Doha ~ You Make Me Smile

Quite a while back I had my taking it to the streets series with my "Hoe on the Go" motto...that would be for Tahoe, peeps. Now that I have my Jeep, I have to come up with something new, but what it is escapes me for the time being. Regardless, it's hard to travel Doha's streets without smiling, even if it is followed up by an arghhhh for traffic or "honking" infractions. I had to make a bank run to clear up some ATM issues before heading out of the country in a few days and as usual there was no parking available. So, what that means is hiking up and down the corniche for about a mile and enduring the honking that ensues. Of course, I was properly clothed from neck to toes with big shades hiding my face, but I may as well have been strolling in a bikini. Geez. It was like three honks walking towards the traffic and eight honks walking away from the traffic. I haven't decided if that's a compliment to my backside, an insult to my front side, or just downright cowardly creepers that can only honk when no one is looking. Again, arghhhh. Most of the time I can laugh it off, but today it was getting a bit out of hand. So, here are a few sights I saw afterward to put a smile back on my face...



Ok, so maybe this one doesn't really make me smile. It sort of makes me cringe. I keep eying it from different angles so that maybe I can see what the architect was going for, but so far, it's not working. I need to let it go.




Can you look at this pic without smiling? I had to pull out in from of someone to get this shot. There was a lot of hand action in my rear view mirror for my benefit. Just all in a days work for your viewing pleasure. You're welcome :-)



Qatar Cool? Yeah, in our dreams!











Who needs concrete steps when a nice little stool will do?



As you can see, it doesn't take a lot to make me smile. It just makes living in my own little bubble that much easier. Cheers!

Related Posts:

Taking it to the Streets I
Taking it to the Streets II
"P" Building Posts

Smile ~ Uncle Kracker

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Suhoor Magic

All expats in Qatar should take advantage of at least one Suhoor extravaganza during Ramadan. So, in the spirit of the season, we headed to The W on Friday night to meet friends (well, eight of them, we hadn't actually met yet!) for a food and fun filled night. We expanded our melting pot of cultural diversity that evening by adding in some Croatian, British, and Dutch friends, along with some good old homegrown Americans. It was truly a great mix of people and personalities to share in all the food, dazzle, and entertainment that the event delivered. I somehow expected Willie to bust out with "Turn Out the Lights" when I looked at my watch to discover that it was past 1:00am. Stealing one of my dad's favorite quotes, "She ain't no spring chicken". (Who knew that would be me one day?!) Anyhoo, it was a fabulous evening. You have a few more nights to enjoy the festivities, so do it while you can.

Turn Out the Lights ~ The Party's Over Willie Nelson

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The Bidding Buzz

The buzz about Qatar's bid for hosting the 2022 World Cup is getting a little louder these days. Banners,billboards and information displays are popping up everywhere, not to mention entire buildings being turned into advertisements for the "Expect Amazing" billed event. I, for one, would not expect anything less from a country that takes pride in not only outdoing others, but itself, as well. The heat seems to be the main topic of concern if you listen to the naysayers, but they obviously do not understand how far this country will go to impress on the world that Qatar demands to be a destination, not just a stopover. Perhaps with some needed changes that will be put into place if their bid is awarded, that dream could become a reality. As much as the heat will be a drawback, the lack of a valid transportation system could have an equally negative impact. No worries, they tell us, metro plans are in the works. Back to that nagging heat issue, there is no doubt that Qatar will have state of the art "cooled" stadiums, but will the inspectors be able to get past the sauna that slaps their faces on arrival in two weeks. Temps will be running around 98F and if you factor in the heat index, that number could easily increase by twenty plus degrees. If they can get past those problems, they will see beautiful, culturally befitting stadiums that are planned with a thirty minute "match to match" promise included. OK, one more problem...the hooligan factor. Football fans are known to drink and carry their parties over into the streets, which could prove to be a bit more difficult for this Muslim nation to stomach. Supposedly there will be dedicated fan zones for such antics, but controlling it could prove difficult. Lay all the cards on the table and I still vote Qatar. I've always been one to go with the underdog and besides, I love all the buzz. Truth be told if they somehow pull out this long shot, I won't even be here in 2022 to witness it. Surely by then I'll be back in Texas basking in its glory. Inshallah.

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It's Tchibo in My Cup

♪ The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup ♪

Oh, yeah, easier said than done in Doha. We do have Folgers in Qatar, but I'm so tired of paying QR24 ($6.60) a can for the imported stuff. You can also get Maxwell House, but it's packaged somewhere on this side of the world and well, it's not good to the last drop like the commercial promises. I always tuck away several of the huge cans of Colombian coffee in my suitcase before heading back this way, but it doesn't last long. Brand name or store name works for me, as long as Juan Valdez is on the can I'm a happy camper. Well, Mr. Valdez must not be able to get a Visa to Qatar as he is pretty hard to come by these days. Alas, along comes Tchibo...the coffee that you can buy in Qatar for half the price, although it's made in Germany, it has the "Spirit of South America". What more could one want?

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I'm Just Germtastic, Thank You

I've never been much of a "germaphobe". Take a lick and pass it down was always my motto. I never missed a rotation when the the kids passed the blow pops around. Traveling to the states and within, I've been known to forget my toothbrush and just grab David's to get the job done. My mom, of course, would have heart failure when she'd hear the story, since she was one to never eat or drink after anyone. Using someone else's toothbrush, well, that was just over the top. Nope, I was always a crusader for the old "ten second rule" and if it fell to the floor for more than ten seconds? Well, you just blessed it with an air cross and popped it in your mouth. Here in Qatar a couple of incidents have happened where I had to draw the line. Though, it must have been an imaginary line being that the line was crossed. I was at City Living today looking at lipsticks and glosses when the sales lady whips out a tester and says "oh, madame, you must try this". Before I could say anything, she was slathering gloss all over my lips. while I was dumbfounded and envisioning the unknown number of women in Doha that I had just swapped spit with. Ugh. Another "line crossing" was at a very popular hospital here while I was having some dental work. The doctor's cell phone rang in the middle of our session, so he stopped to answer it. After he hangs up, he picks up where he left off by putting his gloved hands in my mouth that he just used to answer his germy cell phone. I mean, when is the last time you sanitized your cell phone?! Ugh, again. All I gotta say is, maybe it's a good thing I introduced myself to all those nasty germs for all those years. Just sayin'.

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