from-ashes.net

From this place. I haven’t been on here in the longest time. I don’t know if it’s a lack of interest, the numerous social networks (mainly facebook) that have me addicted, or work, school, and sleep all taking up my time.

Well, things are going good with the new job. Had some drama here a few days ago and still feeling some heat from it, but it’s dying down. Things are still going good with the man and I. Oh, I’ve got a cat now. He’s your typical Kuwaiti cat – loud, nocturnal, and sneaky. Lol! But he makes things entertaining, especially when he’s got something with feathers or dangly things to catch his attention.

I think I’m also going to go back to b2. Not that I don’t like wordpress, because I do, I just miss being able to design my own layouts – and I haven’t had the time to actually figure out how to create my own wordpress layout without seriously ‘effing it up!

Six men planned to attack a U.S. military base, authorities say

KUWAIT CITY – Kuwaiti authorities announced Tuesday they had arrested an al-Qaida-linked group that was planning to attack a key U.S. military base in the small oil-rich state. The Interior Ministry said in a brief statement that State Security detained a “terrorist network” of six Kuwaitis who gave “detailed confessions” about plans to bomb Camp Arifjan, the main U.S. base in the country, as well as the headquarters of the country’s security agency, in addition to other facilities it did not name.

The statement did not provide any details. However, Kuwait’s Alrai daily quoted anonymous security sources on Tuesday saying that the group had confessed to buying a truck which it intended to load with fertilizer, chemicals and gas cylinders and ram it into the camp.

It was unlikely the attack on the vast American logistics and supply facility in the desert south of the Kuwaiti capital would have been successful due to high security. The U.S. military in Kuwait declined to immediately comment the foiled plot. There was no indication when the six suspects planned to attack Camp Arifjan, located about 38 miles from the capital, Kuwait City.

All I can say is… LOVELY.
And thank God / Allah it didn’t happen and the plot was foiled.
Other good news is is that I got a different job – pays more, work less! And it will get me away from the daily stresses of this place!

In a world where children are supposed to be our most precious gift, they’re dying. I clicked on my internet browser this morning at work and was horrified to be greeted with the following article on Yahoo! 

I’m sorry, but this is just sad. Don’t bring a child in this world if you’re not even capable of caring for yourself.

Warning signs missed in baby dismemberment case

By MICHELLE ROBERTS and PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press Writer Michelle Roberts And Paul J. Weber, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jul 28, 7:07 pm ET
SAN ANTONIO – The warning signs were there. Otty Sanchez, a schizophrenic with a history of hospitalizations, wasn’t taking medication and was depressed after her son’s birth, the boy’s father said. A simple request seemed to set her off, alarming him and his family.

Yet, the 33-year-old woman was staying in a house where she had access to samurai swords. Child welfare officials were never called.

Instead, Sanchez’s troubles became apparent to authorities when they found her before dawn Sunday screaming that she had killed her baby. Her 3 1/2-week-old son was dismembered in a scene so gruesome that police were left shaken.

“Maybe we missed” warning signs, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said. “I don’t know.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, we see cars along the freeway everyday in Kuwait – but now it’s happening back home.
Got an email from my mom this morning asking me to check out the OC Sheriffs blogger to see what happened on our street back home. So, in my search, I came across this: Driver crashes into a tree, lightpole… on the OC Register (our local paper). If you happen to read it, in the comments, there is a guy who was at the scene and posted pictures. This guy was going 90 MPH on a street that is 40 MPH. He swerved to avoid hitting another driver who had STOPPED at the red light, ended up taking out three trees before hitting the lightpole. Unfortunately, he didn’t survive. |
People unfortunately don’t think when they’re driving sometimes. We’ve got people who apparently think they’re industructable when behind the wheel of a 2 ton piece of metal – when in all actuality, they’re not. Nothing is worth your life folks – if you find yourself running late to work, call ahead and say “hey, stuck in traffic – gonna be a little late”. I’m sure your boss would appreciate you showing up a little late, rather than not showing up at all because you’re injured, or worse. If you’re on your way home or to an appointment, again, call! People will understand because they’ve more than likely been in that situation as well!
Here in Kuwait, people speed out of sheer ignorance and arrogance. Unfortunately, many Americans here are beginning to adopt to the phrase, “When in Rome, do as.”  This would be why one of the main (and most heavily travelled) freeways in Kuwait is nicknamed “The Highway of Death”.

