Wan-der-lust. n. a strong desire or impulse to travel or explore the world.
I am an airline pilot, a housewife married to her flight school sweetheart, and an award winning artist. Just when I thought I had it all, I took my perfectly put-together life and moved it halfway around the world.. These are my stories from the Middle East.
This is Qatar ..So far..
I stood at the kitchen table folding a load of clothes. All grey this time. I could only guess there must have been another rogue tissue or bill somewhere in our black clothes again.
I turned to my husband who was happily playing Free Falcon (a fighter-jet computer game) with his force feedback joystick and throttles. Bless him for trying to help around the house.
"Can I ask you something?" I winced.
"Sure." Still playing.
"Promise not to get offended?"
"Uhhh... Okay." He pauses his mission and looks up at me from under his cap.
"Well,... can you please stop doing the laundry?"
He stares at me, blinks.......
"...............Sure!" and un-pauses his game.
Well, that went better than I expected. Fewf.
"And tell your wing-man to make sure you're back at base in time for dinner, okay?" *snicker*
"Yeah, yeahhhhhh, hush your butt."
It should almost always involve shopping, pork or wine, or all three if you're really lucky.
Being the spokeswoman for having the most fantastically good bad luck (not a typo), I managed to hit the trifecta of good trip karma,
-- again!
You might think I go on about pork, but when you live somewhere that does not have (proper) bacon you'll understand, and this is coming form an ex-vegan (not 'virgin' Al, vegan).
No Qatar, turkey and beef-bacon does not a bacon-substitute make. I like the greasy, stick-to-your-ribs, pork-tastic salted strips of marbled fat that makes any dish a squeal-worthy delight.
This has been a big year for me. I have started eating meat. I have started having wine with dinner, and cocktails with lunch. I have taken leave from my big awesome career, and I have moved halfway across the world, and I got married and I'm planning a wedding.
I digress..
Downtown Kuala Lumpur
So anyhow..
We also managed to tick off a big item on the wedding to-do list on our last trip to Kuala Lumpur.
Groom's suit - Check!
So, how do you one-up the last mini-vacation to Malaysia?
Fly back two weeks later and give it a good effort!
Here is how it's done.
Pavillion Couture in the heart of the trendy Bukit Bintang district
Find yourself downtown, have crispy pork knuckles and wine at a German bistro first, Then go shopping (while you're half sloshed), and Then meet the best-man in a fancy bar next to Dior and Louis Vuitton for fancier drinks.
Then, fall asleep on the train back to the posh digs and wake up at noon the next day for the best buffet this part of the world has to offer so far. Go to the gym to work off the guilt and then get a massage for all the hard work.
Our hotel in KL
Need a break? Send the hubby on a short flight and order room service for dinner and watch some bad Malay' tv and see what trouble you can get into before you fly back the next day.
Note to self: next time get the husband to leave his credit card, Louis Vuitton can't be charged to your room.
You know, the one where I complain bitterly about Qatar and make a list of things I hate about this place and about being away from Trinidad and flying?
So here it is. Here's the thing that is the absolute bane of my existence. It's right here in Qatar sitting right next to me as we speak (no, not my husband).
It's my own personal Frigidair portal to hell...
My washer-dryer.
did I mention he's temperamental?
Four hours-- FOUR hours to do one small load of laundry.
Here's some logic for you Frigidair! Your washer/dryer can wash 8 lbs of laundry (that's five-six t'shirts if you're lucky) but only Dry 4 lbs. How does this make sense? A consumer must remove half of their wet clothes from the washer-dryer for the drying cycle. Really? You let a man onto your design team or what?
Let's look at some math: 4 hours = < 5 t'shirts = 2-3 loads of laundry every day.
I haven't even mentioned the noise level of this little monster that lives too close to our living-room couch. You think Mugabe is bad? Try sitting next to this as$hole all day.
My beautiful bachelorette-pad in Trinidad had the most perfect bachelorette washing machine and dryer, all shiny and faithful, it took me 45 mins max to do a huge load of laundry (18lbs to be exact). So why, in an otherwise perfect expat world, does my washer-dryer have to be so awesomely bad?
On an infinitely more positive note.
The dry-cleaning place in the compound is open every day and they do home delivery. So as of a few days ago, my routine is this: I drop my clothes off on the way to the spa.. or pool.. whichever.
Life is rough out here in the M.E.
*update*
While I was looking for a picture to go along with this post I found a link that I would like to let the husband know I had absolutely nothing to do with called "top ten reasons why I hate my f*cking washing machine."
First of all, we have a washer-dryer, which is way worse than a regular washing machine.
Second, even though her problems sound just like mine, she still has a working dryer. Third, I can not be linked to this site because you'd see the payment for the domain name "ifuckinghatemywashingmachine" on your credit card bill.
With some negotiation (and lots of begging), I managed to talk my way into getting another "one week only" pass to fly home to Trinidad for Carnival! (with a detour through Chicago to visit Kelley, see previous post to read about my Chicago trip).
I was so excited!
After a few days in the cold I was home at last. I turned up the radio, ordered some of our delicious local cuisine and convinced my mother to accompany me in the mad carnival traffic to collect my beautiful red costume.
Jet lag? Ha !
Carnival was here again! Oh yes!
Two days of dancing half-naked down the streets of Port of Spain to suggestive calypsos, and drinking copious amounts of alcohol all before the Lenten season begins? Bring it on !
Carnival is celebrated on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. You can read all about lent in the Canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke about Jesus' forty days in the desert (not on this blog). Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this forty day period of prayer and fasting...
So, with great enthusiasm, on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, Trinidad lives it up!
This is the most significant cultural event on our calendar, and if we are not celebrating Carnival, we are usually busy preparing for it.
Monday morning I woke up before my alarm. My heart was pounding. I was so excited. I hopped out of bed, pulled on my stockings, my teeny-tiny bottom piece, and rhinestoned top and I picked up my phone..
Kelley and me
"Kelley! I'm readyyy!"
"Woman! We still have an hour before we leave."
"Oh......... OK! Picking ya up in 20!"
Monday was amazing. The music this year was the best I've heard for as long as I've been playing mass, I was with a group of wonderful friends, the weather was glorious and the grand stands were opened again this year, so we had a stage to cross.
Tuesday was even better.
Warm weather with a few clouds blocking the blazing sun and cool breeze blowing down the avenues, the music was blaring from the massive music trucks, bass pumping..
Masqueraders were out in their full costumes, bright colours, huge feathered headpieces, glitter, rhinestones, boots, capes, beads, carnival makeup, carts full of ice and alcohol, dancing, sweat dripping down our backs, smiling and hugging friends no one had seen since last carnival.
It's the only time of year I get to see most of my friends and family all at once as the country pours out into the streets to celebrate. Black, white, blue, green, young, old, rich, poor, we all party together in the street for two full days.. it doesn't get better than this folks. Trinidad's Carnival truly is "the greatest show on earth" and there is no doubting why it is considered one of the best carnivals in the world.
