I just picked up my bike from TriStar motorcycle in Shuweikh. When I got there it was still dirty, but they washed it while I paid for the installation of the parts I got! It looks so nice with all the new parts I got for my bike! Im going to call my bike Robo from now on! I will explain why I call him Robo at later point! When I got back on Robo it felt like I got back a member of my family! There is a deep connection between a Bike and his Rider! You and the Bike are one! Well enough riding psychology! lol

They litterally washed the bike in fifteen minutes with a high pressure washer and then they dried it with a air dry pump. It was cool! Robo looked brand spanking new. The hard part is riding in the heat in the middle of the freaking afternoon! Number one thing I learned from my first (and hopefully last) accident on a motorcycle is always to wear gear! So I had a textile Dainese Jacket, Arai Helmet, and Alpine Gloves on. I also wear jeans whenever I ride. But I knew it was going to get hot so my goal was to keep moving, as long as I could get a breeze then I would be ok. They dried the bike to the best of their abilites so I got on the bike and switched my mp3 player on. And off I went!

For the first little while of riding it was ok! The heat didnt get to me yet, and my helmet was cool since I had it in an airconditioned room! A little water was dripping on me from the parts that werent reachable.. but I saw the water dry withing seconds! God Damn its hot! I kept thinking better get home quick! I was on the 3rd ring road trying to get to Malik Fahad to start heading home, but I hit some traffic on the 3rd ring road and when I had to come to a complete stop for more then 30seconds I started to feel the heat! I tried slowly weaving through traffic going no faster the 5 kph! It was almost physically impossible! But I slowly made it through and I was cruising down the highway and so many kids would keep saying HHIIIIII!!! Thats why I love kids! They are so much fun! I kept waving to any kid that was waving or looking at me with interest! They suddenly become a huge amount energy and stick their faces to the windows! Which I find to be the funniest part! But I made it home and I will be posting pictures later on of the bike with the new carbon fiber pieces! But damn it was hot! 37.5C!

1) Get Content Filter Device Working at Work.

2) Check on Mom’s Doctors appointment

3) Pick Up Motorcycle (Finish installing all parts)

4) Visit Grand Mother at Al Amiri Hospital

5) Go to Hawalli and buy some dvds to watch

6) Get some food and watch some movies in the basement with the guys

7) Sleep

So last night I went to see Ice Age 2 with my friends.. I have to say it was a good movie, but this post isnt about that!

Basically after leaving the movie from Al Fanar, I was driving down the gulf road just before the 3rd Ring Road Intersection, my friend is with my in the car, since I was one the way to drop him off home. I saw a little black thing on the road and didnt think much of it. Suddenly I heard a loud pop and my car pulled hard right and I hit a the back left of a car on my right. I was cruising around 90 kph at the time. Then I pulled hard left, but because of the way I hit the car on my right my from right tire broke so it was still pulling hard right.. but i managed to get control of the car and pull over. Im lucky that my friend was behind me and nothing happened to the guy on my right. And even in all the traffic we managed to pull over. Of course when we called 777 it took them 20 mins to get there, which is pretty good for the emergency services. And I spoke to a crane because I couldnt move my car. The other guy’s car was fine except for a slightly bent exhaust and broken back bumper and light. And I have full insurance so I wasnt worried, but I was pissed! That little black thing pierced the sidewall! I felt bad for the guy that I hit, but my insurance will cover his car.

We had to wait for the police men, but when he came he was cool about it. As long as everyone was ok he was fine about writing up the report. I told him its my fault since my car pulled right when the tire popped. And then a couple more of my friends showed up since the other guys called them. But we still had to go to the police station with both cars to get the paper work for the insurance.  This all happened around 10:30pm, so by the time the tow truck came we went to the Maghfar (Police Station) and got all the paper work from the Investigator. My car was towed to the dealership, and one of my friends dropped me off at home. What a crazy night!

