what to do .. we are like this only ..

so i decide to take the kids bowling .. and end up going to the bowling alley at the Masa Mall (MM) .. its usually pretty good .. and not too full .. the MM is a funny little place .. always an adventure to go to and always filled some interesting and colorful people … before we go in my kids have a bit of a ritual where they go up and down the ramp a few times .. for some reason they find this to be part of the fun of going to MM .. this time there was western lady standing on the ramp smoking a cigi .. they kids ran half way saw this women and ran back down .. then refused to go back up the ramp .. it was a bit weird .. she wasnt scary or anything … she seemed like a nice enough woman … but the kids must have felt something … so i felt a bit bad and walked them up the ramp … the lady kinda noticed that she freaked the kids out so she was a bit embarrassed and i was a bit embarrassed .. so what do i say :

OM: they are just shy you know ..

now i am thinking this is supposed to make the situation better .. “oh your not a freak .. they are just shy kids” .. the poor woman just replied .. “it’s okay”

So as soon as you walk into MM you are greeted by a young Omani with a George Micheal (when he was part of WHAM!) with a very thin mustache and a hint eye shadow .. he is usually chatting to “another” girl that works at the kiosk right at the entrance .. as many times as ive been i never managed to see her face .. she hides behind that kiosk in such a way that no one can actually tell if there is someone at that thing .. cant say that i even know what they sell there ..

This week there were TWO birthday parties at the bowling place … and the place was buzzing with kids and parents and balloons and house maids … and of course the Omani Woman National Bowling team was also there practicing .. i managed to get a lane in the center and walked up with the little ones to start the game .. there were a few balls at the place that balls come out .. does it have a name? .. i walk to the balls there to check out the numbers .. i usually try to find an 8 or 9 ball for the kids ..  there’s only one 6 ball but that’s almost impossible to get .. and suddenly this Old(er) Dude starts at me:

OD: We chose these balls .. you cannot use them ..
OM: I was just checking the numbe..
OD: NO ! these are my balls .. they are mine
OM: Relax .. I’m just cheking the number to see if the kid ..
OD: THEY ARE MINE ..
OM: I am in bowling in the lane next to yo..
OD: I told you not to touch my balls ..

I look at this guy and i look at the people with him .. he must be in his 50s .. he has a asian (china type not india type) looking woman with him and they have 2 kids (teenagers) also asian looking .. he’s not asian (china type or india type) he looks middle eastern .. most probably north african … so i switch to arabic

OM: laish za3lan .. (why are you upset?)
OD: These are MINE .. you are NOT allowed to use them ..
OM: you own these balls? you paid for them? bought them? they are yours?
OD: No, i chose them ..
OM: what does that mean?  are they your balls or are they not your balls?

I was starting to get upset now .. they guy was just being a dick .. these arnt his balls .. they are communal balls .. they are every body’s balls .. the balls of the people ..

OD: I went around and i chose the balls ..
OM: I see … so they are not your balls … they are common balls for everyone to use .. and you know what .. i was not going to use them .. coz they are too heavy .. but now .. i will use them .. and lets see what you are going to do about it .. so you sit down on your chair and play your game ..
OD: I will take legal action against you if you use them ..
OM: you do what you have to do .. i am going to play with your balls!!

He runs off like a little kids complaining to the teacher and goes to the little Filipino woman that works there starts to tell her how they are his balls .. she come to me to try and understand what was happening and i ask here if he has the right to forbid anyone from using the balls .. of course he doesnt and she tell him that they are not his balls .. he then runs off to the Egyptian manager and does the same … leaving his poor family waiting at the lane next to us … we start to play

we have a good game and the kids have a great time as usual … at one point they all managed to get a balloon each … this was of course more fun than bowling and i actually got to take a few throws and make good on my promise of playing with “his” balls … he obviously had not luck with his legal action against us and decided to finish his game …
then out of no where .. this Bald White Dude (BWD) come up and tries to take our only number 8 ball .. no excuse me or may I or anything .. it seems that this day was going to be fight over your balls day ..

OM: excuse me .. we are using that ball … you can take the heavy one .
BWD: my kid wants to throw and the ball he was using go stuck .. you’ll have it right back
OM: take the heavy ball … we have five kids (not all mine) here that also want to play and they are all sharing that ball ..
then BWD – believe it or not – just walks away with the ball.. with every disregard to the two adults (i was with a friend and his kids) telling him that he is taking the only ball the kids are using .. he turns around to see that his kid has managed to get another ball .. so he brings the ball back .. sometimes i really cannot believe how rude these people can be .. most are are polite and very respectful and the few nasty rude ones just spoil it for everyone else ..

