Fish

Fish
My babies - last of the Mohiccans

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The Ant in the Loo

Was on the potty this morning thinking about the days events. A small black ant was on one of the white floor tiles running hither and thither. Caught my attention and took my mind off everything else. Watched the feller going round in circles, his feelers stretched out as if searching for something. Every time he hit the edge of the tile he backed off and started moving in another direction. Seemed to me that he wanted to move out of the tile to the next one but something at the edges of the tile kept him back. Could it have been the disinfectant that was use to clean the toilet floor that had got wedged in the separation of the tiles? He never gave up. By the time I had finished my bath and was leaving he was still at his task. I made sure I didnt step on him.

What struck me most was his perceiverance. He never gave up. I even wondered why he doesnt have to suffer from a back ache like I do? Or have to attend the presentation at 10 am, or attend to Abdullah's school symposium at 12:30 pm?

What would it be like to be an ant?

But then, on second thoughts, do I really want to be stuck on a 4-square piece of white marble tile on a  bathroom floor at 6:00 am not knowing how to get out? I dont think so.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Mladic on the dock

The news about Ratco Mladic being arrested and is in the process of being sent to the Hague for war crimes in Bosnia is refreshing after 17 long years. Apparently the pressure from the EU has helped based on Serbia's application for membership. Theres no such thing as free lunch for sure.

Lets hope he will get life?

And he is appealing the extradition? Such a "brave", "strong" and vicious man has to appeal for mercy too?

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The Day After

What a relief. Slept like a baby last night. Can move without flinching now. Thank Heavens! Back to work, anyways.

Icelandic volcano eruption causing severe flight cancellations in Scotland and northern UK. Will it be a repeat of the previous one? Weathermen predicting the cloud will move south towards Europe. Phew! Could this be the beginning of the Apocalypse that was predicted on May 21?

Back is still bugging me!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Oh! my Aching Back

The back is getting worse, Had a hard time sleeping last night. Have to see the physio ASAP. Excruciating pain that cannot be expressed in simple English text. phew!

Managed to obtain an appointment at Hammadi Hospital to see the Ortho. Treated me with pain killer, Gel and anti inflammatory pills. Went home to rest.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Doomsday

The Ides of May are here? Aye but not yet gone. Its still, only, 8:00 am.

1:30 pm in Riyadh. Everything looks and feels tickety boo. News from the Eastern Coast seems to indicate that they are all sleeping peacefully.

The night passes without any doom and gloom. The only bad news I have is that my back has started to play up once again. Need to go for my physiotherapy sessions once more. Happens at least once a year.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Another Friday Dawns

May 20, 2011: The Sabbath is here!

IMF Boss Strauss-Kahn gets bail at a massive cost of cash, bonds, humiliation, and house arrest.
Obama delivers a great policy speech on the ME ascertaining that Isarel must get back to the pre 1967 borders. Netanyahu cheesed off as usual. Pals dont believe that theres any credibility to his statement. Same goo different day!

Had to drive the family to the supermarket for the weekly groceries as it is the drivers day off and the marketing was postponed to Friday.

Mumbai Indians receive a right royal thrashing from the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL4 game creating a glimpse of hope for Kings XI Punjab to creep in to the top 4.

Listened to some great old Beatles classics from Abbey Road and Sgt Pepper's Albums on Youtube. Took me back to the seventies.

Awaiting Doomsday, as predicted by some, tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Raddy Ferreira Moves On

Just received an email from Australia to inform that Raddy Ferreira, the great trumpet player from Sri lanka from the 60's, has passed away while on tour with his band on a Cruise Ship. He gave us some memoralble momnets in music in the grand old days of our youth. I had the privilege of playing with him in some jazz gigs in Colombo. May he rest in Peace!

The sensational revelation of the IMF Head Strauss-Kahn trying to molest a hotel maid hits the headlines across the globe simply confirming my story thats on the drawing board that men will hit on women wherever the opportunity arises.

Leaving office early as the maintenance workers are carrying out some plumbing refurbishments which makes the environment difficult to stay in. Looking forward to a comfy and restful weekend.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Monday Morning

Change of schedule. Had to stay home till 10. Maria has not been feeling too well. Getting back to work now.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Oracle Summit

Sunday, May 15, 2011: Attended the Oracle Summit at Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh. Very interesting presentations on EXADATA and EXALOGIC 2.0 products. Also attended the worskhop on Enterprise 2.0. Great buffet lunch after the event.

Progressing on my "Humping the Hitters" story. Still in draft stage. Will share once completed.

Just for the record, I've had my Fishies for almost 3 years now. Started with a single Black and Gold Pair around 5 years back. They brought forth almost 100 little fishies. Many have been given away, while some didnt survive last summers heat wave here although Ive taken good care of their environment all the time. Just two left now. They are truly lovely and faithful. I feed them every morning at 6 am and they simply come shooting up to the surface and do their morning dance before bfast. Beautiful feeling inside. I wish we humans could be kinder to each other, too?

Pakistan lose to Windies very badly having had the match in their grip. Kochi known the woeful Rajasthan Royals out of the IPL4. Punjab beat Delhi and are still in he fray.




Thursday, May 12, 2011

Best Day of the Week

Thursday has gotta be the best day of the week for anyone living in the Arabian desert. Wake up late, attend to domestic chores lazily, late bfast, browse email, listen to music, and most of all, dont have to get out of the sarong. Ahhh! give me more Thursdays, please. Why cant we have 2 in the week?

Fixed the shower curtain which maria had brought down last week. Laundry is spinning its usual weekend melody. Gave my fishy babies a fresh load of water, cleaning the fish bowl (actually its a cylinder thats about 2 feet high and 1 foot in diameter). They never fail to swim up and do their lambada, like a prayer, every morning when I feed them at 6. They know their Daddy well. I wish they could speak. Maybe they do but I don't understand?