My work screen is so horrible I want to punch right through it!! aahhhh!!! It skews all the colors.. and the dark colors seem to vibrate as if its trying to move! And pictures appear dark in it for some reason. Its a Philips 190X5 from the Dell Distributor in Kuwait (Zaks Solutions). I would never buy this screen! It is horrible! I hate it and it should be destroyed!!!!! Any adjusments I try to make from the screen settings have no affect what so ever! It hurts to look at this damn screen! I will destroy it in due time!

After a hectic week a visit to the shalaih was exactly what I needed! I had a bright idea to take my bike with me so I can enjoy it there too! So I towed my bike with my landcruiser! I love my landcruiser! Its like my own little tank! When I was towing the bike I know that I cant pass 100Km/h, and I felt like I was driving slower then the water tanks! Everyone was passing me, but I didnt care. I just made a new music cd which was extremely enjoyable, and so I didnt care. I had lots of time to make there for dinner! I left on thursday around 4pm and reached AlZoor around 5:10pm.

I havent been to the shalaih for a couple of months and seemed like the guys have redone a lot of the place. And I have a room with my cousin to redo which a pretty cool project. Its a nice thing the guys are doing. Its a friend’s shalaih, but the guys have been going for years, I used to go a lot before college. And now im going to start going again. And its nice to sleep on a bed now! hehehehe.. not on the floor like back in the day! hahahaha!

The water was really nice, it was hot outside and the water was cool. And we were eating like pigs! I came to the realization that I need to cut back on food! Im going to start hitting the gym like a I did before my travels! hehe! My swim shorts didnt fit me like they used, but I still jumped in the water! And damn it felt goooood!

And while we were visiting Khairan’s Marina I was taking pics of some boats and these maintenence guys working on the boats. Everyone is having their boats prepared for these coming hot days!

I never thought that I would be jumping in the water in April! I forgot how hot Kuwait gets! lol! But it was a nice relaxing weekend!

This week has been hectic as hell! I didnt even have time to be online and check emails! I didnt even surf online for the past couple of days during work! Its crazy!

Basically since I came back I havent had enough sleep! Its been nuts!

My grandmother has been in the hospital since the day I have came back from the US. So I left the airport and went to her from day one. I spend at least two hours a day at the Amiri Hospital and at different times. And work has piled up like crazy. And the last couple of days I havent gotten that much sleep! I feel like passing out right now and its only 6:15 pm on a wednesday! At least its a three day weekend! I just have a little work on Thursday morning, and then Im going to the chalet (inshalla) after work! I want to get some rest this weekend! All that I want to do is relax!

Saturday and Sunday were full of things to do at work. I had to check on a couple of orders. Track down some people, and fix a couple of things at the company! I was going nuts! And finding out that a couple of the people I needed to get in contact with to move some products were gone for a little while! I was loosing my cool!

Monday I went to a really good forum in Hilton Manguf about Venture Capital in Technology in the Middle East! Real informative with some very good speakers! Such as Jim Morrison, the CEO of Imate, and speakers from Intel’s Venture Capital Arm. And some very interesting speakers from all over the world. It started at 8:15am and it didnt finish until 5:30pm, and then I still had to go to work finish a few things up. So I didnt get home until 7pm.

Then Tuesday was the elections in the Chambers of Commerce, and I didnt get home until 11:45pm or something like that. My brain turned to mush after I crossed the 11th hour! Standing in the sun, blistered feet, and it started raining! Wow what a crazy day! I took a long shower when I was done! And then back to work on wednesday even though I showed up late! hahaha!

And its wednesday! I hate being out on a wednesday! Its because of the traffic and the amount of people in all the different areas! I will play video games!!!! woohooo! hehehe

The reason I havent been blogging much is because I have been busy with the family rounds. And also I have been busy with the elections taking place in the Kuwait Chambers of Commerce. And this has been the biggest turn out yet. And it was insanly busy. And we were out in the sun for many hours. Running around looking for people, making sure all the paperwork is in order so they can vote. Saying hello to people, while taking phone calls! It was really hectic and an educational experience to say the least! And I lost weight just standing in the sun for that long!

Even the drive to the Chambers of Commerce was full of traffic!

I was there from 7:45 am and I didnt go home until 11:30pm. I went home took a shower and passed the hell out, getting ready for work the next day!

