Camel Cotton

Camel Cotton

Friday, June 18, 2010

Mom's Birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM...WE HOPE YOU HAVE THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!! All Our Love! Carrie & BJ

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The Heat...and the Wind...

Oh yeah, now THIS is what we came for...no more of those sissy 100 degree days...anyone can handle that! This week has been a lovely collection of 120 degree days, added with strong winds of 30 mph yesterday and 25 mph the day before. It's only blowing at 10mph today, so it's a good day. I shouldn't complain, don't people pay big money for exfoliating treatments at spas? I am getting a complete sandblasting for FREE every day. However, unlike spas, my treatments are not actually doing good things to my hair or my face complexion...and it is always nice to get home at the end of the day and have to clean the sand out of your ears.

Now I know I seriously don't have a right to complain about this...and I'm really not complaining, I'm just trying to give y'all a visual so you can see what we are experiencing. But since I only deal with this when going to the bathroom or out to lunch I can't say much...it is my amazing husband that works out in it all day for 12 hours, 6 days a week. I don't know how he does it...I couldn't. And I wouldn't. We all know I am a Princess, and I would simply collapse in the fetal position - sweating, whining and crying until BJ told me I didn't have to work anymore. Thank the Good Lord in Heaven that I managed to get an office position over here. :-)

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Driving in Kuwait #4 - "When Does Stop Really Mean Stop"

Good morning! We enjoyed a lovely weekend full of 120 degree days...this is only the second 2-day weekend that BJ has had in the 4 months that we have been here, so we definitely enjoyed the time off together. Friday was a cookout with friends...it was unbelievably hot, but we had such a good time!! BJ may not have enjoyed it as much as I did, since he was in charge of the grill while I was inside in the air conditioning...but I sure did have fun! :-) Saturday was a low-key day just spent exploring a little in the morning and relaxing in the afternoon.

So today's driving blog is titled "When Does Stop Really Mean Stop?" There are a few rules that you learn quickly here when being handed the keys to a car. Actually, there are a LOT of rules that you learn quickly, otherwise you will be in an accident before leaving the parking lot.

But one of the most important is when you DO and when you DO NOT stop. You DO stop at all red lights!! Kuwaitis do not. It is illegal to run stop lights (as it is everywhere), and this is one law that the Kuwaitis actually enforce with vigor...if it is broken by a non-Kuwaiti. The fines are extremely expensive for this one...apparently they did start to notice the number of fatalities occuring due to the running of red lights. And you don't get a ticket that just requires paying the fine, you get the joy of going to court and getting yelled at by the Kuwaiti judge because you are endangering the lives of his countrymen. I pray to God I don't get a ticket, because it will be very hard for me to bite my tongue and not explain to him the endangering of lives his countrymen throw my way each and every day. I will then be given a tour of a Kuwaiti jail, with no exit, and BJ has promised that he will NOT be getting me out for fear of being thrown in because he is my spouse.

You DO NOT stop at any stop signs...EVER. If you do, chances are really high that you will get rear-ended, and this will also be your fault if you are a non-Kuwaiti. Now, it will also be your fault if you pull straight out without stopping at a stop sign and hit a Kuwaiti, so you are basically gambling on the lesser of 2 evils when debating this one. Trust me, chances are actually much higher that you will get hit stopping than if you just close your eyes and pull straight out. You will hear horns blaring, but you probably won't actually hit anyone. The best solution (at least in my opinion...this is what I do), is to TAP the brakes and do a calculated yield. So far, so good...but no promises that this will work all the time.

Again, good times on the roads of Kuwait!!