Weblog

Friday, Nov. 30, 2001

Friday, my day off, thanks! It started to rain heavily last night. Caught the first drops, when I went out at 11.30 to meet Yasser. He was bringing along an Austrian woman he knew from his previous job, Petra. Been here on a two week assignment, her last evening out, so we went for some drinks. Mind you, the Egyptian way – to one of the many cafes you can find everywhere. Telly in the background with some Arabic entertainment show running, bad singing included. Decorated with plastic plants, chairs and tables on the curb, facing the 4 lane Corniche and the sea. One corner full of shisha-pipes. So we sit down, we order Turkish mocha all around. So we sit and chill for about an hour and then we all go home again, she has to catch a flight the next morning. Slightly surreal. But you’d be hard pushed to do something more exiting at the moment, will Ramadan being on. Many bars are closed for the duration, as well as places that normally show belly-dancing and so on… But it’s quite nice to go out without drinking alcohol – no hangover.

Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2001

A lot of tossing and turning last night in bed. Couldn’t get to rest. My mind was rotating around work, how to organize my day today. After half an hour of agonizing over that what-to-do list I made an effort and managed to switch my mind to something else and finally fell asleep. I need to get out of here.

Monday, Nov. 26, 2001

Work was ok, but I've just had it. Too much to do in too little time. Anyway, felt down when I got home and - case of good timing - Karin called and invited me over to dinner. So I went downstairs for some pizza and a bottle of wine and some moaning about - as Karin so nicely put it tonight - "bum-f***ing Egypt". Very quaint! John sounds like he has had his share of Egypt as well. I so need this holiday! Three more weeks and I am off.

Sunday, Nov. 25, 2001

Today was bad-smell-day. First we were giving someone a lift. He has dogs and he smelled like he slept with them. Not just the ordinary wet-dog smell, but on a much grander scale. So I spent the first 3 minutes in the car fighting back the urge to puke down the back of his pullover. It was literally breath taking. That was followed by the usual smells encountered every morning – first passing the various oil-refineries – just take shallow breaths – and then the marshes or whatever they are. It’s basically this big inland see. Lots of papyrus-like things grow in it. I am not sure what they are. Anyway, those smell as if something is slowly rotting away. Wouldn’t be surprise if it was. Finally arrived in the factory, where I was treated to the breath of someone that doesn’t think to highly of dental hygiene. I just wanted to keel over backwards. The sweet smells of the Orient...

Friday, Nov. 23, 2001

I finally did some more work on my little project, the pictures of my flat.... You can now go and have a look at my livingroom.....

Thursday, Nov. 22, 2001

Very stressful day at work. I had cramps most of the day. I’m not sure if that was stress – I was pretty tense and wound up. Or if it is that herbal stuff I started taking last night. Probably the latter. But I feel mentally drained. Like my brain is just a heap of slush. It’s practically oozing out of my ears. There were some moments at work today when I was so tense that I wanted to sit down and cry. Too much work to cope with it. I hate it, it makes me angry. I dumped some work on Sadie. I have to see, if I can give her at least one of my customers permanently, before I go bonkers.

Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2001

My dad is going to be ok. He’s got 2 hernias, the doctor is doing the procedure in his practice, my dad does not even need to go to hospital, he can go home afterwards. Thank god!

Ramadan is in full swing. Everybody is eager to leave work early to be home in time for dinner. We were stuck in a massive traffic jam yesterday – a truck with a 20-foot container had crashed, probably in a frenzy to get home in time, too. The usual spectacle. I am always amazed at the total disinterest in the fate of the individual here. God is everything, people don’t seem to count for much. On the other hand we pass these restaurants every evening, were they give away food for free to poor people during Ramadan. I just do not get it. The whole culture is just so alien, it is incomprehensible to me.

One of those moments tonight: Sitting in the car with Mohamed, at the gate of the factory. We are waiting for one of the security guards, we are giving him a lift into Alex…...But we have to wait for him till he is done praying. And there he is, kneeling on a cardboard box on the grass, in front of the guard house, in his socks, praying to Allah….

Monday, Nov. 19, 2001

I spoke to my mum last night and she told me that my dad has a strange pain in his lower abdomen. Oh, swell. I almost started to cry when I put the phone down. I realize that my parents are likely going to die before me, but it’s not exactly a thing that you want to happen in the foreseeable future! It seems to be a hernia, he has to go to the doctor again to have it checked properly. But that doesn’t prevent my imagination to come up with all kinds of horror scenarios. At the top of the hit list colon cancer, pancreatic cancer and more unspeakable things that I don’t know the terms for in English. Shit!

