HAIKU CAN U?
Just got a facebook message from a former student (one of my favs from the class of 06) who wanted me to thank David because of his teaching, she was able to win a haiku contest at a bar and get all sorts of fabulous prizes! Who says an education doesn't get you ahead in life?
CAT SCRATCH FEVER
Recently Germo, the wonder cat, slipped out of the house again. It was David once again who was sabatoging the cat's chances for survival when he shut the kitchen window. (and yes, it's ME who opens the kitchen window for the cat to get outside!) This time the poor cat was outside until after 2 am. Silly kitty. All is well, although I think he's either going to have to get a companion (which means I would have to find a new husband) or he'll have to learn to curb his curiousity. The saying might be true..next time, it COULD kill him!
ICE SKATING IN KUWAIT
Yes you read that right. Recently I went with friends to the Kuwait Ice Skating Rink. It sounds like an oxymoron, but it really exists. (FYI there's also quite an established hockey league here too!! Darn Canadians are everywhere). Anyway, I found myself to be too old and scared to last longer than 10 minutes on skates. What a whimp I've turned into. I used to skate for hours on the farm. However there's something about falling on a 50 year old bum that doesn't appeal to me. David wisely stayed home.
BLOW GIDEON BLOW
Tonight we have the World Premiere of a musical, "Gideon" at our school. There is a wonderful singing group in Kuwait with a fabulous conductor and amazing composer. These fascinating people are actually quite warm and lovely. I got a chance to play hero when the facility that was hosting the premiere third night performance cancelled on them. So I offered our school. It was a blast! Choir, jazz band, fabulous soloists...including DKJ, the US Ambassador to Kuwait. What a set of pipes on that gal! Best part of the evening however was when the conductor, RB, got so into his music that, in an inspired moment of directing, he accidently threw his baton into the choir. Gotta love someone who never takes himself too seriously.
NEVER HEARD THAT PART OF THE STORY BEFORE
As I mentioned, I was sick earlier this month and so spent a lot of time on the couch watching TV. (FYI Donald Trump doesnt' look any better at 4 am on reruns of The Apprentice than he does when it's in season rotation) Anyway, thanks for our local illegal dvd guy (hope the Ministry isn't reading this) I was able to catch up on most of the current movies. Some good stuff. My favorite was INVICTUS, the Nelson Mandela-South African Rugby World Cup story (based on fact).
For those who haven't seen it, this is a SPOILER ALERT
In the final scene, the South African Rugby team is the underdog team to the New Zealand team. It's filled with lots of suspense and great scenes, but in the end, the South Africans win (wouldn't be much a movie if they lost, right?)
I was telling my neighbor, a proud Kiwi, that the movie was quite good and she narrowed her eyes and said "Yeah but they never told the REAL story"
"Oh?" I asked innocently (I don't know nothin' about rugby to begin with, let alone the true story of a match 14 years ago)
"Yes THEY were poisoned...bet you never knew that?" She nodded her head in determination.
"We all know that's why they lost".
??News to me??
And people wonder how wars are started...
That's just one example of the kind of REAL TRUTH I am finding out here in Kuwait.
PELICAN RAPIDS SURE CAN MAKE YOU FEEL AT HOME
Recently there's been a video circulating on facebook from the television show, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER. In the show, the main character is from Pelican Rapids!! Honest, true story. So I asked my resident California Film Guru PC, if he knew the scoop behind the story.
His thoughts (and I don't doubt them) are that they (the writers) wanted to use St Cloud but wanted something that sounded better. So they drew a circle within a xx number radius and came up with PR. They did their homework though because they actually mention the real stuff like "Vikings" and Route 108 (they didn't say which direction..east or west). But as PC says, they can't be locals because (and I quote PC)
"Who ever calls is ROUTE 108?"
It's sorta like how I can tell if someone is REALLY from Minnesota by how they say Wisconsin (non 10,000 lakers will often say "WES-consin) or how they pronounce the nickname for Alexandria. Those of us who grew up there know it's "Alec" not "Alex". And don't even get me started on how you say ROOF if you're not from MN.
These are important fact when one is tousands and tousands of miles away from home (elimination of the "H" was intentional..but those who can speak Minnesotan will already know that)
IN CLOSING
I am really sorry that I missed the recent snow/ice storm that went through the Midwest. In a spirit of solidarity, I actually wore a turtleneck sweater tonight. It was all the way down in the 50s. Wish I hadn't left my coat in Ben's car as I left MN. Oh well, time to put on socks.
Take Care and thanks for spending your time reading my random thoughts. It's good to know someone's out there in cyberspace.
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