CARGO

I took some pictures earlier in the day but I was just checking them out and they were pretty crap. So since its 11:15PM I had to quickly scramble and find something at home to take a picture of. After a bit of search I decided to take a picture of the magazines lying on my bathroom floor. I just got a whole shipment of magazines from Aramex so my bathroom floor is just packed from one side to another with magazines. I get a whole variety of magazins, FHM, Esquire, Baseline, Wired, Cargo, Car And Driver, RollingStone, Xbox OFM, Mac Addict, Mac World, CIO Insight, and more. My favorite of-course is WIRED and my second favorite is currently Cargo. Cargo is a pretty cool magazine, its fairly new compared to the rest and its the best magazine out there for guys. Its like cosmopolitan but for men. Every issue is full of product reviews from tech gear to which shampoo is best for your hair. Plus they show you what you can do with your clothes, how to layer your stuff or what shirt to wear on what occasion. Very interesting and very cool.

feels like.

Since we are on the subject of design, 2 days ago I went and picked up some packages from Aramex. Two of the packages were paper samples from some paper suppliers I had emailed. Paper plays a very important role in design although not many appreciate it. In Kuwait its very difficult to find paper you really want, most of the paper in the market is cheap ass find it everywhere kind of paper with the only good papers either always out of stock or only on order. Try convincing a client why he has to wait 1 month for paper which to him looks like any other paper to arrive from England and cost him a bundle. They wont go for it, rarely at least. I ordered some samples from the suppliers Curtis and International Paper which I figured we could use at our agency. After getting the samples though I decided not to. Both sample packages from the suppliers were beautifully designed. The easy way out for them would have been to get all their papers, put them in a folder, mark the pages and mail them out. Thats not what they did though. The Curtis samples came in a rectangular bright orange semi transparent case the size of a small shoe-box. Inside this case there were 3 books in a bright pink, blue and green color. The covers are made of soft plastic and they are really amazing. The International Paper samples arrived in a box. When I opened the box there were 5 very trendy books inside. The whole thing resembles a DVD box set, a big one. Unlike Curtis, they used more light and pastel colors, a totally different style but very clean and really cool. I just couldn't take these packages to the office, so now they are sitting here next to me on my desk. These sample books are free of-course and I will now be ordering more from various other suppliers. I decided to shoot the curtis package since I liked what was written on it.. feels like. looks like. something like. quite like. maybe. definitely. really! I will be posting the full set of pictures of the packages on 248AM tomorrow, so check back there if you are interested.

Kiss My Girlfriend

This week all the designers at my agency are getting a really cool book sent to us from the main office. The book is called "Hold my skateboard while I kiss your girlfriend". Its about the new grading system introduced to all the offices world wide. Basically if you work in China, Brazil, Kuwait or anywhere else in the world, your work will be graded like the rest. No compromises, no bullshit. I think thats a very smart grading system. I usually compare my work to international standards and thats why I grade myself normally a 5 or max 6 out of 10. There are some really fucking creative people out there and I am not anywhere near there standards. Flipping through a Creative Review issue to me is like 14 year old boy flipping through Playboy. Good design turns me on.

Speed Racer

I was stuck in traffic when suddenly a Mercedes SLR pulls up beside me. I am not a big fan of Mercedes cars at all. Maybe the only Benz I like is the G series. I don't even like the SLR. I mean its a good car I am sure, but I wouldn't pay half a million dollars for it. To an untrained eye the SLR can be confused with the much cheaper SL. Imagine paying half a million bucks for a car only to have people think its an ordinary SL. I would rather get a Lamborghini. But then again, Lambo's have gotten kind of normal in Kuwait. Seriously if you have a Porsche in Kuwait its like so what? I guess you need cars that cost half a million dollars to stick out here.

Red Blood

I didn't have work today so I woke up late and watched Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle. I didn't have time yesterday because I spent most of the night watching the news on the Beirut Bombing that happened last night. I watched Saw last night though, it was interesting except I didn't like who the bad guy turned out to be. Otherwise it was an interesting plot the reminded me a lot of Seven for some reason. Earlier tonight, me and nat met up with nibaq. We decided to go to Kuwait City and check some places out. The weather was really nice and so when we were done exploring we went and had dinner at Restaurant 99. On the way back nibaq wanted to pass by the bank, thats when I shot this money exchange thing. I was trying to fix the white balance of the picture because there was a neon light or something over it when I accidently turned the picture red. I found it interesting so I decided to keep it like this.