Listening to some great old tracks on Gold FM UK, online. Super channel for oldies who are young at heart. You don't have to look at me like that!

5.2 Earthquake in southern Spain being splashed across all international TV this morning. Pics of cars crushed under rubble is horrifying. The planet is under siege, it seems. And we still choose to haggle inside?

Congress General Secretary and son of Sonia & Rajiv Ghandi, Rahul Ghandi arrested by Mayawathie cops in Greater Nodia, UP, for joining the poor farmers in their agitation for land rights. Interesting to note that Rahul slipped into UP riding on a pillion of a mo-bike to avoid being detected since Mayawathie and her Govt had put a clamp on entry to decry the farmers protests. Rahul comments, "I am ashamed to be an Indian", after seeing the poor farmers plight, which has raised many an eyebrow in Mother India. tsk tsk Looks like Mayawathie has crowned Ghandi as King by a slip of her saree.

Protests in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain are heating up as usual. When will they ever learn?

Sri Lankan Government increases retirement age for public servants from 55 to 57. Now, you can get older inside your sleeping compartment.

Watching the IPL game being played between Chennai and Delhi Daredevils which the former are bound to win the way its going so far.

Started working on an story titled, "Humping the Hitters" this morning. It deals with people who "hit on" others with the intent of satisfying their physical desires. An idea that popped up in my head last evening.

Not had a good day where my tummy is concerned since yesterday. Still feeling the aftermath with headache and nausea. Will probably hit the sack early tonight.


Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Wednesday

The last day of the working week for us desert dwellers in the sands of Arabia. More like Friday for the Paleface. Thank God its Wednesday!

Started off with a bang in the loo early in the morning. Need to consult a gastro, perhaps? Too much bleeding, after so many years! Didn't even eat anything spicy yesterday.

Very relaxed day at the office, as all Wednesdays, usually, are. Most staff are in casuals, chatting and discussing their weekend plans and activities.

Following up on the installation of the MS Windows 2008 OS on five SUN Servers for the Oracle Hyperion and Symantec Backup solutions that are planned for the coming weeks. Some issues related to Oracle drivers being sorted out by the techies, will be resolved by Saturday, hopefully.

Second day of the Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway. Keeping a close eye on the happenings on Twitter. Flooding of the Mississippi sounds very alarming and scary. The hard times those folks have to face year in and year out is sad, especially for a developed and progressive nation.

The morning after is always fantastic. Life gets back to normal. Sometimes, even better. You learn something new every single day about people and their petty politics.

"Theres no pleasure without pain", said the Monkey dating a Porcupine.

Just finished a Tuna Fish Sandwich lunch washed down with Papaw and Green Tea prepared by my daughter Nadia. Good stuff. Thanks baby.

Need a well deserved rest this weekend. Cricket and snooze.

Posted this pic of a book, essentially for men, titled "How to understand Women?", on FB which is receiving lots of heavy flak from the ladies on my contact list.




Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Another Day Comes to an End

Its just 4:26 pm, Tuesday May 10, 2011, and I have just finished my days tasks at my clients facility at Al Aqariya III Center on OlayaRoad in Riyadh and waiting for my driver to pick me up and take me home.

The Oslo Freedom Forum opened in Norway this morning and several interesting remarks have been made although I couldn't find time to review them all excepting for some tweets that I was able to pick up in between my work.

Twitter is certainly buzzing with the OBL aftermath in Abbottabad, Lokpal Bill in India, Mississipi flooding in the USA, Communal chaos in Egypt, and Barkha Dutt of NDTV on her last day reporting from Pakistan. A mixed bag of goodies that keeps the adrenalin running.

Pallavichchibber added me on Twitter, yesterday, and have enjoyed her inspiring tweets very much.

FB has been sending signals related to the freedom of Palestine after 63 long years of genocide. Will we ever see the light of day on the poor people of Palestine? One thread even stated that it has been psychologically analyzed and concluded that a people who are oppresses do have the tendency to oppress others in the same vein or even worse. So sad, indeed!

Microsoft has also announced the purchase of Skype. Wonder where that will take all our video calls to. Maybe we will have to subscribe to an MSN account first? Time will tell.

Finally, news just coming in that Arnold Schwarzenegger & Maria Shriver have split after 2 decades of marriage. All good things must come to an end, I guess?

Maria, our grand daughter is at the final few minutes of her A Level Biology Practical Paper this afternoon since 3:00 pm. Exams commenced yesterday and shes looking forward to sweep the boards, hopefully.

Pune Warriors beat Deccan Chargers by 6 wickets with ten balls to spare in the 53rd IPL4 game played at Hyderabad. Mitchell Marsh takes 4/25 in 4 overs for the Warriors.

Mood swings can make one mad, I guess? It can also make others, even madder. So, I guess its even Stevens? Post mood syndrome can also be cool. Guess thats the hope all humans must have, every single day of their lives?

Some folks just cannot answer a question head on. They love to relate stories that go round and round the mulberry bush but never get to the fruit. Q: "Is the OS installation complete?". A: "Once upon a time, there was a man called Bill Gates who thought he was smart and .......". Do we humans suffer from a communication glitch since the first Hieroglyphics were carved on those rocks in Baghdad? All I wanted was a Yes or No, and then why or why not. Remember the times when life was ever so simple and easy. Ahhh!

Spent almost 3 hours cleaning up a Trojan attack on the Internet Browser one of the laptops at home. Phew! Those damn gremlins surely make life difficult for us normal people?

Its almost 11 pm, Good Night!