It wouldn’t be my blog if I didn’t have food mentioned ever so frequently… as the only people who can’t be considered foodies are those who try to live without it (unsuccessfully) and those who find joy in food that varies from my taste (as cultural norms play a part). Caleb was looking for something at the deli and saw my eyes light up between the olive selection and cheese salads — labneh, which is strained yogurt made into the consistency of spreadable cream cheese. We grabbed some with black cumin seed (Arabic: haba barka) and another with pomegranate and beetroot.

Ozzy brought me along to Dragon City to look for some TV technology device for his uncle but we also got to look at the lights, clothes, gadgets, and kitchenware sections in the portion of this large mall that we covered. I looked around for something I didn’t need — like the flimsy phone case with an owl on it or the backup phone the length of my finger or the Saudi flag sticker for the car I don’t have — and didn’t get anything.

Ozzy wanted a snack and I was told to bring home bananas so we walked around The Lagoon but couldn’t decide between the empty bowling alley and the packed Starbucks so we went to the corner market where I got a bottled falooda (of course it’s not the same, but I have a thing for trying basil seed drinks in glass bottles) and could’ve tried a new flavor of popcorn — boti kabab, tom yam, shawarma, seaweed, or chili & lemon, but didn’t. I also didn’t get any new loose leaf flavors from Tea Club because I can try them later before I buy a tin of something I don’t like.