Easter Tree

I don't have any work tomorrow because its easter. Feels good knowing I can stay up as late as I want and not have to wake up early to go to work. When I was in school, I couldn't wait till I grew up so I could go to bed whenever I wanted. Now that I have grown up I still have to go to bed early because if I don't I won't be able to wake up for work. Do we ever get to a point in life where we can do what we want? I got two DVD's from my brother which I am gonna go and watch now. One is Saw the other is Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle. They better turn out to be good or my brother is gonna get smacked with the DVDs on his head.

UFO Sighting

Nat came back today. Went picked her up from the airport awhile ago. I love the airport road. it's so wide, quiet and green. So I pick her up from the airport and we are walking back to the car with the trolley when I hear footsteps behind us. The faster I walk the faster the foot steps become. Someone was following us, and I knew who it was. Suddenly more footsteps from the right. Fuckers, they are gonna gang up on me. So I stop, turn around, and there they were, 2 baggage handlers. I yell out "I hope you guys aren't fucking following me!". They pause, then turn around and walk away looking for the next victim. Ok, I feel sorry for the guys because they make little money and all, but come on, they are too persistent. Two days ago me and my brother are walking back to the car with 1 bag and the guy wants to come and help us. I mean we are two big fucking guys with 1 tiny bag, I think we can manage it by ourselves. So today I was expecting the attack and was able to act and have them pull back before they got any closer. They remind me of the zombies in the movie "28 Days Later". Freaky people.

Red&Yellow

I was at Hardee's today waiting for my lunch when this Caution Wet Floor sign grabbed my attention. I love the picture of the guy falling on his ass, its very comical. As I mentioned earlier on my blog, I didn't enjoy my lunch. Last time I am ordering the Big Champ. I have like soo much crap to watch on my Tivo. I am just waiting for Nat to come tomorrow so we can catch up. I have tons of movies waiting for me including Who's That Girl, The Net, Empire Records and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I also have The Sopranos, The Contender and Rides also recorded. So much TV so little time.

Hidden Camera

Todays post is gonna be short. I went to the airport to pick up my brother. On the way out I noticed this security camera hidden behind a sign. Really stupid planning from someone. Today is day 130.

The Date Keeper

I got linked by Josh Rubin: Cool Hunting today so I am expecting many visitors to come who don't live in Kuwait. Thats why for todays picture I decided to go local and you can't get more local then Souk Al Mubarkieh. I like passing by the souk because I used to go there every Friday as a kid when my dad used to pass by this persian carpet store in the souk. I would usually tag along with him but then get bored and wonder off into the souk by myself trying to discover something new. They were like mini adventures for me. Now every-time I pass by the souk I always get happy childhood memories. Today though, I parked in a parking lot I never parked at before. It confused my usual routine and I got lost trying to find the place I wanted to go to. Then, when I did find the place, I got lost going back to my car. The souk is very confusing to navigate through with lots of alley ways that all seem to lead to somewhere interesting. I found a store there that is selling brand new boxed Super Nintendo systems for only KD20 ($60). I keep telling myself to get one but something always comes up. Anyway the picture I took today is of a shop keeper arranging some of the dates he has on display.

De Sede

I just came back awhile ago from furniture shopping. My creative director is moving into a flat in my building and he really wants to furnish it nicely. So, I took him to Fauteuil Club which belongs to Dia Behbahani. They are located in Shuwaikh, Canada Dry street, you take the first right after McDonalds and then a left at the roundabout. They also have Herman Miller offices. Really great stuff. But, we went there for one brand only and that brand is located in the basement far away from everything else. The brand is De Sede. De Sede simply make the most gorgeous and beautifully designed couches in the world. There is nothing that comes close. First we checked out the DS 152. Thats the couch in the picture I took. Its very cool, very different and best of all it comes with a built in flat screen monitor. Price, KD3600. The couch we were interested in though, was the DS 164 which is designed by Hugo De Ruiter. This couch not only looks good but its also extremely practical. You can check that couch on the De Sede website by clicking here. This couch does not have a fixed back. The back of the couch rotates around the couch on fixed tracks. So, this means you can have the couch face any direction you want just by moving around the sofas back. Its very one of a kind and would definitely be a great center piece in any room. The price, KD4000. Although it might sound steep but compared to other couches in this price range by other brands like Rolf Benz (located in SunCity) for example, this couch is actually a pretty good deal. The way the couches and chairs are displayed at the showroom is also very nice. The place is very dark with only a spotlight or two over an item. There were in total 3 couches and maybe 4 or 5 different chairs. Everything is by order and you have to wait around 2 months for your couch to arrive. You also get to choose what texture, color and material you want your couch to be... all included in the price. For more info on the couches, click here for the De Sede website.

