PhotoBlogging from Kuwait for 365 days with 1 picture for every day.
Just got back from the vet a few minutes ago. We had to put Chips, our family dog to sleep. It seems some of his internal organs weren't functioning properly and in the past week he lost an incredible amount of weight. Chips has been a member of our family for over 8 years now. I took this picture just before we took him to the vet, its his last. He will be missed...
I have a MAJOR headache tonight. I didn't have time to have lunch in the afternoon because I had a meeting with a client, then I had to stay late at work so I ended up having lunch at 7:30PM. I spent the whole day without food and I think thats why my head is killing me at the moment. Anyway for those of you outside Kuwait, you probably know gas in Kuwait is cheap. How cheap is it though? Gas in Kuwait sells for 78 cents a gallon. While trying to find prices of gas in other countries, I found a global gas price list on CNN.com. Its very interesting stuff, Venezuela is the cheapest with gas selling for 12 cents, Egypt surprisingly is cheaper then Kuwait also selling at 65 cents a gallon. In the Netherlands, gas sells for $6.48! Thats unbelievable! I mean I always thought the price for gas in Lebanon was expensive but in the Netherlands its 3 times more! I guess thats why everyone rides bicycles.. Here is the full list on CNN.com.
I have this bad habit of buying stuff because they look good, when it comes to food its the same thing. The first time I tried a cheese cake was at Red Lobster back in 1993, the reason I tried it was because it looked very slick and smooth. I loved it and now cheese cake is one of my favorite deserts. I don't think I have ever been disappointed from a product that looked good, and this is why tonight I got Easy Mac from Sultan Center. Its macaroni and cheese, I never had it before but the package looked really cool and so "American" that I had to get it. Not only that but preparation seems very easy, boil some water in the microwave, put the macaroni in it, wait a bit then put the cheese, very easy. Now I just need to try it but because the package looks good psychologically I will like it.
I got home today to find 2 fire trucks under my building. Turns out there was some kind of power-line that was buried under the sand and it must have been overpowered or something because the rubber around the cable was melting in one section and smoke was coming from it. The problem was there was a car parked just over it so people were worried the electricity might cause the car to explode (don't ask). Anyway the road was blocked and I couldn't pass so I just parked the car and went down to take pictures. The fire fighters were just waiting for the guys from the ministry of electricity to come so they could see the situation, when they came like 20 minutes later they were able to turn off the power going to the cables. Then everyone just left. I only managed to take two pictures because I wasn't sure what their reaction would be if they saw me. Luckily I liked one of the shots and chose it as my picture of he day.
Me and Nat needed to pass by Sultan Center today so we ended up going to the one in Salwa since the Salmiya one was incredibly crowded. When we got to the Salwa branch there were a whole bunch of young local kids hanging out under the shade sitting on the grass. When I was in high school I would hear stories about these little kids and how you should never fuck with them. People would say if you ever got into a fight with one of these kids you would end up being attacked by like 100 of them. I later witnessed it myself, I saw two Egyptian kids once shoving this tiny local kid around, a minute later it started showering rocks on the two Egyptian kids, there were maybe 30 or 40 tiny local kids running in the direction of the two bullies and they were throwing tiny rocks at them. Anyway when we were done with Sultan and we got out, I saw the kids still sitting on the grass, so I went up to them and asked them in English if I could take a picture of them. One of the kids who seemed to understand English said "yes yes" and then told the other kids what I had asked. They all got excited and got up and posed for me. I took their picture and when I was leaving I heard one of the kids say "jawzto 7elwa" in Arabic which means his wife is pretty, that made Nats day..
Today at 12 I had to drive all the way to Kout Mall in Fahaheel to meet-up with a new client. I had been to the Kout Mall twice before and twice the mall wasn't finished. This time when I went though it was practically done, 98% of the stores were open and the whole place looks like its doing good. They are even opening a Sultan Center there. I personally don't like the mall, its too small and definitely not worth the 30 minute trip to get to it. On the way back to the car I snapped a picture of these old fishing boats that were parked in the small marina.
Tonight I passed by Marina Hotel again. This time though Fadibou and his wife Missundaztoood joined us. Me and Nat had seen the place before but they hadn't so after having coffee at Starbucks we decided to pass by and check it out. This picture is of the Marina beach, its partly over-exposed but I don't mind since its creating a nice contrast. If you are interested in becoming a member I posted the membership prices awhile back on 2:48AM. Click here to check it out..
