting fire in a crowded theater come to mind? Surely a crime has been committed here. What person in their right mind would think this is ok to pull off? I was fifteen hundred miles from New York when 9/11 occurred, but the images are branded in my mind and will be there until my dying day. So, to be in a building in downtown New York during this boneheaded event is beyond my robust imagination. The panic and fear that these people must have been going through sickens me. All for what? To get an updated picture of a jet that is commonly used as Air Force One* with fighter jets escorting it by the Statue of Liberty for government publicity? Mission accomplished. This was a so called, "secret mission", that should have been plastered allover billboards, the evening news, radio stations,newspapers and every possible media outlet informing people that this was going to take place. Heads should roll on this one, folks. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.




*A little trivia in case you didn't know: Aircraft are referred to as "Air Force One" only while the president is on board

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Will I or Won't I ?

No music today...Imeem, my music source, is becoming a pain in the bum. They have limited nearly all of their songs to thirty second blips. Shame on them! I live for the music :(

As I was plugging my camera battery charger into one of our many power strips this morning, I started thinking about things I won't miss when I leave this country. On the contrary, it also made me think about a few things I will miss. No, mom, we aren't heading back to the states anytime soon (knock on wood). This is simply blog fodder. I found all these things to be really strange when moving here, but most have grown on me and I forget what's normal and what's not. What I've also found is that some of these things are not only normal here, but on this side of the world in general.

Things I will NOT miss:



The standard issue "chandelier" lighting in the villa bedrooms that goes along with the hotel decor, as well.



The self installed extension cord (with double sided stick tape) sporting a twenty foot cord to reach the bedroom because there are no electrical outlets in the bathroom other than for "shaver" use only.



Pointing the way to "Mecca" for me on our bedroom door frame for the five daily prayer times.



These three knobs that I'm not entirely sure what their purpose is. They are at eye level randomly placed in our three bathrooms.


Can you believe this one??

Now, what I WILL miss:



Comes in handy when rinsing the tub.



Not this thermostat per se, but the fact that we have one in each bedroom that controls that bedroom's temperature, working independently from the others. Is that cool or what?



This is a receptacle, you know, a "plug in". I won't miss the single plug ins at all. This is what prompted this whole post today. We have to plug in power strips because single receptacles just don't cut it. What I will miss is the convenient power on and off switch that each one has. Need to stick my knife in the toaster? No problem, just cut the power to that receptacle.



Now this one, I wasn't so sure about at first. I've decided it comes in really handy in cleaning the toilet. It's a really high pressure sprayer that honestly, I would rather it at my kitchen sink.


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People Watching

Ok, the races weren't so exciting yesterday, afterall. No near mishaps, no neck and neck, no dramatic come from behind efforts...just straightforward racing. What I live for is the element of surprise, but there was none. So, people watching became the main event for me. Oh, if I could only be incognito, the pictures I would snap. Make sure you VOTE IN THE POLL below for your fave.

pollcode.com free polls

Pic of the Day?

Big Belt Burberry Boy Blago's Twin Qatari in Training Backseat Rendevous Midriff Granny

In case you didn't know...

Blago

Burberry


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Qatar Grand Prix

I hope you all have recovered from the toilet tissue highs of yesterday. We'll move on now to the latest Doha happenings. This weekend the Qatar Grand Prix is in play. It's the first leg of 2009's Class I World Powerboat Championship. David and I rode out to the corniche yesterday and today to catch some of the action. We watched some of their practice runs and then the qualifying rounds. Qatar's own "Spirit of Qatar 95" won the coveted pole position. This afternoon's finals should prove to be even more exciting with all the boats running full force at the same time traveling at speeds of up to 170 miles per hour. We'll be heading out to watch it in just a bit. Here are a few pics from yesterday.







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Send the Kids to Bed

What does your toilet tissue do for you?


Currently available at Carrefour in Doha, Qatar and coming to a store near you.

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Hi, My Name is Sybil

...and I'm addicted to the Internet. There, I've said it out loud. Does that mean I'm cured? Hang on, I'll Google that and let you know. In this age of Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, blogging, Linkedin, and real time news what else is a person to do? I was one that never liked "old" news. I mean if I didn't read the newspaper within a few hours of receiving it, what was the use? If something astounding had happened, surely I would have already heard. That's the beauty of the Internet...finding out the facts as they unfold. If you step away from the computer for an hour and return, well, it's already old news. Progress? I'll be the first to say that it's progress that I should start limiting. Oh, if it were just that easy. In this age of laptops, BlackBerries, iPhones, and such, connectivity to the web is inescapable. This past weekend in Abu Dhabi, I went the entire weekend disconnected (not by choice). But guess what, not only did I survive, I found it rather refreshing. I said it was refreshing, but did it cure my addiction? After I finish my Scrabble game, I'll let you know.

While researching Internet addiction for my post, I ran across a site entitled Internet Addiction Recovery. You can join the mailing list, stay tuned to their blog, chat with other addicts, watch videos, and read limitless resources on the subject. Hmm...are you catching the irony of this?

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Frank Knows Best

As David and I were talking to a couple of our Canadian friends, I realized how limited our travels within our own country have been. I was amazed at all the places our friends had been... from New York, to Missouri, to Arizona, and beyond. Is there anything beyond Arizona? Anyway, I had to remind myself that we've been saddled with four kids for all of our married life and had not had the opportunity (or the money) to be trekking across the good ole' US of A. Keep in mind, that was a good saddled down with oodles of sporting, school, and family events that garnered all of our free time. Now that we've been freed up a bit, I'm thinking it's high time we started our USA tour. What better place to start than New York? So right now, right here, I'm inviting our daughters to a "girls only" New York trip. The Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Central Park and Broadway are just a few of the icons that we've never witnessed. How unAmerican can we get? Sorry, Dave, Dustin, and Shea...you need not apply. I picked the Big Apple since it is a place that David has so often espoused that he has absolutely no desire to visit, so there should be no complaints from him. My plan, if accepted is to stay in Texas for a few weeks after David returns to Doha from our summer visit and declare ROAD TRIP!!! Ok, let's make that an "air" trip. What say you,girls?! Woohoo!



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