Enough With the Rules...Whatever Happened to Just Having Fun?

Last night I was in Seef Mall with my daughter. For anyone that doesnt know we recently had yet another mall added to our already impressive collection (all within a short distance from each other mind you) called City Center. Since this new state of the art mall opened up Seef Mall has really seen a decline in numbers. How do I know this...well simply because you can actually find a place to park your car pretty much anytime you go there now (except the weekend as Seef has the cinema and City Centers still hasnt opened theirs).





When you wander around inside its almost like a ghost town at times...City Center has definitely put a dent in Seef Malls business...so the bosses at Seef have apparently knocked their heads together and came up with a crowd puller...or at least what they thought would pull the crowds.



A Cash Grabbing Booth

Now in theory this would seem to be a good idea for getting the crowds away from City Center and back to Seef...who doesnt like a chance at free money? However, I found the crowd (such as it was) less then enthusiastic considering Bd2000 ($5000 more or less) was up for grabs (at least thats how it was promoted).

Anyhow, first off I have to point out that it was quite clearly false advertising. Supposedly there is Bd2000 in that booth...but our largest denomination of the dinar is a Bd20...and it takes quite alot of those to make Bd2000...and looking into the booth you were lucky to see maybe 10 or so...with a few Bd10 notes scattered around as well...and some Bd5's just for good measure. The majority by far of notes were Bd1 and half Bd (5oo fils) notes....and anyone with a modicum of counting skills could very clearly see there wasnt even close to Bd2000 worth of those in that booth.

Secondly, they had so many fricken rules about what you can NOT do while in the booth.
1. dont move your feet
2. dont grab for money stuck to the sides
3. use only one hand
4. dont stick money in your shirt or pockets
5. dont jump up or bend down

Oh yeah, and you have 20 seconds to grab as much as you can...one handed...not jumping or bending or using your clothes etc...just standing there and reaching out into the air to grab what you can...fun fun fun!!!

Last but not least...you have to be present when and if they call your name...no shows are disqualified. So one guy who had run off to the bathroom (we are told) lost his chance cause they werent willing to wait 5 min...oh well...you snooze you lose...or something else...lol. The ticket holder was a huge tumbling machine that had several thousand tickets in it...there were only about 50 people gathered around at show time. Im thinking it wasnt advertised well enough so that people understood the rules or something...anyhow...

The first one drawn was Bahraini lady...problems right off the bat. She was wearing hijab and duffa. Now Ive never been in a wind booth but I hear its... well...pretty windy...lol....and the air is being blown from below upwards...are you following me here...chances are neither her abaya or hijab will take kindly to such rude wind.

So she looked around hopefully...maybe wishing the Presenter would just let her go into the booth sans wind and grab what she liked for 20 secs...you think...or maybe she was thinking she wished one of her brothers or sons was with her (if she had any)...but nothing. Eventually the Presenter had a light bulb moment and asked for a volunteer to come forward and grab for the lady. She looked around somewhat embarrassed as if he was asking for someone to model underwear she planned on buying...no takers at first but eventually a British teen volunteered and everyone was happy.

My only problem with volunteering for such a project is that things can get ugly if the volunteerer (?) inadvertently breaks a rule and gets disqualified (and very likely considering how many there were)...and if they dont do a very good job grabbing...someones feelings might be hurt and a little resentment felt...understand me?...but British teen volunteered and Bahraini lady happily accepted.

She was given a run down of all the rules and stepped tenderly into the booth on top of a pile of money. It was at this point we learned that only 20 secs were given to supposedly grab Bd2000 dinars...yeah right...anyhow.

I took pics of this with my phone cam but unfortunately I cant find the wire to hook it to my computer so you have to visualize from the pic up there.

Air was turned on...money went flying (although she was standing on quite alot of it and nobody advised her to move her feet to set it free into the playing field) and she started grabbing. 20 secs flies by in..well...20 secs. Its like no time at all. Started and finished before you can really get excited about anything.

It was all over and she stepped out for the count up. A grand total of Bd21. Free money and all but the crowd was obviously not impressed. Hey...its not as easy as it looks judging by her efforts...anyhow. Bahraini lady was smiling and offered the British girl Bd5 for her efforts. Fun fun fun!!!

