14 July 2010
By bryf23
In jiber jaber
When I first came to Kuwait, first thing I did was learn the signs in order to get my bearings. I didn’t want to have to rely on a taxi or friends to get around, so I started paying attention to my surrounding and learning different routes.
One thing I noticed – they need to hire a better translator! Or here – I will loan you my dictionary! I remember seeing a sign while my ever faithful Sri Lankan cab driver was taking my somewhere one afternoon and pointing it out to him. “They have saloons here in Kuwait? But I thought alcohol was illegal?” My cab driver chuckled. “It is a men’s saloon. You know, where they go to get their haircuts and shaves.” he replies. I looked at him, “You mean a men’s salon?” I ask. “Yes, where they go to get haircuts and shaves. A saloon.” I shook my head. The word saloon – in my Western raised mind – brings up images of cowboys, brawls, liquor and women dancing, singing, and profiting from drunkards. I explained it to him and he looked confused, but laughed about it.
There are many signs here that get mispelled on a daily basis – some which can be quite funny. Here’s one for example: 
No quite sure where they were trying to go with this one, but this is one of those lost in translation things. “Please bascete here” – this was taken at the Hardees Lon and I always go to for lunch. Right above the trash receptacle is this sign, indicating that they want us to put our “baskets” on top. Granted, they don’t always give us baskets with our food, most of the time it’s just the tray that’s been pockmarked by juvienilles and their smoking habits.
There’s a whole group on Facebook called “Stupid Signs of Kuwait” that has pictures of grammatical errors in both English and Arabic – I love reading that one as well as the “Stupid Cars of Kuwait” – simply because I’ve seen plenty of them here!
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08 July 2010
By bryf23
In jiber jaber
Any one who knows me, knows that I’m into the supernatural. I blame getting into the mysteries of beyond at such a young age. I loved reading ghost stories before bed at night, watching scary movies filled with things from your worst nightmares, going to haunted houses and hay rides on Halloween, riding the Haunted Mansion several thousand times at Disneyland – you name it.
But I refuse to watch any movies about hauntings – for some reason, the scare the bejeesus out of me! Maybe because I’ve had my own personal experiences while abroad (mainly Ireland and Scotland) or some other unknown reason. There’s no case of this “sixth sense” in my family – or if there is, they refuse to acknowledge it. May also have to do with my love of Tim Burton and Rob Zombies and their imagination – I wish I could just sit down and pick their brains. Or that one of them would claim me as their child. At one point in my life, I wanted to go to Cal Arts and become an animator for Disney, just like Tim Burton.
Here in Kuwait, I haven’t really come across any knowledge of haunted places – but if there are any, I’d love to know! They say that the old bunkers up by Ali AlSaleem are haunted by those who were interogated under the harshest of circumstances during the Iraqi occupation, and there’s now a story in the news about a family in Ahmadi who had to finally move out of their home because they would hear children’s screams right before a room in their house would set on fire.
Which brings me around to the picture today – Ghost Hunters International. I loved Ghost Hunters – watching Grant and Jason go off on their hunts around the country. I heard about GHI yesterday and went online and downloaded it, as it features a couple of the members from the original series. My biggest mistake was sitting down to watch it last night before going to bed. *shakes head at self* I guess since I’ve gotten older and have been away from it for so long, this stuff effects me differently – so differently in fact that I couldn’t sleep last night. I kept waking up to a feeling of something in my room (other than myself and Lonnie or the cat), which brought back all sorts of memories from my trips to Ireland & Scotland. The old church ruins in Dublin that became home to Satanic rituals to St. Friar’s Bobby’s graveyard in Edinburgh that was home to unhappy spirits that let you know that you were on their turf. I’d go back there in a heart beat if I could and expierence it all over again! It’s a rush!
Recently, my mom has been talking about us meeting up in Switzerland, so I’ve been looking to see if they have any of the guided ghost tours at night – didn’t really know that they had haunted stuff in Switzerland, but apparently they do! So we shall see.
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29 June 2010
By bryf23
In jiber jaber
- Doodle pad under keyboard? *CHECK*
- iPod and headphones? *CHECK*
- Sharpie marker & Dr. Grip pen? *CHECK*
- Doodles on above mentioned doodle pad? *ALL THERE*
Fortunately, this is what gets me through the day.. doodle pad to ease the madness in my head at times, the iPod to drown out the drama, and well.. the Sharpie and pen are so I can make my point on numerous occasions that the pen is mightier than the sword!
I’m beginning to fall back into my old habit of not posting again – just haven’t had anything to post. There are so many far more interesting blogs out there as it is (I know, I read them!), all done by people who lead far more adventerous lives than I do. Granted yes, I live in the Middle East near a war zone, but I’m so perfectly safe down here that it’s actually, a bit BORING.
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25 June 2010
By bryf23
In jiber jaber
This is what I woke up to this morning.. a mid-summer dirt sky. However, when I got outside, I realized that my windows need to be cleaned, because it really wasn’t that bad.
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23 June 2010
By bryf23
In jiber jaber
You can see how much of a mess my desk is, but I promise, it’s clean before I go home and when I come in again in the mornings. I honestly wish I had more space in my little area with the amount of “junk” I have. But since it’s my home for 13 hours of the day, I gotta be comfy! Just wish they’d let me swap out my chair for a Lay-Z-boy recliner and bring a TV in and I’d be set!
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22 June 2010
By bryf23
In jiber jaber
Well, after much going back and forth, From-Ashes.Net is back.
This is going to be my photoblog from now on. Every day, a new picture, a new experience, a new frame from my life and times here in the Middle East. For now, at least until I get home and can get access to FTP, this layout will have to suffice. I’m just glad that this thing is back up and running again!
-Bry
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Female. 27 years young. Brown hair, brown eyes. Currently resides in Kuwait with her fiance, Lon and her cat, Socks. She has a love for all things Tim Burton, music, and her home.