So as we are about to finish our game the Egyptian manager come up to me and asks me to talk to OD … i told him i had nothing to say …
he insisted ..
i resisted ..
he insisted ..
i resisted some more…
he still insisted ..
i tried to resist..
but at the end his Egyptian sense of persuasion won..
we are now back talking to Mister These Are My Balls I Chose Them..

To make a long story short .. they guy was still pretty upset that he didnt get his way .. and that no one actually acknowledged his rights to the balls .. He also wanted to tell us what an important person he was .. and how he held an important job and position and job title … and how he mingles with high society .. He insisted to take legal action .. The Egyptian found that funny which upset him even more .. finally I asked what he really wanted ..

OM: What do you want?
OD: My legal right !!
OM: which is what exactly?
OD: 7a8y el8anooni!!! ( my legal rights)
OM: you want me to say sorry?
OD: No
OM: you want money?
OD: No … i want you to hear what i have to say ..
OM: look .. you are an old dude (inta rijal kabir) .. and i am sorry that you are upset .. can we just let this go .. i have to go hang with my kids
OD: i want you to listen to me !!
OM: *sigh* ok .. tell me
OD: blah blah blah … i worked hard to get the balls… blah blah bla .. and every time i collected them .. the kids came and stole them .. and i ended up with out balls … bla bla blah ..
OM: Ok I get it .. everyone was taking your balls today and you didnt want me to take them.. but i told you i was in the lane nest to you .. but you were too upset to listen ..  can i go now?

http://www.youtube.com/user/google?blend=1&ob=4#p/u/11/P1T-1FqUBVY

I think this is probably one of the best “share your wisdom” videos i have ever seen … ok Jonathan’s voice when turns into high pitch can be a little distracting .. but overall i give him a 10/10 …  I even tested Comm Rule number 9 .. and he replied to my email … an SVP at google has the time to reply to an email from someone from a country he has never heard off … I think having people like him at google is what really makes it one of the best companies on earth..

this is what he said on his second reply:

From: Jonathan Rosenberg [mailto:jonathan@google.com]
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 7:50 PM
To:
Subject: RE: Testing comm Rule # 9

Out of 3 million people, I think you are the only person I now know in Oman. I hope you and other folks there find my notes helpful.
Cheers,
Jonathan

he really knows how to make himself available …

Finally something to blog about …

As much as I like the movies… I really dislike going to the cinema here … I find it very difficult to concentrate on the movie and the conversations going around me … believe I try … I try very hard … but at the end I am usually very drained … I also come out of the movie with the actual need to watch it again … so the solution to this dilemma is that I just don’t go to the cinema … and eventually watch the movie at home … yes it’s a smaller screen … and yes I cannot put the volume up as high as I want …  and yes the popcorn in the cinema is more industrial … but at least I can go to the toilet whenever I want without it being a waste of money … and I get to actually see the movie …

Now when avatar came out … I resisted not going … I really did … everyone went to see it … some people even drove to dubai to see it 3D … people on twitter were making twitterdates to do see it … calls … sms messages … emails … avatar avatar avatar … after that everyone became a movie critic … just like after guno when everyone became a meteorologist (spell check keeps telling its spelled embryologist: not sure that means weather expert) … you kept hearing different stories from people how they thought the story was weak … and how James Cameron did a great job with the effects but he really screwed the story …

You kept hearing things like … The story is too predictable … the story is too plain … the story is cannot compare with the effects … the story is a little disappointing … the story … the story … the story … I think its really funny that people kept talking about how crap the story was … but no one ever tells you what the story is about … all the talk about the effects and story and at the end … not one person will tell you what the story is about …

Going back to my resistance movement against going to the cinema … I finally gave in … and went to see avatar … I waited until it was the last show of the last shows… at least that’s what I was told … I later find out that it was NOT the last show .. and last show is actually today and was not on Thursday when I went… in any case … when did ending up going it was at 830 on a Thursday … the day that one must NEVER go to shatti let alone shatti cinema … the first problem was obviously trying to get to the place … traffic … the second was parking … parked far away … the third was getting thru the people (and cars) hanging outside the cinema … and finally getting my popcorn and getting to my seat.

Avatar starts and all is going strangely smoothly so far … the three omani guys behind me are remarkably quiet and the four seats on my left are empty … I start to get into it and then the boys behind (BBs) start to converse:

BB1: dokum elmu3awa8  ( check out the disabled person )

BB2: hatha filim 5ayali .. malak inta    (it’s a fantasy movie  .. don’t worry)

Then 5 minutes later:

BB2: noba ..tdoo5 zagara ( she is smoking also)

BB1: tow inta ma 8ult inah filim 5ayali (didn’t you say it’s a fantasy movie)

Then Phone Rings:

BB3: alu .. aiwa .. fil cenema .. 3avatr .. aiwa ..

