Tea, Taxi, Top

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I got to catch my second mini-roach critter and release it outside in hopes that the birds would eat him, but I think the bird parents murdered their eggs by throwing them on the ground and leaving three puddles of unpoached babies on the pavement by the pool. I was taking our recyclables to the base as the station for plastic bottles, cardboard, and aluminum on the corner off base is always overflowing. I see the want is there but the need hasn’t been fully met and since I only have a tiny bit to bring I can collect a hundred other bottles to bring with me, even if most of them are still full of water.

Besides all the death and disregard, I was invited for a tea or coffee at the corner taxi station and I took a cup of Bahraini coffee (one scoop into the pitcher with some saffron) — even if it meant that one of the guys moved to their covered area to escape my calves (they can be intimidating). I talked with Jay and after his 18 years on this corner he has learned a lot about the Navy and the personality of its inhabitants while he cooks and plays games and waits to tote the crew between base and bar, both places allowing the sailors to consume alcohol until they’re out past curfew.

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Caleb and I would spend the night playing Skip-Bo past his bedtime because after years of playing intermittently he has finally hit a winning streak and besides our walks, it’s a nice way to unwind and listen to an annoying radio host that you used to kind of know (enough that she got invited to Caleb’s birthday party) as she seems to get jobs all over the island but that hasn’t rid her of the over-the-top morning personality that oozes from her, which is also a nice thing about her.

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Taco Tuesday Taken Away

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pre-carb workout

I’ve been postponing Taco Tuesday — free tacos and then some trivia sponsored by the base — because other things came up (i.e. Caleb’s job). We finally get to go, even after Caleb gets off work late, and invite someone from the ship only to learn that the base stopped doing it. This only meant I got to eat Al Abraaj bread (delicious fluffy and flat brown bread) baked on the spot and wrapped in foil to-go with falafels and vegetable samboosa at the house.

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Countdown to Cake

Another countdown from the atrocity that has become Black Friday to Cyber Monday weekend, plus extended hours and days to buy things for yourself and family members to open on Christmas to show them how much you care about the items they can later throw away. I always loved the gifts my mom got me, feeling like she knew me the most and then Caleb came along and got to know me on a different level — one more adult and personal, but a change happened to where we stopped collecting panties and cups and other trinkets and experiencing moments that would last in our memories for as long as we could take pictures, write about them, and retell them.

In living with this tradition, we have started off the month with a BBQ of steaks and chicken for the guys, veggie skewers with pineapple for me, and some sausages for Michael’s (renter of the villa where the event was held in Amwaj) British girlfriend when she arrived later after work. Caleb made potato salad and there were two giant bowls of mac-n-cheese (one more al dente than the other) to go along with other food. Some guys watched TV while I got to meet Cheng (Reggie is his civilian name) and who Caleb had made a birthday cake for — to celebrate the oldest guy on their ship at 37 years old.

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Free Pie

because pie.. thanks Jenn Fujikawa

Caleb had Thanksgiving Day off so he volunteered to make banana bread and candied yams for the guys who didn’t. He also made some loaves for us and a regular loaf so we could have a sandwich for dinner. The base had plans to give out free meals and we thought with the arrival of the 5,000 people from USS Abraham Lincoln that there would be no food left so when we went at 1 pm we only had room for pie — pumpkin, cherry, and apple — even though there were kid volunteers yelling at us to eat from their side of the buffet line as there were two set up.

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Fingers Ready

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.

Tea Club

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.

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