Princess is Here

Posted on November 14, 2019 by TheJessicaness

The same weekend I meet S’mores was when the Bahrain Marathon Relay was happening and Princess happened to be on a team visiting from Saudi to get some exercise, but not before hanging out with me. We met at Bennigan’s for dinner because she was staying in that hotel where I got to try a cinnamon apple margarita before going to Wembley Lounge (a first for me) where the drink service is like Señor Pacos but served individually instead of by the pitcher so our table was covered in wine (red and white), whiskey (mixed with soda or just ice), and other glasses of vodka and gin.

We made acquaintances with an outgoing Navy wife from Iowa and her shy Irish teacher friend, a couple of guys who liked drinking and diving (not sure in which order), and some other guys playing billiards but we never got the table because I was too busy eating free pizza from the guy singing the most karaoke before Princess ordered fish and chips and got an Uber. I walked home.

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Caleb and Books

Posted on November 13, 2019 by TheJessicaness
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Caleb doesn’t get much time off with his current schedule but he enjoys baking cinnamon rolls and Irish soda bread, cooking pasta and veggies, playing his daily sudoku, and finding weird cartoons to intersperse with our latest documentary series when we’re not out shopping for food, taking a walk amongst the cars in the dust, or curled up on the couch — him reading from Kindle and me from the over 50 books I’ve amassed from the library’s free offerings.

I’ve been keeping an eye on activities we can do on base — smoke-free, cheap, and close — for when Caleb isn’t on duty. We were going to play bingo last time we lived here but I thought it was an outrageous cost (how else will you fund the $7,000 jackpot that has to be won by the first 50 numbers) but since Caleb has had a few raises and two advancements since then and me a job we had enough to spend the $25 per gamepad for an hour and a half of entertainment and possible winnings for each game.

I’m not saying that we couldn’t afford to play last time we were here but I prefer to spend our money on fancy popcorn in Dubai or scuba diving in Hawaii instead of movie theater kernels and cheap beer… hence why opposites attract, but we agreed on the Mongolian BBQ (by the pound, not the plate) after the game and both eyed the cast iron wok that we’d enjoy cooking with. We’d gotten haircuts earlier (my last being three months ago and his being three weeks ago) and the cost, time, and massage option will have me coming back soon.

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Sitting On

Posted on November 11, 2019 by TheJessicaness

pillow

image via: Cabinet Card Gallery

Sitting on a prayer, waiting on Sunday
Hoping when people hear my troubles,
that help will come my way.

Sitting on a toilet, waiting on Monday
Hoping my problems will be flushed away,
and good things will come my way.

Sitting on a question, waiting on Wednesday
Hoping when she walks in the door,
that love will come my way.

Sitting on a problem, waiting on Friday
Hoping when the bartender asks,
that drinks will come my way.

Sitting on a fork, waiting on payday
Hoping when the bills are paid,
that a spoon will come my way.

Sitting on a pillow, waiting on sleep
Hoping when I’m counting sheep,
that dreams will come my way.

I can’t keep sitting, waiting for tomorrow
Hoping for other people’s actions,
that will get me out of my way.

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Baking After Dark

Posted on November 8, 2019 by TheJessicaness

I was invited to a baking party and was looking forward to sweets. I walked the 50 minutes there and found Frank and Azazel’s place in Segaya where they’ve lived for about a year now. There was some construction going on that would leave us eating the fresh baked savory items along with gathered cheese and homemade wine by candlelight. I got to catch up with Chris, remeet an older couple who are moving to Amwaj and a younger couple with their daughter who has just started teething.

We spoke about work (mostly teachers and a retired contractor) as well as what we’ve been up to since we last saw each other over three years ago. We talked about who we knew then, especially Tony who recently moved to Poland, and all the marriages in between, such as Eric and Wasan that the guys hadn’t seen since April — that would change with a BBQ invite to her place in A’Ali the next week where I would meet S’mores her Lhasa Apso puppy along with her version of the treat — a McVitie’s digestive, three Cadbury squares, and three marshmallows — pink, white, and burnt.

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How Things Work

Posted on November 6, 2019 by TheJessicaness

In anticipation of the shipment from America I’ve been slowly inspecting the house – the two sets of speakers can’t connect to the TV in the living room, I don’t want to be bothered with all the cables to set up the TV in the bedroom, and turns out none of the converters worked because the fuses were all blown. The iron doesn’t work, don’t know if the toaster does, the lamps need bulbs, and I replaced our pool balls with the new set that was bought because one of the balls had been chipped.

There was a cabinet in the kitchen with two sets of measuring cups and a set of spoons but we bought a new set anyway until ours arrives, hence why I was checking all cabinets and drawers to look for these hidden treasures amongst the cracked dishes, used knives, and “old” pot set. If we aren’t going to be using these we can give them to someone who will. Meanwhile, I’m stuck vacuuming with hearing protection until I decide to buy an updated model.

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