This was all in the first half an hour … then the people in the seats next to me start to arrive … first a young Egyptian couple come and decide not to sit next to me … which was nice .. I still had a nice buffer on the left … 15 minutes later an Indian guy with 8 year old arrive and sit next to me … the poor kids had no idea what was going on … and kept asking questions  … unfortunately my hindi is not very good … coz it would have been interesting to see what a child would think of the Movie … the only thing I could understand is when the scenes changed and the screen was dark for a second … the kid would scream .. “Break Papa .. Break? Break? Papa Break?”  and dad would go …” noo beta .. be quiet”

Then it was time for BBs to discuss how these creatures had USB connections with the animals … and how they wish they had flash disks connected to their bodies … as much as I would like to bring you that conversation … I think that is when I really understood why no one was able to talk about the story like they had actually seen the movie … coz at the end of the no one actually got to follow the whole film let alone understand the story … which from the parts that managed to see and understand were a mix between star wars and the matrix to some extend with a Navi race which you sometimes think are African and other times you would think they eastern Europeans or Russians … and the classic point of view (of some people) that they can simply take away whats not theirs and at the same time assimilate and  lead a primitive yet highly evolved alien race against them !?

It was a real “shatty” experience … cant wait till they bring it back in 3D!

I think its very nice of your take the time to comment .. and i sincerely hope you have a good couple of years here … i am sure that you will learn to love it … Welcome to Oman

“Hi there! I suppose I am one of the ladies you so sneeringly referred to! I will tell you what I did today if that will help! I got up, bemoaned the fact that it is virtually impossible to cross the street, went the beach and got stared at, got bored, came home, cleaned my apartment again and remained imprisoned for the rest of the day on my traffic island (apartment block) watching the clock until the only person I know in Oman (my husband) returned from work and listened in on his work phone calls until after 9pm. I sometimes shop at Al Fair as it is the only place within walking distance of my home and I don’t have a car. And the other ‘white’ ladies I see in there look as lost as I feel, look closer you may see this. Nobody in their right mind spends that long choosing an avocado! I’m not sure about the high council business, I’ve not been here long, just wanted to assure you that not all white women you see wandering around in these places are spoilt bitches. I’ve worked in shops for a living (and done it with a smile), stacking shelves, unloading delivery lorries, I’ve scrubbed floors for a living, I’ve got up at 3am to work in a bakery and I’ve worked as a gardener. My husband got lucky and was offered a nice job in Muscat, that’s all.”

These particular PPSKs are not omani .. and although they seem to work exclusively at shell petrol pumps .. i find it difficult to believe that they are part of the whole “shell oman ambiance  program- SOAP” … where they hire them to make these petrol pumps more useful and entertaining places … ya3ni in the same way that they now try to have McD’s at every major one …  although the existence of  the PPSKs at these stations enhance the SOAP of these places … for some reason i think these guys are related .. they are probably Palestinian (a guess) but they are the only people i know that would probably do these things…

my first encounter was with a young  boy in the sarooj shell station …  at first .. i waved him off without looking at what he was selling .. but then i had a better look .. PPSK was selling those car accessories you would hang on your rear view mirror … a Koranic verse of a du3a2 … engraved on a piece of leather and looks good to be honest … i like having it my car as it reminds to read the du3a2 before i head out …

OM: aish 3andak? du3a2 el safar? (do you have the travel du3a2?)

PPSK: kullo b’ Rial o nu9 (everything 1.5 rials)

OM: 6ayeb .. 3andak du3a2 elsafar?

PPSK: shoo ha’6 .. du3a2 elsafar?

The poor kid he doesnt even know what he is selling..

OM: 3a6eeni ashoof .. (give em here)

I find what i want and give him the cash ..

My second encounter was at the athaiba station .. also a shell .. also has a McD’s… the difference is that this time .. it was a young girl .. she also didnt know what she was selling ..

I bought from her too .. I really hate it when kids are used in this way

on a separate note … i came across some smart tunnel people the other day … i doubt they live in the tunnel but they are definitely making good use of it .. they even have a technique .. they stand around the entrance first  and agree the the sequence of who will go in first .. maybe they have a rotation going .. once its decided they go for it ! … its much better than crossing the main road .. have a look a the pics ..

TP1: You go first ..

TP2: No No No you go first ..

TP1: but its your tun today

TP2 to TP3: what about you? why are you not saying anything?

