Volume 1 Issue 5c
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Now This is Entertainment
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The living/dinning room has table and chairs, china cabinet, TV in an entertainment center, coffee table, end tables and sofa and love seats. I am
pleased to say that the TV here is just the same as in the States, crapy. I guess we have satellite and I'm thankful for that, although watching
Arabic shows might be better than what I've got now. We have Cartoon Network, Discovery, The Movie Channel, CNN World, Arabic, Arabic, BBC, Arabic,
Arabic, ESPN Orbit, another Movie, American TV (that's the actual name), Hollywood Channel, some more Arabic, and BBC World news. I am seriously
disappointed in CNN and ESPN, sellouts. They're both British run (I'm assuming) and both suck. CNN isn't too bad, but the only thing on it is that
fire in Rhode Island and the Iraq stuff. There has got to be more news out in the world than just that stuff. ESPN makes me wanna vomit. All it
ever has in Soccer and Cricket couldn't it at least show rugby or something anything but Cricket. It does occasionally have Basketball and NASCAR.
The movie channels and Cartoon Network are what's to be expected. Discovery is pretty good, but Am TV and Hollywood are pretty much a joke. Am TV
has many shows that have been off the air like Living Single and the Norm Show, ones that I've never heard of Freedom and Sisters, but it does have
the Drew Carey show and the Sopranos. Hollywood is run by another Canadian group and shows old Hollywood news like the movies of the year "
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret," "Spider Man," or the first "Lord of the Rings." I actually saw one the other day
talking about movies of the year for 1999. All of the stations have Arabic subtitles, but the Arabic ones don't have English subtitles at least
they don't dub. Something I never though I’d say, "I miss commercials." Instead of having commercials for products during the breaks
they have what's coming up later in the week.
That's nice to know, but it's the same thing every break and usually is a preview for something coming 5 days from then. Because of the lack of
commercials there are 5 or 6 min at the end of the show that they fill with music videos or more old Hollywood news.
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Mi Coche
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My Car, My Car. What have I got to say except they went all out on providing me with a company car. It's a sweet little white KIA Sophia, but I
like to call it my little white coffin of terror on wheels or the movable meat locker of terror. I wasn't really scared about being here, not even
when I saw the toll road guard with a sub machine gun. That was until I got in my car to drive, I swear that thing is gonna be the death of me.
Let's see what's wrong with it: it's got the get-up-and-go power of a one legged kid on a bike with a flat tire, it's a four door but I'm still
crammed inside, it's so low to the ground (even without me in it) that I almost need a hoist to get out, it's a 4 cylinder (probably running on two),
it needs new spark plugs and wire, transmission takes forever to switch gears, the timing is off, probably needs an oil change, and on top of all
that no one ever put the code in for the radio so the radio doesn't work. It does have an A/C that could freeze ice cream and pretty good
windshield washers and brakes, all of which are necessary over here. The washers to clean all the sand off the windshield.
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Driving Miss Crazy
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Driving over here is a real adventure in itself. Everyone one drives on the right side of the road, I’m not sure I could get used to driving on the
left. Obeying stop signs are optional, there are hardly any street signs, driving on the shoulder is acceptable, and honking is a way of life.
Just about the only things that are somewhat obeyed is speed limit and stoplights.