Summertime

Today I had a commercial shoot which lasted over 4 hours and I am really exhausted. We did the shooting at Sheik Resort, its near the Kuwait Regency Hotel. They recently renovated the place and part of the renovations included a beautiful new pool and an incredible sandy white beach. The sun was out and it was a bit hot, the pool was empty and looked very refreshing. It would have been amazing if I was able to take a swim today. I think I will end up going there this summer. Its pretty close to my home and I haven't seen a beach as clean and white yet here in Kuwait.

Ladder 49

After lunch I decided to take a walk around the block just to kill some time and enjoy the nice weather. On this walk I past a fire station. I stopped for a second and thought to myself, shall I go in and try and take some pictures? I was a bit nervous as you could imagine, and I am also a shy person but one of the points of this project is to get over the fear of asking people if I could take their picture. So after counting to 10, I decided to take the plunge and go in. When I first walked in I saw 1 fire fighter standing near the entrance and I asked him pretending I was a tourist if I could take pictures of the truck. He nodded signaling I could. So I went ahead and took a few pictures but nothing really interesting. Not wanting this opportunity to go to waste I decided to casually walk deeper into the fire station towards a group of fire fighters. When I got closer to the group I asked them if I could take a picture pointing out the camera I was holding. They nicely told me yes so I went ahead and took the shot. After showing them the picture I had just taken on camera's LCD screen, I told them thank you and went on my way. Very friendly people. Oh and one of the fire trucks, the ladder truck specifically was number 49!

SHELL

All this construction around my house is driving me insane. Its a good thing my wife just got a Jeep because my regular car would have fallen apart by now with all the holes and sand bumps in the area. Have you guys seen the extremely deep hole in the street between Starbucks and Sbarro in front of Fanar? I had trouble passing it even with the Jeep! Hopefully all the construction will end soon and they repave the streets. Near my house there are a whole bunch of Shell barrels filled with diesel fuel for the trucks. I really like the Shell logo and colors, its simple and memorable.

The Paper

Today morning I passed by the insurance company in Kuwait City. On my way up I noticed this long line of newspaper boxes. I have never seen so many together all in one place. It looked really interesting all lined up in blue and orange. I don't think they are used anymore, I don't think so at least because they look old and rusted, but I am probably wrong.

The Wall

A couple of weeks ago, I saw an advert in the newspaper for a new mega electronics shop. The store was called Mula Electronics or something. So today after work I decided to go check it out. I figured I would be able to kill some time theere wondering through the large store. So I get there and walk into the store and I was like I must be in the wrong place. No way this could be it. The place I walked into was tiny. Like really tiny. From the main entrance I could see everything in the store. They had like 4 fridges, a handful of tvs, 1 washing machine maybe and like a few other items and thats it. My house is bigger then the store. I asked a salesman if they had another branch, they were like no, this is the only one. So I stood their shocked for a minute and then left. It was such a disappointment and if you haven't been there yet don't even bother. It would be a total waste of time. When I was going back to my car I noticed this yellowish wall from one side of the street to the other. It looked pretty cool and out of place so I took a shot.

Hill Climb

OK, todays picture is related to yesterdays. During lunch I decided to go check out how they caterpillar truck was able to get onto the top of the building. So I went to the back side and I saw the truck on a pile of rocks. Turns out the truck starts destroying one side of the building then the falling rubble creates a sort of a hill which the truck climbs on. The truck goes higher and destroys the top floors until another hill is formed and the truck climbs even higher. I doubt this is a safe practice since the rubble is very unstable and the truck not very easy to control. But, I guess its a cheap solution and thats why they use it.

CAT

Anyone else find this picture strange? They started demolishing the buildings in Kuwait City but I didn't this they would do it like this. They have a Caterpillar truck on the third story of the building! I have never seen something like this before. Isn't the truck driver worried he might fall into an abandoned apartment below? Can the building even handle a truck on the roof? I don't know but I just find this strange. I always thought they banged the buildings down using these large metal balls, I did not think they sent trucks up a building to bring it down. Weird.

Bye Bye Birdie

Outside my office window is like one large pigeon nest. Right outside the window there is an area around 20 cm deep and 20 cm wide, I think the original building plan included plants in that area. Now the whole thing is filled with straws and feathers and dozens of pigeons spend their time hanging out and chilling right outside my window. Today outside our window was a dead pigeon. Cause of death unknown. My guess, probably something to do with the rain and sudden low temperatures. Pigeons flew over from other buildings to pay their respect and a short and silent funeral was held. Watching the other pigeons around the dead one makes you wonder... does death mater to them?