Sunday, Nov. 18, 2001

I just tried three times in a row to go online, no luck. I guess everybody is home trying to do the same. One good side effect of Ramadan – everybody goes home really early, so by the time I go home, traffic is pretty calm and I get home a lot faster. Shukran! Main problem for me – what on earth am I going to wear in the next 4 weeks? Will have to get my blazers out, although it really is still too warm for that. But I have to cover my arms, otherwise the moaning and the complaints will just not stop. All my t-shirts are either too short or too tight. Argh!

Saturday, Nov. 17, 2001

First day at work during Ramadan. Everybody still awake. Let’s see in two weeks. They all went home at 3pm. I actually wanted to stay till 6pm to catch up with my overbearing workload, but then had to leave at 4pm after all. Not that I mind terribly much, but if I have to do that until my Christmas break, I won’t get anything done!

Lunch was interesting – a piece of chicken and some stone cold fries. Well, at least we get something. Had a tea break in the kitchen in the morning and got the privilege of being told again by the old guy in there, that he was in El Alamein and that Hitler was great and the English soldiers were mean and the German ones real gentlemen. Yeah, right, ok…. I really like him and it is quite funny to watch him tell me all of this in charade style – he speaks about 2 words of English and my Arabic is not too hot either. Anyway, I find it really amazing to speak (of a fashion) to someone that has seen all this and still remembers Rommel driving by, for god’s sake! That the German army was a good thing – that idea I have come across before – that is based on them having kicked the English out of Egypt…. It is quite refreshing, although I never quite know how too react when he tells me that Hitler was great. Not quite, but never mind….

Friday, Nov. 16, 2001

Ok, that’s it, I now have spent most of the day playing on this infernal computer. Never mind drug addiction, what about computer game addiction? My neck hurts, my left elbow hurts, my eyes burn, my back hurts, I am thirsty – in a couple of weeks, after I have not shown up for work for ages, someone will come round, break open the entrance door and find my mummified corpse in front of the screen, skeletal fingers of my right hand cramped around the mouse…….. deng-deng-deng-deng-deng-you-have-entered-the-twilight-zone!

Friday prayer – I am soooo glad that the loudspeaker of the mosque is right opposite of my flat! It goes on my nerves. That’s the only time I really would like to understand Arabic. What is he saying? Kill America? Somehow I don’t thing it’s religious content….

Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2001

There I was, laughing about the Egyptians, getting sick after the first heavy rainfalls. Well, hey, I have a sore throat now....being punished, I guess.....

I played RollerCoasterTycoon for hours - it's so cute, it's adorable, I can't stop playing it, I am addicted. I also just ordered ZooTycoon (same people) and Patrizier II at Amazon. Now I can't wait to get home to pick it up!

Monday, Nov. 12, 2001

The usual traffic jam in the morning. Creeping down the Corniche, 7 lanes of cars on a 5-lane road, bumper to bumper. Ate my sandwich and counted women in black garb from head to toe – 3 this morning, the works, with gloves and socks. 20 minutes late to work because of the traffic. A bus had butted into a van. The usual.

Work - the usual as well. Too much work and Egyptians that frustrate the s*** out of me. Who needs this? Can I please retire now, I feel I have paid my due. Retirement island, here I come….

Anyway, will go and prepare some dinner now. Oh, new source of food – picked up a take-away menu from a local Chinese. Not terribly Chinese, but it’s a change. Bon appetite!

Thursday, Nov. 08, 2001

Guess what, I am heating up chicken soup again..... it's the last pot now, so from tomorrow I will have to cook again..... I have been to the shop on the way home and bought all the ingredients for a proper English breakfast. Well, sans bacon! You can't have it all....

The birthday dinner was quite nice. 2 bottles of wine, tomato soup, smoked salmon, filet steak, crepes with vanilla ice and freshly made palm fruit jam (the palm tree grows in the restaurant's garden - we are just in season). Went home at a decent hour, had a relatively early night, got up bright and early in the morning for work.... How priorities change with growing age.....

Work was ok. And, voila, here is another 2-day weekend! Which I intend to enjoy immensely!

Tuesday, Nov. 06, 2001

Bought two massive cakes on the way home. One is a cream cake with lots of fruits on top, the other one is a chocolate cake. That should please the girls tomorrow at work. Won't be happening at my next birthday, because next year it will fall into Ramadan!

Got some pastry as well and dropped by at John's. We had some beer, some cake and watched some CNN. Apparently Germany is supposed to send troops. That should get some excitement out of the German news, have to check it out...

Anyway, John won't come to my birthday dinner tomorrow night, can't be bothered to come all the way out to Agamy with all the work he's got on. No problem, so it will be just the usual suspects. Will go to Agamy straight from work and stay over.