Next was a grown man (not sure his nationality...anyhow) and he went through the whole thing and came away with Bd32. People were expecting more from him judging by the reactions...but what can you do...its wind and its paper and its rules rules rules. I noticed he actually dropped quite a bit of money in there as it would fly from his hand while transferring from the grabbing hand...maybe thats why they dont allow pockets etc...might actually get some money that way.

All in all it wasnt nearly as exciting as Ive seen on tv etc. The crowd tried to be supportive but with only around 50 or so...it was lackluster at best. The rules were unfair and unneeded...just how much money can be grabbed in 20 secs even without those rules? Seef promoters had a good idea but didnt really do enough with it in my opinion.

If your trying to draw a crowd...let them have fun for goodness sake...enough with the rules already. Life already has enough of them for us....20 secs in a booth full of money sans rules...now thats a crowd puller.

So I bought myself some rollerblades....!!!

When I was young rollerskating was the rage. Hardly a day went
by that several kids werent out in the streets getting some much
needed exercise...fresh air...and losing a fair amount of skin in the
process....but it was FUN!!! scrapes and all.


These traditional white skates were the usual picks for the girls and boys generally had the black ones that took about an hour to lace up properly when you first got a pair but once you had the knack you could be good to go in as little as 15 minutes. I loved that feeling of being able to glide along without a whole lot of effort...and then once you had been skating awhile and took the skates off...you felt like you were still gliding in a peculiar kind of way...way cool!


Eventually a new kind of skate came out that only the more "well to do" kids seem to own. These tennis shoe skates were a must have that few of us ever got (at least in my neighborhood). I remember when the girl next door got the first pair on our block...she would spend copious amounts of time doing the laces just right. Another 10 minutes dusting off the leather etc...and then for the most part she might spend as little as 10 minutes actually skating...and most of her time giving lectures to a rapt audience of sweaty faced kids on just how wonderful her new skates were. I was always hopeful she might get bored and decide to give them to one of us someday and Id be first in line...as if!


Well...its been a few years since I thought about rollerskating and when I decided to give my youths passion another go around...what do I find but that rollerskates have long been replaced by rollerblades. Ive always been one that finds it hard to try new things so have been looking far and wide for my old tennis shoe type brands...I prefer my wheels on all 4 corners...easier for balance in my opinion. No such luck though...most people in Bahrain have never heard of rollerskates...my hopes dwindled.I finally faced the fact that it was rollerblades or nothing...so rollerblades it was.

Now the sad fact is my ankles are not quite the slender athlectic tools of my energetic youth as they used to be...5 kids and a forced sedentary lifestyle seems to have sent them packing...so actually finding some rollerblades that could go the distance (around my ankles) was a chore in itself. Those buckles dont give much and the resulting cut of blood circulation to my feet kept the rollerblading attempts to a minimum. But eventually I found a pair that has velcro (the bane of fashion concious people everywhere but a lifesaver to us hard to see our feet type) and Im all set to go.

My first and only foray thus far has been around my living room...all it did was prove to me just how hard it is to rollerblade...images of me just gliding off into the sunset were quickly doused while I clung to every immovable object and cursed my now extrememly weak ankles (must mean I actually still have some since they were singing out loud and clear at this sudden call to action)...but I know that with all things...it takes time. I will do a little everyday...and maybe, despite my gravitational pull that seems to surpass just about every other force of nature I currently take part in...I hope to take myself into the great outdoors eventually. Then again...the great outdoors hold such obstacles as traffic...road construction...and Wahabis...who, as everyone knows...dont take kindly to women doing anything that results in her breathing hard enough to cause her bosom to heave...Lord forbid!


And while I start out as the decidely voluputous character shown above...I hope to achieve the slimmed down version shown here...ah to dream a little dream...







But knowing my luck I will no doubt remain much the same as I am but with a nifty new accessory thrown in just to change things up a bit...life is good to me you know.

Wish me luck everyone....(fingers crossed wouldnt hurt either)

A long walk home from Juffair...!