Tonight I went and watched Star Wars III. It wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. It was definitely better then Episode 2, I hated that one. Just before I left the movie I was able to get a quick shot of the screen. As soon as I took my camera out and shot my first random shot of the title credits, one of the movie ushers started to approach me. I realized if I took another shot he would cause me problems so I just put my camera back in the bag. I would have loved to have shot a more interesting shot from the movie but its not an easy thing to do..
Today I went to Subah Al-Salem area to meet up with some relatives. After I left I decided to drive around in the area and try to find something to shoot. I found an empty desert with some lights in the far distance which I figured would be a nice shot. But, as usual, what I imagine turns out totally different once I shoot it, so I was walking back to the car when I decided I would shoot the intersection. I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome and the picture makes it look like a very nice peaceful street to live on..
Here is another picture of the view from my house. This shot gives a better idea of how crowded the area where I live is. Its got more building packed next to each other then in Kuwait City. I like it like this though, I like cities. Notice how many satellite dishes are located on top of the building.. Its day 190 of the project today.
Tonight I passed by the pier next to Chili's because I wanted to take another long exposure shot since I was getting interesting results recently. I wanted to shoot the pier from the beginning till the end like I did once before with my older camera but all the shots I took had a problem, the people. I need to be at the pier around 1 or 2AM when it would be empty to get the shot I want. Tonight there were too many people on it and the shot wasn't working out my way. So, instead of wasting the trip I decided to experiment and take some other shots. The one I chose for my picture of the day has some interesting elements. Firstly it was shot around 10PM using a 45 second exposure. The color of the sky came out a purplish blue with the right side brighter then the left. This created a nice gradient. The second nice thing I liked about the shot was the rust on the pier. I also liked the way the city lights light up the horizon behind the bridge. I might go to this spot again this weekend at a time when the pier is empty so I could try to capture the whole pier. It has a lot of potential.
This is the view from one of my windows at home. This shot was a 30 second exposure and what I like about long exposures is how ambient light starts playing an important role. The buildings in the picture in reality aren't lit up the way it is in the picture, but a 30 second exposure takes whatever little light there is and amplifies it.
I passed by Al Raya mall tonight. I was walking around when I saw something that looked like a skateboard half-pipe that was poorly built. On closer inspection it turned out to be a work of art currently being displayed there. I was like o..k.... and continued walking when I came across another display, but this one looked like a construction area, it was just a bunch of pipes and planks laid on top of each other. Really crappy stuff but people seem to think its art. I guess it could be, I personally wouldn't buy it. I did see something interesting though and that was this picture I took. It was next to the "art work" I am talking about but I found this more interesting then the center piece.
I left work a bit late today. When I got to the elevator there was like a 5 man crew trying to fix one of the lifts. The 10 story building I work at only has 2 lifts and its hard enough trying to get one when both are working yet alone when one has broken down. Luckily since I left work after rush hour I ended up waiting like 5 minutes, which is nothing since I have waited 15 minutes before. The weather was also messed up today. First half of the day was sunny and hot and then suddenly in the afternoon it became cloudy, dusty and then it rained. Summer is very near, its just getting hotter and hotter everyday. Everywhere else in the world when the summer comes people start going out and doing activities, in Kuwait (and other Gulf countries I assume), when the summer comes the majority stays indoors.
OK, I don't how guys use this toilet, I do not want to know how it is used. But they are simply gross. I hate these old styled toilets, they are just too weird. The one I shot today had to be the most disgusting one I have personally ever seen. It was in the parking lot next to the Chamber of Commerce building. Really gross... Anyway, the premier for Star Wars Episode III in Kuwait is in a couple of hours and I can't wait to watch it. I don't know how this happened but for some reason we will be watching it at the theater before the official US release which is in 2 days. Really cool! I mean the Star Wars fans who have been lined up outside the movie theater in the States for months should just have come to Kuwait.
Today I got a sneak preview of a new chinese restaurant opening at Holiday Inn - Salmiya. The place is called Tang Chao and from what I have seen and heard so far its going to kick ass. Firstly the interior decoration is just amazing. When you first walk into the restaurant you have a seating area to the right and one to the left. Each of these areas is a completely different style. I personally fell in love with the left side, its hard to describe how it looks but its gorgeous. I really love the colors, the ceiling, the walls, the lights, I love it all. The right side of the restaurant is also an interesting design but its more of an open space. The menu is supposed to be "real" chinese. One example is the sweet & sour, unlike most common places where they use pineapple and onions, at Tang Chao they will use kiwi and strawberry. Its little things like this that will separate Tang Chao from other chinese restaurants in Kuwait. The price is also supposed to be very competitive, if you usually spend around KD12 per person at peacock, then you would spend around KD8 at Tang Chao. The place is currently not open but starting next week they will be inviting people to come in and maybe in 2 weeks time it will be open to the public. My shot was taken in the left side of the place.