Haven't even gotten used to being 32 yet and in about 3 hours I will be 33, ugh!

By the way, it's pissing down here! Who would've thought that it rains this much - I mean, we are in the friggin' desert! Well, more or less....

Ok, will heat up another pot of that gorgeous chicken soup....

Sunday, Nov. 04, 2001

Hallo ihr Lieben!

Ich hatte gestern einen freien Samstag. Freitag war ich nur faul, habe gelesen, fern gesehen und sonst gar nichts gemacht. Gestern war ich etwas aktiver - habe mir die Haare geschnitten, gebadet und bin dann zum Supermarkt um die Ecke, um fuer die Huehnersuppe einzukaufen. Und Gemuese habe ich frisch bei meinem fliegenden Haendler in der Einfahrt zum Nachbarhaus gekauft. Daher war meine Auswahl leicht beschraenkt. Am Ende waren 2 rote Zwiebeln in der Suppe, ein Pfund Moehren, 2 Zuchini (na ja, die aegyptische Variante....) und ein Schwung Schnibbelbohnen. Und diese eigenartige Knolle - keine Ahnung, was das war. Sah Sellerie ziemlich aehnlich, nach dem aufschneiden sah es aber mehr nach Radi aus. Geschmacklich hat es sich dann irgendwo zwischen Sellerie und Kartoffel angesiedelt.....vielleicht ein aegyptischer Verwandter unseres Selleries, wer weiss....Reichlich Pfeffer, 2 Bruehwuerfel (Huhn), ein bischen Chillipulver fuer den Pepp (gibt kein Tabasco) und ein Schuss Sojasosse (kein Maggi....). Nach etwas ueber einer Stunde war das Huhn dann gar - hat gerade so mit ach und krach in den Topf gepasst. Mit Wasser bedecken ist aber gar nicht so einfach, das Ding war am treiben! Ich hab's uebrigens gefroren in den Topf getan, und je mehr es auftaute, desto hoeher trieb es....sollte das nicht anders rum sein? Lange Rede, kurzer Sinn, habe nochmal kraeftig nachgepfeffert und es hat auch richtig gut geschmeckt.

Saturday, Nov. 03, 2001

Just read something on the internet about the old days in computers. Had to laugh reading it. Made me think back to the time when my brother bought his first computer. It was an Apple IIe. Green writing on a black background. That was it, no colour. Some games that you would be ashamed to run on your gameboy today! The software was loaded from a tape deck! He knew where the individual programmes on a tape started by checking the tape deck's counter....Forget the internet, perish the thought! Isn't that a hoot? I was thirteen back then.

Here's another one - 'Oldies but Goldies' on the radio. Excuse me, what do you mean by Oldie? I was in love for the first time when The Police sang 'Every Breath You Take'. That's not an Oldie! I was having this conversation last year in the office, when Santana brought out his new LP. Sorry, should I say CD..... Anyway, there were those 2 in their early twenties. And they said 'Who is Santana?' That just about gave me a coronary! Well, ok, ok - I grew up listening to my brother's music and he is 9 years older than me. I.e. I was listening on a daily basis to Pink Floyd, Supertramp and Fleetwood Mac. I guess that makes me even more ancient.... Oh, hey, another one - the first LP I ever bought was 'Upside Down' by Diana Ross!!! I just saw her video of 'My Old Piano' a few days ago in an Oldies (!) program, that's from the same LP. Goodness gracious me! Oh, videos - another one! They simply did not exist when I started getting interested into music. When they sang 'Video Killed The Radio Star', I didn't actually get what they were on about, I was so naive....

Talking of computers - I took some photos of my flat with my digital camera. I am now in the process of putting them on the net. Not finished yet, but if you want to see how I live, go and have a look at what is there so far.....

Friday, Nov. 02, 2001

It's getting colder now. There's an extra blanket on the bed and I have considered getting the duvet out for the past 2 nights. Have been sleeping with a t-shirt on instead of my usual nothing-at-all-nighty. Had 2 of my A/Cs on "heat" for the past 2 days and I am now wearing leggings, socks (courtesy of BA in-flight service) and my favourite old cardi on top of a t-shirt. Winter is coming...... The days are still warm, but the evenings are definitely taking on a more chilly note. On the German news on telly they've reported the first heavy storms at the north German coastline - at least we won't have that here, the med is pretty boring even in winter.

Had some food, watched some telly - the usual afternoon talkshow crap - and am reading now. Still reveling in the knowledge that I will have tomorrow off as well. That is so great, it makes me grin like an idiot every time I remember. Thankful for small mercies....