Carbon Monoxide Kills

I know I keep saying this but I have to say it again. The weather in Kuwait has become really unpredictable. Last week was all nice and sunny, while this week its all gonna be rain. Right now while I am typing this its raining like crazy outside. Showtime is down because of the rain, thank god for tivo. Don't get me wrong I love rain, but I don't love it at the moment. When its raining it means the wrangler's hardtop has to stay on. When the sky is clear, the roof comes off. Summer is gonna suddenly come and it will be too hot to keep the roof off so I want to try and get at-least a month worth of convertible driving before the heat wave. I took todays picture of the no smoking sign to share it with everyone. It might look normal to you but if you only knew where this is located. The sign is located in an underground parking lot. I don't know about you but I find that really strange. You would think with all the deadly carbon monoxide in an underground parking, smoking would be the least of the issues. Some strange people run that parking lot.

The Terminal

Went to the airport today to drop off nataly. I like going to the airport when I am not the one who is traveling. Nibaq caught up with us and we ended up having lunch there. I had some pizza from Vinnelli's or something. It was so so. I prefer Dominos and Sbarro much more. The new airport is way more fun then the old one, but I was telling Nibaq how I missed the old restaurant that was upstairs in the old airport. It used to have a buffet, and whenever I didn't like any of their hot foods I would take a plate of Hommos from the fridge and a club sandwich. It used to be peaceful eating at the airport but now its just noisy and hectic. Still, at-least with the new airport we can shop to kill time.

The Dead Zone

I just had dinner from Saj House. I stopped by, picked up my food and then drove down to the end of the street and parked next to the dead end flashing light. Its near the French school where the road suddenly ends because of construction. I like to sit in the car have my dinner and watch the road. I noticed tonight that people keep speeding down the street until they suddenly slam the brakes once they get near the wall at the dead end. Then they sit there surprised that the road ended.. although there is a large flashing sign you could see a mile away warning people the road will end. Some people just really don't think. Oh and is today transvestite day or something? I saw 3 groups of transvestites today, the max in 1 day. They really gross me out. Creepy.

Trail Rated

Went to Marina Mall today to check out all the 4x4's. If you didn't know, from the 9th of this month till the 18th, their is a 4x4 expo at the Marina Crescent. All the major brands are their and most have special deals going on. The new Land Rover Discovery is on display their and it looks really hot also. The coolest part of this event though is the 4x4 test track. Basically their are around 10 cars of different brands which you can personally take and test drive on a man made off-road course on the beach. I spent sometime their watching people drive around and it looked pretty cool. I actually enjoyed watching some of the drivers, and most were really taking advantage of the test drive. I saw a guy take out the Range Rover and literally jump off a small man made hill. Then of-course you had the slow cautious drivers who took their time and basically bored the hell out of everyone. I love 4x4's, tomorrow morning I got to pick up my wife's new Wrangler. I can't wait. Hopefully it will be a nice sunny weekend so I can take the top off.

Infinite Sadness

After lunch me and another guy from work passed by Muthanna Complex to take some pictures of some antique shops. So I am busy shooting when I see this mannequin and decide to take her picture for fun as if she was a model. I took the picture and then I noticed her facial expression. It was just so sad. She looked depressed. I watched a movie once when I was a kid about how mannequins were made using real people. People were killed and then turned into mannequins. It was a horror or something I guess. But for a second, I really imagined that this mannequin was real. I don't know if I have "issues" but I really find this mannequin interesting.

Fill Her Up

I have three favorite gas stations I visit. The first one is behind Cinema Salmiya. I like that place because I think its the only gas station in Salmiya that isn't self service. I am too lazy to get out of my car sometimes and thats when I pass by this station. My second favorite gas station is in Kuwait City next to Aramex. I like that gas station for 2 reasons, one they have the Ultra Super Unleaded gas, which is the green colored one not the regular gold and red. I believe this one is either 97 or 98 octane. The second reason I like that station is the air pump for the wheels is digital. Its a lot easier to use then the regular analog ones. My third favorite gas station is near Sheraton Hotel. This is a pretty small quiet station, I pass by there after work and I always pay with Knet. I am not sure about the other two gas stations if they accept Knet but I know this one does for sure. Its allot easier paying with Knet, they just swipe the card and give it back to you. No waiting for your pin code or for the order to go through, its instant. Recently I found out from Nibaq that every gas station has a number with the oldest being station #1. Next time you pass by a gas station check out the number under the stations sign. The lower the number the older the station.