I always wanted to take a shot of a model in front of a stainless steel backdrop. I always imagined the shot would come out futuristic and funky. So today on the way down in the elevator I took this shot of a friend of mine from work. The greenish tint (from the neons) combined with the metallic wall of the elevator created the perfect mood. I think the shot came out pretty cool and my friend ended up looking like a rapper or a DJ. I think this elevator environment has a lot of potential for good shots.
I went car shopping today since I am thinking of trading in my beemer. I first passed by the VW/Audi/Lamborghini dealer to check out the Golf GTI. Sadly they haven't received it yet and won't be getting it till the end of the year. So I decided to see what Audi had to offer. Turns out they just received 5 pieces of the all new 2006 Audi A4. A great looking car but at KD10,500 for a 2 liter 4-cylinder engine that pumps out 130HP, the price seemed like too much for too little. I am not really looking for a fast car but I am looking for something to at-least feel as fast as my current car. While there though I figured I would take advantage and ask about the Lamborghini's. I found out that the local dealer had a target to sell 12 baby Lamborghini this year but they sold 38! Unbelievable, only in Kuwait thats for sure. Each baby Lambo goes for around KD55,000 by the way. While I was in the back I spotted this poor VW Golf R32 which I took a picture of. I love Golf's since my first car was a Golf and this R32 is probably one of the coolest and fastest Golf's ever and seeing it totally destroyed like this was very sad. An interesting fact since we are talking about the R32, the kid Malcom from the show Malcom in the Middle just recently sold his R32 on eBay. When done with this dealer me and Nat went to Nissan to check out the 350ZX. I found it to be an OK car. I mean for KD10,500 you get a 294HP sports car which is really cool, but the interior is pretty dull and the car as a whole I just didn't bond with. I didn't get the wow I want this car feeling, but I can't say the same about Nat. She REALLY wants me to get the 350zx, like REALLY wants me to get it. She's gone all psycho on me now! Our final stop after Nissan was the Honda showroom. I wanted to check out the S2000 roadster. Its a really nice car, I love the interior, its so very racing like and its also a convertible BUT, the car costs KD12,500! I think its overpriced and the dealer doesn't look reliable. Anyway, I am gonna start reading up on the 350ZX, maybe will try to take it for a test drive just so I can get the feel of it. If it turns out to be a cool ride I might go for it although I was hoping my new car wouldn't be a coupe..
Today was really exhausting. I woke up at 7AM on a fucking Friday so I could go to a Beach Spike event that was held at Kempinski hotel. All the advertising agencies in Kuwait were invited and the volleyball tournament started at 9:30AM. My agency had 2 teams for the event, Team A and Team F. I was in Team F, and my team just wanted to have fun. Most of us hadn't played volleyball for years before today. As expected we lost, we even scored the lowest point in the tournament, we lost our first match 15 - 2. We didn't play another match after the first one, I guess they didn't want us to play or something. The coolest part of the day was the drive though. We took the roof off the Wrangler and it was an amazing drive to Kempinski. I have lived most of my life in Kuwait and I had never gone south that far. The furthest I had been to before today was Ahmadi so it was really great driving down past it all the way to Kempinski. From Salmiya to Kempinski it took around 40 minutes driving at 120KM per hour non stop. By the time we got to Kempinski their were no buildings around, just plain desert and camels. I really wish I had my camera since the camels looked really cool, maybe next time.
Me and Nat decided to leave around 2:30PM, we drove back home, washed up and then headed out to lunch. We decided to go to Kababji which was really great. Now I am totally exhausted, its 9PM and I will probably go to bed when I am done posting this..
Is there any decent graffiti in Kuwait? If there is, I have never seen it. All I keep finding is silly stuff like the ones in the picture, all the same style and all very uncreative. Its really ugly and I am thinking of doing something about it. Today is day 180 of the project.