Have you ever wondered how long it would take to walk from inner Juffair to Hidd? Well wonder no more...yours truly embarked on an epic trek last nite that started at 6 pm and ended just after 9. I suppose someone with a little less weight to carry and a lot more fitness under their belt might have done it a bit quicker...you think?...but it took me just over 3 hours. Why might you ask did I take on such a foot aching walk? Well for two reasons really...first off I was seriously ticked off by the person I was with and rather then sit in the car with her and further our argument(which could lead to more disaster) I got out and stomped off claiming I was walking home. The little stubbon goat in me insisted I do what I angrily claimed I was going to do....whats a few blisters when your trying to prove a point? Secondly, I use to go for walks nearly every day for many years...but for the past two years I havent gone and I miss those walks alot...so I took it as a chance to prove a point(I forgot what the point was 4 kms into the walk) and to reaquaint myself with the joys of walking.

Walking is really under rated as a form of meditation and soul searching. Just cruising along...maybe counting your footsteps or breaths...or the many black beetles that line the path like tiny tanks(ewww!)...sends you into a sort of trance like state that really lets you think clearly...or not so clearly(random thoughts tend to come and go during trance like states)...and you can get a lot of that back log of problem solving and critical thinking done that you just havent found time for in this chaotic and constantly busy life we live now. If you have headphones on(which I did) everything around you is practically cut off...so your in effect in a world of your own. I might add this can be dangerous if your alone somewhere as anyone could sneak up behind you and you wouldnt hear them coming...but as the footpath over the bridge is quite busy I felt safe to use them.

I started out on my journey quite angry and upset so was stomping along grumbling about "seeking justice" the next time my best friend had the nerve to come near me(I imagine her ears were buring something awful) but somewhere along the line I slowed down and settled into an easy stroll...I had a long way to go and I wasnt in a hurry. With each step taken some of the anger was left behind with it until at some point I realized I wasnt angry any more and seeking justice was left somewhere back in the dust. There were a few times I wanted to call her to come get me...but then stubborn goat bleated that that would be the worst thing I could do...she was probably waiting just for that call so she could gloat and drown out the bleat...so I didnt call. Step after step after step...getting farther from my starting point...and closer to my goal.

During this 3 hour marathon trek...I came to the conclusion about a few things...you might all ready know these things and dont need a blister inducing safari to teach them to you...but bear with me.

1. First and foremost...never stomp off on a cross country(lol) trek if your not physically ready or dressed for it...makes it a whole lot tougher on you to wear snug jeans and a heavy backpack for such a walk and no such marathon walk should be undertaken if you havent been doing some sort of exercise before hand. Believe me, your feet, and everything between that and your hairline, will remind you of the fact every step of the way. (if you manage to complete the walk...it aint over yet...try getting out of bed the next morning)

2. Stomping off for a walk is actually a good way to prevent an argument from spiraling out of control which can lead to things being said that woud cause pain and regret later. I recommend going for a walk when things start to get heated between you and someone you care about...no sense in staying and feeding the fire with hurtful words that you cant take back and are never forgotten(even if they are forgiven). Also, its safer for you and those around you not to storm off in your car and drive while angry....nuff said on that.

3. Walking gives you the opportunity to look at things you pass by in a blur in your car everyday a little more closer. Reminds us that we should slow down and enjoy the scenery...such as it is. The most scenery you get from a car is the tail end of other cars...or the angry faces of irate drivers...walking is positively serene and no lane changers(all though that guy on the bike needs a few lessons on sidewalk ettiquette...grrr)...tailgaters....or people breaking in front of you for absolutely no reason. There are never traffic jams on footpaths.

4. Last but not least...dont consider the whole trip from start to finish...you might find it too monumental and chicken out or give up....see it as a series of mini walks. Set a point in the distance and vow that you will walk that far...like to the next km sign..or traffic lights etc. Once you pass that..spot your next goal and head for it. Its much easier to break down a long walk into little walks...then to consider the journey in one big bite. If someone had told me yesterday morning that I could walk from Juffair to my house in Hidd...I would have laughed at them...but Im not laughing now. I might have blisters but I now know that I can walk around 9 kms and not need medical attention and heart bypass surgery...its a great sense of acheivement for me...so now Im looking forward to my next walk...but maybe not quite so far...lol.

lets just hope it doesnt take an argument to get me started...sigh!