TP3: do we really have to take the tunnel?

TP1: maybe you should go first ..

TP2: yeah .. you should go first ..

TP3: last time i went first i didnt have any fun ..

TP2: okay okay i will go first

TP1 to himself: suckaaa

TP3 to himself: thank god !

check this qatari one out .. compared to RDN’s original

As i drove up that road .. the first thing i noticed was that there were at least SIX OIG cleaner dudes sitting under the tree at the entrance .. each of was equipped with some kind of cleaning/gardening tool .. it would seem that they were waiting for their ride .. and that they have probably finished the cleaning/gardening duty for the cemetery … its funny that OIG has that responsibility and i wonder who is paying them to keep that place so nice and tidy..

I walked around and had a look some of  the tomb stones.. the whole experience was so different to visiting a Muslim cemetery that it was almost like a picnic … the place is like a park .. so clean .. so green .. so organized .. with pathways and trees.. i took pictures of what i thought were the most interesting Stones … the place is a great reminder of many different things and events of the past .. i leave you with the pics ..

I still remember that video that went around of these Bs in Kuwait that would go to work in their Lexus … men would dress up as women and beg at the souq … and when the shift is over they would walk to their top model luxury car and drive home … what a life … a life of cheating and lies… or is it smart?

Many of us give to those who ask for money, out of being good people, out of wanting to help others, and out of our constant strive to be good human beings and give back to society … we are Wal Hamdulilah much more fortunate than many and we have an obligation to give back … but where does one draw the line? How can we differentiate between the con Bs and the real Bs that really need it? This joke is probably the best way to describe the situation:

Ahmed and Hamid are both beggars at several motorway services in England.
Ahmed drives a Mercedes, lives in a mortgage free house and has a lot of money to spend. Hamid only brings in 2 to 3 pounds a day. Hamid asks Ahmed how he manages to bring home a suitcase full of £10 notes every day. Ahmed says, “Look at your sign. It says, “I have no work, a wife and six kids to support.” Britons who see that do not feel as if they have
accomplished anything by giving you money. You will still have no job and a large family. Now look at my sign.” So Hamid looks up and Ahmed’s sign reads:

“I only need another £10 to move back to Pakistan”

More Bs are springing up and they are becoming more crafty and demanding … this is the truth … very few of those who as for money are among the unfortunate … most of these people are not worthy of our generosity and we must be very careful and very selective on who to give our money to … we might give with the best intentions … but must make sure that what we give doesn’t go into the wring hands … I hope that thu this post we can come up with a screening process that can benefit all of us … I am not sure how many people still read my blog but hopefully we can come to define 5 questions that help us decide whether to give or not to give .. which is the real question …

I want to share two stories that will help:

Story 1: A friend, lets call him Sneagol, has recently managed to get own parking space at the building that he works… he also managed to get his job title labeled in front of the parking space … since then he has been attracting Bs… they come up to his office ask for him and on three occasions play the following routine:

Bs: Do you remember me?          (ma tit-thakarni?)

Sl: I am sorry, but I don’t           (at-thakarak min wain?)

Bs: We met at the airport             (min el ma6aar)

Sl: really?                                   (ay ma6aar?)

Bs: Yes, don’t you remember?     (ma tit-thakarni?)

Sl: No… when did we meet          (ma at-thakar ya5y )

Bs: Don’t you go to the airport?   (inta .. ma troo7 elma6aar?)

Sl: you remember me?               (inta tit-thakarni?)

Bs: from the airport, yes?           (ma tit-thakarni?)

Sl: What do you want?                (roo7 ya sheik)

Bs: can you spare 200?               (mi7tag 200 rial)

200 RIALS!!! Ask for 5 or 10 … when he gave him 10 Rials the Bs got upset and asked for 50 at least … he was asked to leave .. this happened THREE TIMES !!

Story 2: while sitting at a local coffee shop with sheesha and tea, a kid shows up … sits on our table and starts asking for money …

OM: how much have managed to collect today …       (kam jama3t elyoum?)

KBs: Five Rials so far … five more and I can go home ( 5 ba8i 5)

OM: your target is 10 Rials a day                               (lazim 10 fil youm?)

KBs: Give me 5, no?                                                (3a6eeni 5 la.. yalla la)

OM: I’ll give you a shawarma                                    (mashi filoos,tuba shawarma?)

KBs: ok give it                                                         ( aiwa 3a6eeni)

OM: Here take it ..                                                   (n’dok)

He goes takes and goes around .. he comes back two minutes later .. and offers to give back the shawarma he had opened ..

KBs: 7alal 3alaik .. ma areed elshawarma

That’s when I lost it …