![[With_Suck]](http://photos9.flickr.com/13455594_5152bb1c5c_m.jpg)
I got the Nine Inch Nails new album a few days ago. I pre-ordered two copies of the Dual Disc version from Amazon.coma couple of weeks ago. One copy for my brother, and one copy for me. I have been a Nine Inch Nails fan since "Pretty Hate Machine" and the new album [With_Teeth] is really disappointing. When I first heard the CD in the car the first time I hated it, it sounded like 80s techno. A few days of listening to it now and it sounds a lot better, but its still not what I was expecting. There are only 13 songs on the CD, their last album "The Fragile" was double CD and had 23 songs! They don't come out with a CD every year, "The Fragile" came out in 1999 so its been 6 years since their last album and all we get are 13 songs? The packaging is very disappointing also. The CD contains no booklet, its just a folded cardboard with the CD inside. To get the lyrics, artwork and credits, you need to go to www.nin.com/with_teeth and download it from there. Are they trying to save money or are they just trying too hard to be different? I went to download the file and it turns out I had to register first! So I just paid 14$ to buy a CD that didn't contain any booklet with information of any sort, and then you make me go to your website to download this information and when I get there I have to register?? So out of curiosity I did. I went in and all there was, was a link to download a pdf file of an artwork with the lyrics on it. Its just a one page large image with the lyrics scattered all across. Very unpractical to read anything and it was all working very slow on my Mac. Who's stupid idea was this you know? Probably David Carson since he designs all the NIN CD's. The guy is good but this has to be the worst design of his I have seen or experienced. Oh and I nearly forgot. There are two versions of the album, the regular one and the Dual Disc one. I ordered the dual disc which is a CD and DVD, the DVD contains all the songs of the CD but they are in Dolby Digital 5.1 plus there is a video on the DVD and when you play the DVD in your DVD player you get images on your screen. Sounds cool right? Only problem is its not really dual disc. Turns out its 1 CD thats double sided. One side a DVD other side a CD. This means if I am listening to the CD in the car I can't watch the DVD unless I take it out of the car. Very unpractical, now I need to make a copy of the CD for the car, and keep the original copy at home so I can watch the DVD whenever I want. Anyway, the only bright side to this is that I still have all their old albums to listen to. Once I get bored of this CD I will just go back to their classics..
One thing I hate about Kuwait is the lack of decent clothing for men. Yeah we got some cool high end stuff here, but the low end really lacks. I wear tshirts most of the time and there aren't many places that sell some cool ones here. Debenhams has the Billabong brand but their collection is small and one good brand doesn't cut it. So, I am forced to do all my shopping online. For sneakers I usually buy the brand DC Shoes. From all the skateboarding shoes I have ever bought, they are the most durable and comfortable. I don't skateboard by the way, I just like their clothes. For pants, Zoo York are the most durable ones I have and Stussy the most comfortable. Tshirts... I enjoy experimenting with a lot of brands. My favorite tshirt brand is definitely Drunknmunky which makes up a good percentage of my tshirts. Other tshirt brands I like are Habitat, Zoo York, Ezeikel, Fallen and Osiris. As you can see, none of these brands are sold in Kuwait, which a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. It sucks because I can't go to a shop and buy a tshirt whenever I feel like it, but its also a good thing because at-least now I know when I wear a tshirt I will most probably never run into someone else who has the same one. Today I got two tshirts in the mail, a Zoo York one and a Fallen one. I will probably order some more next week. My problem is that I am a Large size and Large and medium usually are the first to finish..
In Kuwait you find the strangest accidents and thats why its a good reason to always carry a camera with you. I shot this picture today after work on the Sheraton roundabout in Kuwait City. I don't know how the car got there since there plus he is facing traffic so it means he must have been driving the wrong way. Strange people...
Anyway here is a site with pictures of car accidents in Kuwait.
note: site is blocked by Qualitynet here in Kuwait for some stupid reason.
Since I am now an Amazon Prime member, I ship all my packages by UPS 2nd Day Air. When I order something I usually can't wait to get it. I would track the package all the way from Amazon, to my US mailbox then all the way here to Kuwait (shop&ship). Something about receiving stuff in the mail makes it exciting. We don't get mail that often here in Kuwait specially since we all use email now so the idea of getting a physical package is cool. Probably the same reason I enjoy getting faxes, I am actually getting a physical piece of paper with information on it that was sent by another person. How cool is that! I love amazon, and I love it now more knowing I don't have to pay for shipping AND I get my stuff in 2 days tops. Really cool stuff.
I finally took Nat's Jeep for a wash today after finishing from work early. My favorite car wash is the one off to the side of Istiqlal Highway, the large Bayan gas station with the automatic drive through car wash. I used to go there with my dad as a kid and its the only place I ever wash my car at. I like walking with my car from the inside viewing area while my car is being cleaned. By the way does anyone remember a soft drink called Happy? I remember trying it for the first time in one of my visits to the gas station back in the 80s but I don't recall much more. I think it tasted like Root Beer but I am not really sure. I was thinking today about the workers at the car wash.. do they wish more people come or do they wish less people come? I mean I usually prefer to get less work but I think they prefer to get more work since more work for them means more tips while more work for me means just that, more work for me. The guys at the final stage of the wash, the guys who dry the car, they are a funny bunch. Once they see the owner of the car come up to it, one guy yells something out loud, they all yell back, clap their hands and then jump and start drying up the car as quickly as possible. Its a little show they have which they put on to get more tips. Poor guys..