People – IT’S JUST NOT WORTH IT!! The loss to your loved ones, the loss to others, your life and the lives of others just aren’t worth it. Granted, I know I’ve been guilty of tipping the speedometer over the 120KMH speed limit here in Kuwait, and I make no excuse for it – it’s out of my own sheer stupidity, and the fact that when I’m behind the wheel, I become a speed junkie.

Don’t believe me, check out the link and just guess as to if the people that were behind the wheel of these vehicles lived: Accidents in Kuwait.

I may as well close this place down – I hardly come on here, and I highly doubt anyone else does.

Well, if you’ve been living under a rock lately, then most of you have already heard of the passings of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and of course, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. It’s been a very sad couple of weeks for the media industry to lose these greats. My thoughts go out to the families of these talented individuals, as well as those of the rest of their fans.

Is this thing on? Testing…

So yea, been away for a bit – but this is mainly due to school and my current infatuation with some apps on facebook. Hopefully I’ll be writing more soon. Going to be taking a short trip down to Bahrain this weekend, so that should be fun. Will post pictures when I get back.

So yea, I’ve been kind of absent lately. Not like anyone actually reads this.
School started yesterday. I went home last night and managed to complete my first exam for the orientation, got all of the questions done for my first history exam (just have the essay questions left), and then I started doing the reading for my Criminology class. Gonna work more on that tonight.
Other than that, not really much has happened lately. Been work and then go home and sleep mainly. Now, school is slotted in there.

Okay, so I need to make my comments about some news..

Apparently, Mrs. Palin is taking a stand against abortion, and “criticized President Barack Obama for supporting abortion rights and challenged the idea that unplanned pregnancies are a nuisance that can be solved by abortion.” (according to the Associated Press).
I’m a firm believer that a woman’s body is her own. The government doesn’t own me. If I became pregnant and didn’t have the means to support that child, and the way our economy in the states is, I would not bring that child into the world, knowing that he/she would end up sitting in an orphanage all their lives. Hell, we have Americans that adopt children from other parts of the world, but won’t think to adopt an American child. Case in point : Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt, Madonna. I realize that they’re trying to provide for these children who otherwise wouldn’t have it better off, but what about our own children? We’ve got teenagers out there getting knocked up who don’t have jobs and expect their parents to raise them – hell no. If I had a teenager who got knocked up, I’d tell them flat out: “You obviously thought that you were responsible and old enough to have sex, we then you can raise that child.”
Had it not been for Mrs. Palin’s status in this world, do you think her daughter would be better off? No.. she’d be struggling just like the rest of them.
She goes on to say that when she had her son, who was born with Down’s Syndrome, she considered it, but prayer helped her through it and she’s glad she had her son. Now, that – that’s fine with me, as long as you can take on the responsibilites. But what about a woman that gets raped? You think she really wants to see that child everyday and be reminded of that person? No.
While I don’t condone abortion in all situations (i.e. if your a loose woman, and every other month or so you’re at the abortion clinic, then you just need to get yourself fixed).

I think when I get ready to have kids (which I want, but can’t afford now), I’m going to adopt. I don’t care if they’re 3 months or 13 years old. I want to be able to bring that child into my home and show them that there are people who love and care for them and would want to provide for them and spoil them rotten.

I’m probably off tangent about a lot of this, but this is just my personal opinion.

That is now my new Arab name.. thanks to my friend A*. Here is why:

My best friend and I were at the Avenues last night and happened to stop in Sephora (yay! Kuwait is beginning to feel like home.. just give me Torrid and Bath & Body works and I’ll stay here forever!) and I purchased some nifty eyeshadows (all dark colors of course) and some other random pieces for my make-up collection. Well, I was texting my friend A* and I told him that I had been told that when I wear dark eye colors, and because my hair is usually dyed dark, I look of Middle Eastern decent (I’m Irish, Scottish, and German.. go fig?). So I asked him what was a female Arab name that starts with a “B”, and he told me, “Basma”… which means, “a smile”.

So today, I played with some of the make-up in my collection, pulled out my “hejab”, and took some pictures…

It has been raining… ALL DAY! I believe it started around 0445 (I was on the bus en route to the base), and I happened to open my eyes from my cat nap and the driver had switched on the windshield wipers and I could hear the plunking sound of the rain on the window. It’s now 13:05 (1:05 PM for you non-military folks) and it’s still steadily coming down. It lightened up around 10:30, but it was still sprinkling outside.
Granted it’s a much enjoyed reprieve from the sandstorms earlier last month, but it seems like Mother Nature has decided to keep her storm front right here over Kuwait. The weather before today has been enjoyable. Nice cool low to mid 70’s. We’ll see. At least the rain will keep the sand and dirt down for a while.