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| Friday, Nov. 29, 2002 Slight hangover…Went out with Les and Ji last night. First we couldn’t make up our minds, then we ended up at Okashi, which is a Japanese at the Royal Meridien. Great Sashimi and a superb view over the Nile at night. Rounded off by a double Bacardi with Coke at Harry’s Pub. I’ve got a slight problem waking up. Just spent a frustrating half hour on the internet trying to update my subscription to Norton Antivirus. But the damn programm won’t accept any of my credit cards. I know the cards are ok, so something is wrong with their system. It just winds me up so much. Argh. Anyway, will have another coffee now and then try to get hold of Ji, she’s got the phone number of someone she knows in Cairo. Ann, new in town, doesn’t know many people and so on…. Tonight is a Thanksgiving dinner at the BC, so I want to drag her along. Good opportunity for her to meet new people. Oh, and Ramadan will end next week, i.e. we will have 4 days off! Heaven! Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2002 Been sick. Had an infection at my top left wisdom tooth. Well, actually, my gum was infected, which led to my cheek being infected, which led to my tooth hurting, then the tooth underneath that started to hurt, then my left jaw, then my left eye, then the whole left side of my face, then my whole face, then I got a temperature and last, but not least, to make it more interesting, my period started, at which point my blood pressure decided to take the day off. I ended up lying flat on my back in the office with the shivers….Went home (no kidding) and conked out on my bed, fully clothed. That was two days ago. Yesterday went to work, ever hopeful, but buggered off at 2.30 with all the Egyptians. Thank god for Ramadan. I did not feel all that hot…. Was a lot better today, the infection is all but gone. Have to go to the dentist for a check-up anyway, so will get that sorted soon. Otherwise been playing on the computer way too much. It’s a RPG, I am totally addicted to it. I even think about it at work, all I want to do, is go home to play it. It’s ridiculous. But great fun. So ta-ta, I will now go and see if I can kill that damn Orc that’s been giving me a hard time last night…. Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2002 Ok, I suck at updating at the moment. Despite Ramadan worked some long days. Tired, no motivation, just watching telly and going to class. Class is good some nights and total crap on others. During Ramadanm classes start at 9 pm, for god’s sake! I am brain dead by that time. Barely reading anything either. Will get back on track eventually. On the good side made plans with my parents for Xmas. I will fly home on the 19th of December. The day after we will make tracks and drive to the Alsace and go to a really nice restaurant we have known for years. From there we’ll drive on to Basel and for dinner it will be a proper swiss cheese fondue. The real McCoy. We’ll stay over on the German side. And then probably back into Basel the following day to go to the art museum, which is small, but with excellent exhibits. Then – still not done – depending on the weather, the way back home will either be along the Rhine valley or the “Schwarzwald Hochstrasse” (scenic route through the Black Forrest, sort of a minute version of the Appalachian trail, German style). We used to live down there when I was little and I have never been back since we moved away, so it’s a little rememberance tour. I am really looking forward to it! Back home in Landau on Christmas eve…. Thursday, Nov. 14, 2002 I think I have worked through my bithday blues now…the ninth day of Ramadan…. Unfortunately I will be working tomorrow – we are making up time that we have lost because of Ramadan. Should be interessting to see, if anybody will be doing anything meaningful at work tomorrow. The other day I went to a supermarket about half an hour after Iftar started. That was pretty funny. I was all alone. I felt as if I had dropped into the setting of a Sci Fi movie or some other unreal scenario. Just me and the people working there, all still chewing away and trying to hide from me…… But I got what I wanted eventually, including a little chat with the girl behind the sweet counter. Now that I started interacting with people in Arabic, my shopping sprees always extend endlessly, because everybody is trying to have a conversation with the strange foreign woman…. Sunday, Nov. 10, 2002 I have been a crappy updater. But I don’t really feel like writing lots at the moment. Very busy at work, lots of problems with a project I’m supposed to be running and that’s not going so well. Tired. I always go to bed too late, so why am I complaining….. Really bad with my e-mailing as well, my friends probably think I got swallowed by a black hole. It just happens, sometimes I just want to roll up into a ball in front of the telly and hibernate for a century or so. I am a little homesick, too. Ramadan started, so I am getting home early, which is good. My birthday was last Thursday, but I did not do much. Wanted to go to dinner with some people from work, but they pretty much all cancelled on me and I felt like a sore looser – just for a bit….. Monday, Nov. 04, 2002 Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow Ramadan will start. Nobody is sure yet, same thing as every year. They don’t have lunar calendars in Egypt. Some guy with a turban on stands on a minarett and squints at the night sky to determin when the moon’s up….or not up, whatever….Ok, apologies, not politically correct…. Anyway, so I call my beer service to order a case of Sakkara Gold to get me through the dry season. I call the main toll free number. - Do you still deliver, with Ramadan starting in two days? - No problemo, he tells me, I can order for another 2 days….. Only hickup is the address. My pronounciation sucks and the street is about 100 metres long and nobody ever knows it. Anyway, no problem, says the guy. I’ll pass it along, if they don’t remember you, they’ll call for directions…So 5 minutes later this other guy calls for directions. - What’s your street name? I tell him. - What’s your street name? - I just told you! I tell him again He starts laughing. - What’s the name of your street? *slightly miffed* I tell him again. - Look mate, that’s the best I can do, no matter how I pronounce it. I give him 3 different ways of pronouncing it…. - You don’t know your own address? Mrwhaha! - Argh! Yes, I do! But nobody ever knows the stupid street, it’s really short! I give him directions from the main street. I have to pronounce the name of the main street three times. *smoke starts coming from my ears* - What’s the house number? What’s the floor number? What’s the flat number? I think I’ll give up drinking beer! Anyway, we are finally done. I put down the phone and wander off. 5 minutes later the phone rings again. - Very sorry, but we are out. We do not have any stock. - What do you mean, you are out of stock? No Sakkara? - No stock, the shelfs are empty. - What, nothing at all, no other beer either??? - Because of Ramadan. - But Ramadan doesn’t start for another 2 days! *Fuming now!* Anyway, this whole shebang drivels on for another minute until I finally slam down the phone in frustration and call David to vent my anger. And, hey, problem solved. All you need is someone with connections. David has not only one but 2 guys that are happy to keep him supplied during the wet season, as long as its all hush-hush. Problem solved. Argh! These people that I called only supply alcohol at wholesale prices, that’s all they do. And it takes 3 phone conversations for them to figure out that they stopped selling 2 days prior to Ramadan starting? Stupid or what? To top it all, I’ve got a bad case on tonsilitis, it hurts like a bitch! Friday, Nov. 01, 2002 Yesterday the new cleaning lady came in for the first time. Halleluhjah, it’ all nice and clean now. Wednesday night I cleaned up a little, so it’s not so messy when she comes in. If that’s not the epitom of ‘paradox’, I don’t know what is! Slammed my foot into a corner, trying to get to the phone quickly. I’m now sporting the Amazing Purple Toe. Man, it looks spectacular! Also finally got my act together and installed the printer and the wireless keyboard and mouse. So I sold my desktop to have less garbage to haul around, then I add to my labtop by buying a printer, keyboard and other assorted crap. Yes, very sensible indeed. My dad is convinced that Bush will start a war in February. Not quite sure where he got the date from? Every time I check into CNN, they talk about the weather or financial markets, so I guess it’s not imminent…. |
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| Ever wondered if I am the only non-Egyptian person living here that thinks this country is strange? Go and have a look at Walters' World, that's the site of my colleague Steve - he actually left Egypt now, but hey....it's worth a look, although he is actually funnier live! |
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