January 23, 2015

Near misses

I needed to buy groceries yesterday evening and return books to the library and thought quick drive is all it takes to get to the supermarket and back. I got to the market without any kind of accident or incident, miracle really since there was a lot of traffic and people all over the place.
Return journey was a different journey. Two very close calls, when a dark grey Ford Flex (yes one of those box-like horrible structures that looks like on old Toyota Hi-Ace) pulled in front of me in the middle of the intersection even though it was my turn to go. Those couple of inches between us were probably enough to save us from an accident that time. Thanks be to God none of us were driving fast, but once the Ford driver (=idiot) cleared the intersection, he (I'm sure it is a "he") carried on driving way faster than the 40km/h speed limit. I finally caught him turning into a parking lot and really had to force myself to drive home and not go and beat him up.
Then the next set of red lights and turning left down the hill another car on the left hand side of the lanes heading downhill began to drift closer and closer to my lane. BS!!! *$%#@&!!!! When the driver realized they narrowly avoided a crash and taking my side mirror with them, they pulled back into their own lane and I finally caught them in the traffic lights. It was a gold colored car, possibly Japanese and looked a lot like a car that these people had stolen from their daddy. Had it not been the red lights, and open car windows, I'd not have know the car was full of young women in their early 20's if not less. I just thought they'd be lucky if they survive the night on the road. Death wish? What tragedy if the four of them died on the road just because the driver thinks it's all fun and games on the road.

Shame. I'm not sure women in Saudi Arabia will ever get to drive, but I hope they will, if they choose to do so. But those young ladies should be banned from driving ever.


January 10, 2015

The End of an Era

Change is inevitable. My favorite restaurant is closing and another one will be built. My job description at work seems to be evolving all the time. People come and go, pack their stuff and leave. Construction work is taking place nearby where I live and again the flow of traffic has changed. In fact there is no flow really at all. If there is, it is slow (yes, there is a speed limit of 40) and that usual daily journey from A to B takes 10 minutes instead of 3.  In the big scheme of things 10 minutes is nothing really.Absolutely nothing when you compare to for example what events just took place in Paris. But certainlyit is inevitable that nothing stays the same forever.
" Everything you have, you lose, right? Mother, father - gone. Good looks, Pryzwarra? - gone. Loved ones gone in a second. That's what this job teaches you, isn't it? No matter what, no matter how hard you grab onto something - you still lose it, right."
Doug Carlin in the movie Déjà vu.
 
Then it is my turn to think about future and packing my earthly belongings again one day. But I don't want to! This is my home and I don't want to go. It feels as if it is the end of the world. How could I possibly leave my horse, my special friend, my belongings (those that I can't pack with me) and the last eight years of my life? I have spent more than 10 years in Saudi Arabia and this has been one of the greatest experiences in my life. I wish I could have sort of realized that a bit sooner, not after > 10 years here, but I guess it's better late than never.
I've got to lay down.. Despite of flu vaccine, I seem to have caught runny nose and sore throat from somewhere. Thank God I have no fever. Well.. I may have had low grade fever yesterday, but nothing today. Just very fatigued. If it's just a common cold that's ok. Anything worse, that's not ok. If I went to ER complaining of these symptoms, I'd probably end up in isolation room.
 
"Please let me take you
Out of the darkness and into the light
'Cause I have faith in you
That you're gonna make it through another night

Stop thinking about the easy way out
There's no need to go and blow the candle out
Because you're not done, you're far too young
And the best is yet to come."
- Nickelback: Lullaby

January 03, 2015

2015

 Happy Year Year! Blogger was deep asleep and welcomed the new year in bed. I heard nothing, saw no fireworks. Just one dream, which still feels so real and not in a bad way at all. It brought clarity and direction in my life. It was an old boyfriend, who told me to forget about him: "I am not your boyfriend." When I woke up, it was kind of difficult to distinguish dream from reality, but I got the message. He has his life and I have mine. We went separate ways many years ago, but it has taken me this long to stop thinking about him. Eventually he invited himself into my dream and I really and truly got it now.
Other than that revelation, I've had tendonitis or some other weird condition in  my wrist and it's even keeping me awake at night. I am hoping orthopedist, whom I'll see next week will be able to help. Otherwise Brufen, the splint and bandages of various colors and lengths will be a permanent part of me. I guess typing isn't good for the wrist either...

"Extreme ways are back again
Extreme places I didn't know
I broke everything new again
Everything that I'd owned
I threw it out the window; came along
Extreme ways I know will part the colors of my sea
the perfect colored sea."
Moby- Extreme Ways

PS: I've not broken anything this year. Yet.