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!

That was one of the best trips I have had in a long time!!!

I will be posting alot the next couple of days! Just so anyone who is curious knows, I went to California for two days of work and a nice two week break to spend with my friends living there! And I have a lot of pictures to post! There are so many that I have to post them! Especially the ones of the drive!

The weather there was 40% sunny and 60% rain, I spent a day and a half in Los Angeles and then two weeks in Santa Clara, which is 30 miles (50Km) south of San Francisco. I had a hell of a time! I didnt realize how much I missed my friends! And it was good catching up! Anyways I will be posting the whole travel story for you guys!

And I have reviews of movies, airlines, products, and so much more!

I dont know about some people but I need a lot of things to preoccupy me when Im flying. I dont depend on the travel entertainment. And before I travel I try to make sure I have everything I need!
Lets go through my travel check list:

• Laptop (2 Batteries charged

I just got two hours of sleep before catching my plane. Thinking I got a long ride to take so I would just sleep on the plane. Surprisingly Im not tired at all. Im even thinking of going early to the airport early to go sit in the Pearl Lounge. The Pearl Lounge is a nice addition to Kuwait Airport. At last they have decent lounge, and it isnt falling apart. Every airlines has a contract with them so you can go in there, except for Kuwait Airways. I think I just heard that Kuwait Airways opened up a new lounge, but Im happy I dont have to use it. I think they have really good food on Kuwait Airways, but the problem is the people travelling on the plane think it’s their plane and act like idiots. So they are completely inconsiderate of other people. So I usually try to avoid travelling on Kuwait Airways.

Usually when I go to sleep I like my room to be freezing cold. I mean really really cold. So I can get a good night’s sleep. But this time I got about two hours of sleep which is fine. And I feel ok especially after the shower, but the one thing I am looking forward to is the plane being cold because I know Im going to pass out on the plane. I love sleeping on planes for some reason. I can always sleep on planes! That has never been a challenge for me! More pictures of these places will be showing up.

I have this little trip planned out. I am keeping it secret! Involves business and a few other things! I will post about it as soon its ok to do so! hehehe

Keep checkin for some interesting updates!

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!

Im usually not much of a breakfast man. I just get up and shower then go to work. I can wait until lunch and usually stuff myself. But these days its been a bit different. I get up fill my bowl up with frosties and pour the milk on. I like it being half soft and hald crunchy so I let it sit for five to ten minutes in the cold milk while I surf the net in the morning! Then I eat it up and feel good. I dont know but I have suddenly had the urge for frosties these days.

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!

So I have put some thought into this, but I want to help people out who drive quick. Sometimes you know the road is empty and you just want to go quicker, but you dont know where the damn cameras are. So I am going to try to do is get a digital map of quick and plot out every camera that I know of. And everyone of them at every intersection and highway, and side streets. Any info that you people can provide will be helpful. And I will try taking pictures of every camera. This is a big project that will take a little while, but at least it will be useful for people. And I will also mention if these cameras can be rotated back or forth.

The one problem I have is I do now know where to get a good map of Kuwait. Does anyone know where I can get a good digital map of Kuwait. I really dont mind paying for the map since people will get useful information out this! And I will keep people updated on this project! I hate cameras and this is what I am doing to thwart the camera system!

I have this tendency to arrive late to work. Which I dont think people mind that much. But I developed this tendency from working in the states. When your an engineer and working in the states they pretty much dont care what time you show up as long as you finish your projects on time, and you showed up to the update meetings. And that was pretty much it.

Also if you have to finish the project they expect you to show up on the weekends. Which doesnt happen too often, but that depends on the company you worked for. Another thing I enjoyed was coming to work in casual wear. There was one guy in our department who used to wear his pajamas at work, but I didnt know if he came to work like that because he arrived before me and left after. At least thats what I think he did! lol

But working in Kuwait is a little different. They rarely want to delegate work for some reason. Things always has to be centrelized, which drives me nuts. Since Im good at what I do I managed to get the message across that I dont show up to meetings which are a waste of my time, and I dont want to sit down and drink tea. I want to finish my work and leave! lol. And I can show up late since things dont pile up until later in the day. And traffic is horrible! So I try to come and go at odd times!

But right now Im posting because its just one of those slooowwww day, and weather is so nice I have my window open. I can hear a helicopter flying around. Sidenote I would never work for NBK the hours are horrible, and the pay is even worse. Some people might be happy about the work experience, but I will stick to being an engineer for a while. The one thing that annoys me though is having to come for a half day on thursday! Just drives me nuts! lol