For those of you expecting pictures from todays demonstration, I posted about it on 2:48AM with some pics I shot plus a link to Nibaqs pics.

The Postman

Has anyone seen a Kuwaiti postman? How do they look like? Since I was a kid I was always fascinated by this old mailbox located in Salmiya, and I always wanted to see the postman pick up the mail, but I never did. I am not sure if this mailbox is being checked even. For as long as I can remember it was always collections on Sunday at 11AM. In other news, today after lunch I passed by Baskin Robbins and I noticed something very weird. The place looked a lot cleaner, the lights were all on and bright, the brightest I have ever seen the place, it looked new and the biggest shock.. our famous Baskin Robbins employee was not there. Instead there was a new philipino guy in his place. Now I do not know if my blog some how did this, I would like to hope not. I wouldn't want to be responsible for having a poor employee getting sacked. Maybe I shouldn't have taken the pictures.. In any case the new employee is really cool and gives nice big scoops of ice cream so thats a good thing.

31 Flavors Again

I finished having lunch at Burger King today when I felt like having Baskin Robbins. Remember the other day when I felt like having Baskin Robbins but the employee there had left a sign saying he was out and would be back at 4? Well you won't believe this, I pass by today to get icecream and I dont see anyone, not even a sign. So I walk past the place when something caught my eye. I take a look and their was the employee sleeping on top of a bunch of chairs. I quickly took out my camera and took a couple of shots. I think I will build up a nice collection of photos of the guy and then blackmail him for a whole tub of icecream. So anyway, the guy looked very cozy and in deep sleep so I didn't have the heart to wake him. I left without getting any icecream. Maybe tomorrow.

Masturbation

Around a week ago I watched this episode on Jerry Springer where this woman enjoys masturbating with a street cone. She actually preferred the cone over her boyfriend and ended up choosing the cone instead of their relationship. Pretty weird. So now whenever I see a street cone I am always gonna think of that chick. I think I am scarred for life.

Evil During the Third Reich

Some people in Kuwait are really naive. There is a small shopping center next to NBK and Eureka in Salmiya. I don't know what its called but it has a sports shop on the ground floor and it has Hald Rock Cafe downstairs (yes Hald not Hard). So anyway if you go downstairs you have like 6 stores that all sell the same stuff. Bandanas, tshirts, daggers, fake oakleys, zippos, etc.. PLUS you can also buy your very own swastika flag! No really I am not kidding. This picture is of one of the swastika flags in the shop thats for sale. And you would think only one of them was selling it by mistake but all 6 shops sell the flag. I am sure you also have probably seen some loser with a swastika sticker on the back of his pickup truck. Some people think its a cool flag and proudly display it not knowing what the real meaning is. Even if they did I don't think they would care. Some things are just very strange here.

The Kludge

When I was back in Lebanon, nearly everyday after university on my way home I would stop by McDonalds drive thru, pick up my food and then go park my car on the side of the road and have my meal. I used to hate getting my fries hot. Getting it hot means I had to wait for it to cool down which meant I had spend time sitting in my car doing nothing waiting for my fries to cool. So I found a solution for this problem, the air-condition. Today I left my office in Kuwait City to pick up something from my wife in Salmiya. My lunch break is only 1 hour so I decided to have Gulf Road McDonalds drive thru on the way back. I stopped by, picked up my Quarter Pounder with Cheese combo and went and parked my car in the parking lot next to this shisha place (where a lot of hookers seem to frequent I noticed). I was in a rush and my fries were hot, no time to waste waiting for them to cool so I used the trick I learned in Lebanon. You turn your A.C. on full blast, then you hold your fries facing the air outlets, once the cold air rushes in you will feel the hot air coming out from the back. The burning sensation lasts only for a second or two and then you just get cold air coming out. Hold you fries there for around 10 to 20 seconds, depending on how hot they are and when done, pull your fries away from the A.C. and start eating. If they are still hot you can repeat this process. This post was brought to you by McDonalds.. i'm lovin' it!

31 Flavors

I had Burger King for lunch today. I hadn't had BK since last Wednesday and I was beginning to have withdrawal symptoms. After lunch I decided to pass by Baskin Robbins. There is a guy always there, everytime I pass by he is like "hello sir, you want icecream?", and I am always like no leave me alone. So today I felt like having icecream, I was like I had a light lunch I can atleast have desert. So I pass by the place and the fucker wasn't there. Instead he had this paper sign saying that he will be back at 4pm. So I figured I would take a picture of the sign and get the picture developed. Then I will go back and blackmail the guy telling him I would show it to his manager unless he gives me free icecream!