Tonight the weather was nice so me and Nat decided to go shooting. We didn't know where we were going to go at first so we just took the Gulf Road and headed north. A few hundred meters before the Green Island exit I asked Nat if she wanted to go there and she was like "Whats the green island?", so I took the exit, parked the car and then walked into the Green Island. I was expecting it to be packed full of people because the weather was cool but surprisingly it was totally empty. I guess the 500fils entry fee keeps people away. I hadn't been to the Green Island for over a decade I think. I remember I came to it when they first opened and then after that maybe one more time. The place is very beautiful and peaceful. As Nataly puts it, its a small paradise. The artificial lake at night looked amazing and the fact that no one was around made it feel as if me and Nat owned the place. There was no one anywhere and we just went wherever we wanted exploring the place. Walking around was very soothing and I am definitely going back again with my bike. Speaking of which, if you don't own a bike you can rent one for 1KD at the entrance. For those of you who haven't been to the Green Island I would definitely recommend it especially on a nice cool quiet night like tonight. This picture is of one of the bridges located on the island. The color is yellow because of the neon lights.
Today I passed by my old cousins apartment building. I used to hang out at his place every weekend during the 80's and I had many experiences there and all of them good. But, the building was old then, it looked like it was going to fall apart and it was really dirty. So today I was on my way trying to find the restaurant China Kitchen so I could have lunch when I happened to pass by my cousins place. I couldn't believe the building was still there, and not only that but it was occupied and looked worse then ever. Back in the 80s the building was in bad condition, now its just a disaster waiting to happen. Its a depressing site but I had my camera with me and I took a couple of pictures of the building and surrounding area. My cousin moved to Canada before the Gulf War so I am sure he will enjoy the pictures I took. I am also sure it will bring him back good memories.
Today a mass was held at the local church by local Lebanese Forces members. The turn out wasn't bad but we were expecting a lot more. I guess the fact that the mass was planned a day earlier might have played a roll in this. The mass was given the name "Waiting for you" and was held in the name of the Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea who had been wrongfully imprisoned for 11 years now. He was imprisoned because he refused to betray his people and his country. With the recent Freedom 05 campaign going on in Lebanon, a call for his release has been renewed and is currently being aggressively fought for in Lebanon. If the activities continue the way they are, he should be released hopefully before the end of the month. For more information you can visit SamirGeagea.com.
I really didn't want to post another picture about the weather but today I was incredibly busy and I didn't have time to shoot that many pictures. I actually just got back home a few minutes ago around 11:30pm because I was working on some stuff for this big event tomorrow. I won't discuss this event until after it is done so most probably with tomorrows picture I will talk about it. Believe it or not I liked todays weather. I don't like the sun a lot, I prefer the weather when its dark and cloudy. Even if today it was a dust storm but at-least it hides the sun. I keep telling Nat we should move up to Norway or something where they spend like 8 months without seeing the sun. That would be really cool.
Tonight me and Nat passed by Marina Hotel. She went last time with my sister and fell in love with the place, so she wanted me to check it out today. The place did turn out to be very nice like she said it would. The inside of the hotel looks much nicer then the outside, the outside looks pretty boring but once you go in, its completely different. I actually did take pictures of the pool area but none of the pictures came out good. On the way back to Marina Mall I decided to take a long exposure shot of the marina. I hadn't taken a long exposure shot for a very long time and never since I got my Nikon camera. So, I gave it a shot and was impressed with the quality of the shot. The composition of the picture still needs work but I actually had the camera on the floor and just aimed it towards the marina without looking through the eye sight. I figured if I get down on the floor it might grab the attention of a security guard and I didn't want that. The exposure for this shot was 10 seconds and I now know shooting boats in a marina with long exposure isn't a good idea. Boats move with the water and so if you look carefully you will notice they are a bit blurry. But, this shot did give me an idea and I am going to go back to marina again one day so I can try it. Today is day 170 of the project.
I used to be very shy asking people if I could take pictures. I think it was because I was afraid of rejection. Since I started Miskan I haven't been rejected yet surprisingly. Whomever I ask if I could take their picture, they all say yes no problem. Today I asked an ice-cream salesman in Salmiya street if I could take his picture. Not only did he agree but he actually posed for me. Of-course as usual, I spoke in English and pretended I was a tourist, that seems to be the best way to take peoples pictures. No one ever questions a tourist for taking pictures, its expected.
