30 Days of Lazy Chaos

Maybe it is the scorching weather or the lazy boredom that comes with August, but I am not feeling Ramadan this year, specifically the pre-futoor bit. I think I might have started out the month of goodness on the wrong foot, precisely being blown away by the ridiculously high prices of the not so good traditional women’s gowns (dara’a). I went to quite a few exhibitions. It is not about being put off by the millions of gaudy, glittery fabrics that went into one calf-length gown and the balloon-shaped cuts and styles that would even make Gisele look like a dumpy, frumpy clown; it is more about the prices. A note to le designers a.k.a. ambitious chicks with a team of Asian women whose sewing skills kick butt: people are not so stupid anymore! Some girls – like me – do not have to be great bargainers to know the real price of what a specific fabric costs per meter. I saw a dara’a at one exhibition and the next day, I dropped by the cloth souk in Kuwait City with my sister. There, I saw the same exact cloth for KD 1 per meter. The dara’a at the exhibition cost KD 85! I still remember that darned night. It was 50 degrees Celsius. As an avid walker, I usually park farther away from my main destination, and that is what I did when I went to the cloth souk. Unfortunately, that meant I had to walk through and in between the rows and rows of cars that jammed the cloth souk’s parking area. Anyhow, I walked by one car and I think the driver had just turned on the ignition. I was suddenly hit by the car’s hot air (I think it came from the motor or something). I am, in general, all right with dry heat. I would rather have that than humidity which makes me sweat like heck and have untamable lion hair. But this air was something else. Coupled with the oven-like weather, the blast almost knocked me over. The only way I can describe it is that it was like the devil’s fart. It was something out of this world.

Speaking of tummy-related issues, I have been trying to get back in shape. Well, I am in shape but ever since I returned home from my short summer break, I have been feeling a little lethargic and bloated, probably because I walked my rear end off every single day during my vacation and now I am back to the same short distance walk to and from my car. I enjoy going to the gym but deeply regret signing up to a women’s only one, mostly because of the cringe-worthy stares from quite a few women (think Ellen DeGeneres meets Rosie O’Donnell) at the place. So I walk around the neighborhood and the other evening after futoor, I hopped on my mother-in-law’s cook’s bicycle and rode all the way to the co-op to use the ATM machine (which was not working) and to get some pepperoni slices to make a nice, crisp pizza. “I really want to bicycle all the way to work someday,” I told my husband afterward, although it was more like me thinking out loud. “You can,” he replied. Although I know that I technically can, I know he would not like the idea of me weaving through the morning traffic. But I still want to. Maybe if I get up bright and early on a quiet Friday sometime in early December, just maybe…

MP3's...
Capricorn College Brass - Capricorn College
The Beatles - Here, There and Everywhere
Billy Joel - Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

In memory of Annette Charles a.k.a. Cha Cha DiGregorio:
Sha Na Na - Blue Moon
Sha Na Na - Born to Hand Jive

When I was young, I was obsessed with Grease. Apart from loving the dresses, I knew (and still know!) all the songs featured in it. My heart skips a beat when one of the songs of the movie's soundtrack starts to play whenever I put my iPod on shuffle. I always wish it was nighttime and that I would be driving alone on a highway so I can sing like no one's watching (which is usually the case at night with the exception of Ramadan). When I was a pre-teen, my cousins and I were so into Grease we actually videotaped ourselves singing Grease Lightening, Look at Me I'm Sandra Dee (in PJ's, wigs and pink rollers) and You're the One I Want. And the latter scene is what my peers and I performed in our talent show senior year. Actually hold on. I think I am still into it. I mean, I still love the songs and just this summer, I bought a 50's-style red dress with black polka dots (I love polka dots!) AND a black petticoat from a punk-ish store (kinda looks like this). I do not know when and where I will ever wear it but it sure feels good to twirl around in it!

at 8:30 AM