I know a lot of people are different then the way I am when it comes to family visits! A couple of my friends go nuts because everytime I leave Kuwait for a long trip I visit all the major members of my family, like my grand parents from my mom’s side, and my grandmother from my dad’s side. And also my dad’s aunts. And if its a really long trip i visit all my aunts and uncles, and i probably have lunch or dinner a day or two before i leave at my grand parent’s house. I really do enjoy seeing my family, but maybe thats just me.. I know my brother does the same thing and so do a few of my cousins not all of them..

Doing these rounds takes about 3-5 days.. and if im really good it takes about 2-3 days.. and the goodbyes are always a max of 3 days! lol.. i sat there thinking about the amount of time it takes me! So when i arrive in kuwait i usually dont see my friends except after the 4th or 5th day.. because even if im not visiting someone i usually like staying at home after work to stay with my family and visit my brother and his wife..

But this also something that I think is part of Kuwaiti culture and its a good thing!

So I woke up early and went to the NBK branch in the city early in the morning so I hit some traffic but not too much. I was finishing things up and then by the time I was going to work I was going against traffic which was a fantastic feeling! Look at the empty road! How could you not feel like speeding! So I did shortly after putting down the camera! A little fun before going to work! hehehe

And look at all the traffic next to me. Sucks to be them! lol! I wanted to gloat for once I wasnt stuck in morning traffic!

My aunt wasnt feeling too good for a couple of days so she had an appointment to go to the hospital on Monday. So I called her up and told her I was coming with her since her son isnt here. And Im pretty good at shouting and getting my way in Goverment areas so I thought I could be of some help and entertainment.

Just for those who are wondering she is feeling better but it seems that her nerves in her neck are slightly pinched so it is causing her some pain. So when we got to the doctors appointment there were a lot of women and some men. With this post I am going to give some pointers to help in government medical facilities. I have to say that its known in Kuwait that Government Doctors are the best in Kuwait. First thing I was surprised to see is that they have fixed up Amiri Hospital. It looks like a decent hospital from the inside these days. At last it doesnt look like a run down building about to be demolished.
The reason why its fixed up these days is because certain families take a whole wing and fix it up completely on their own bill. So it doesnt look that depressing anymore. So one family fixed up the whole ground floor. Another family fixed up the first floor completely. So the floors might be slightly different but they look good. It isnt perfect, but its a lot better! Those are the floors that I saw, I didnt see the rest.
And now when you go to the doctor it isnt a set appointment you have to get a piece of paper with a number on it. And there is ticker above the doctor’s door. Its better this way so you really know who’s turn it is. At least its a ticker system, but some how its working. The tests such as CT Scan, Xray, and Blood work were very good and on time. Usually for a CT Scan you have scheduelle for another day except if it was the doctor’s orders and it was. The doctors are very decent and really try to help, this is my experience from meeting a couple of them.

Pointers to Keep in mind:

• You have to have your civil ID on you all the time!
• The managment is still somewhat bad. When you go to the doctor get a ticker and then go get your file, because when your number is called they tell you why didnt you get your file then somebody else comes in. And there is a possibilty that they lose you file. So if they lose your file you have to go back to the Doctor’s Nurse and get a piece paper from her saying to create a new file so you can into your appointment. Get all the things done before your turn comes up. (And yes they did lose my aunt’s file)
• Be patient with the ladies behind the counters because they can make your lives a living hell! (I was smiling and being very nice to them so I got what I wanted). And some of them have a loootttt of attitude so just be patient. (It was hard!)
• Even though there is a ticker system and you have your number keep your eye out for women who always try to skip. I noticed that some women always try to skip and the men rarely did which was interesting. So if its your turn and somebody else walks in, dont wait walk right behind them ask for their ticket number (that is what I did to one women and she tried to lie so I went off on her, but it was for my aunt’s friend who had an appointment. And then I did again for my aunt’s appointment. She also did a fair share of arguing! lol)

Hopefully this will help people if they go to Amiri or any other government medical facility. And I did entertain my aunt!