Posted By Mishary.

My friend just called me and said that all of the three highways to Kuwait City (Fahaheel, Almaghreb and Alma6ar highways) are jammed with cars! he said coz the belajat (gulf) road is closed. Even INM called me and said it took him 1.5 hr to come back home.

i dont know why they r closing it? preparation of Hala Feb.? Maybe.

UPDATE:

Ali just sent me some pics that shows how crowded the streets were. According to him the blajat (Gulf) street was closed due to constructions from Al abraj (kuwait towers) to Marina Mall, there for, it will remain closed for the next 72 hrs.

Here are more pics.

Thank You Ali for taking these pics.

Posted By Mishary.

Whats wrong with the internet guys!? my connection is SO SLOW! i cant even check my blog!

I understood from K.theKuwaiti’s post that the internet cable got damaged and its effects were noticed all over the GCC and they will repair it within 1-2 weeks “wallah tawny 3ad less than a week meshterek eb Zain 7.2″ mamdaney tahanait feeeh

Yesterday I went to Shuwaikh’s port near Kuwait University. I wanted to tell everything in details, but that proved to be impossible… so many little annoying details.. most of which were intangible.. you’d have to go there once and know what i’m talking about. Anyway, i picked just 3 incidents, here we go:

1-I had to get a visitor badge so i can enter the free zone area to check-out my packages.. we went to an office’s window (we were not allowed to enter. just wait by the window for the officer to finish your documents and hand it out to you). there were 2 groups of people waiting at 2 different windows, The first window (officer) told me that in order to get the free pass badge, I had to get my Civil-ID and Package-documents photocopied and stamped. i left him and went to the other window (officer) and he told that all i have to do is give him my civil-id in exchange. and i did, i gave him the id and he gave me the badge.

2 employees, 2 different rules. within 5 meters of each other.

2-I went in (the badge of honor in my pocket) and went straight to the warehouse where my stuff was put into a pile. we searched for the mas2ool (the guy in charge), no one was there… only an indian guy (who was a bit moody). turned out the guy in charge (the egyptian guy) is not available right now.. we were asked to wait for about 45 minutes.. (the people at the customs will leave within the next 30 minutes).

I complained, I yelled and I argued… and at the end, the indian guy got sick of me and gave me the egyptian guy’s phone number. i did the same when i called that guy, complained, yelled and argued…

Me: where are YOU!!!
mas2ool: ana 3and almo7akik… (mo7aqiq) ana mash’3ool delwa2t! meen idaak ilrakam dah!
Me: doesn’t matter! just come back now! i’m in a hurry!
mas2ool: i’m with the mo7aqiq!! i can’t come now! give me 30 minutes
Me: what are you doing there? why are you there and not here where you’re supposed to be!? even if you had something important there, you can’t just go and leave your place without anyone else in charge!

10 minutes later my problem was solved and we took the packages and went to customs…

3-I took many pictures in that warehouse. of classic cars, big boxes, my boxes and some random dusty stuff..

on our way to the customs (i’m in my car, and my packages in the other big car). as we were driving, the sea was on my left. the port looked very nice and very bloggable.. i opened my window and took out my mobile and started taking pictures.. of the sea, the port, the dock, ships… etc. and then I WAS STOPPED!

G.i.Joe: what are you doing!
Me: taking pictures?
Joe: i got a tip that someone was taking pictures of the dock! give me your id and your visitor’s pass.
Me: (oh the badge! he’s going to take my badge!)
Joe: you know.. if you weren’t kuwaiti, i would’ve had to inform the maba7ith. and they were going to send you to the niyaba, then transfer you to the national security department! bitroo7 ibdahya kint!
Me: shdaaaaaaaaa3waaaaaaaaaaa
Joe: i’m not joking (angry face). you don’t think you’ve done something illegal?
Me: actually, no i don’t.. all i’ve done was take some pictures.. and not good ones at that, since i was driving and shooting at the same time…
Joe: thats illegal!! you can’t take pictures of ports! just like how you can’t take pictures of the airport! same thing!
Me: what are you talking about! there are 2 music videos shot at the airport!! (abdulkarim and ruwaishid’s).. its not illegal!
Joe: look, i think your intentions were pure.. and therefor i won’t be sending you to the police (maba7ith)..
Me: if you want me to delete the pictures i will.. i don’t care..
Joe: well, if you don’t delete them now infront of me, i’m gonna take you to the police myself.

can you believe that!! i mean what kind of a sick, stupid terrorist would use mobile shots to plot an attack! i mean when you have something like this:

the mouse cursor is showing the place where i was stopped

why would you need poor quality, mobile pictures… i guess i’ll never know the answer..

all in all, the experience was an awful and sad one. Kuwait’s system and the guys working in our biggest and most important ministries are stupid and incompetent. i had to race an officer with my car just to get his clearance signature. thats telling!

Thanks to Google Earth for the picture above.

The other day i was in our local co-op (jam3iya) and there was a big billboard in there thanking the area’s people and contributers. as I was reading, i noticed that there was a new area name in there… “mbarak al abdullah al jaber” (A.K.A. ‘3arb Mishref).. i stood there reading the billboard.. but i couldn’t really finish it! i stopped and asked mom about that new name and what it supposed to stand for? and why?? why would anyone name a nice man6aqa with that name?

the first thing i wanted to know was “what did this, i’m sure honorable, guy did to deserve such honor?” mom thought for a moment and then said “well, he did nothing aside from that he once lived in a nice house in the area.”

Mom and me continued discussing this subject, and she came to the conclusion that “some names are being used for the sole reason of them being from the royal family and that they’re dead now”. thats the only reason.. they’ve died and by being dead they were entitled for an area named after them…

We talked about another issue as well.. it is very difficult for the non-Kuwaitis (like expats), I’m sure they’ll find it very difficult to pronounce the areas names, let alone knowing the difference between them! its very confusing to them.. i mean think about it (jaber al ali, ahmad alfahad, abdullah almbarak, mbarak alkabeer… and so on).. can you see how its confusing? the whole thing is reaching a point where its failing to serve the only purpose it was intended to serve!

Now, don’t get me wrong, i’m all for being patriotic and rewarding the people who made a difference in this country. but I wish we’d cut back on this type of area naming.. we don’t need so many names from one family, be it the royal family or any other family! we need to to be true to ourselves more often, and we need to keep the names of those who helped shape todays kuwait alive… and not by naming the areas after people where their only contribution to kuwait is there death.

I really want to go into the road and highways’ names (shari3 ilmalik fahad, shari3 ilmalik 3abdelaziz, shari3 ilmalik faisal, they’re shari3 ilma’3rib, shari3 f7ai7eel and shari3 ireyath respectively). but i think what i wrote up to now is enough for now..

Here is a list of Kuwait’s areas with royal family members’ names. and you judge for yourself who’s worthy of such honor and who’s not: (I kinda like some of the names but DEFINITELY not all of em):

-Ali sabah alsalim
-Fahad Alahmad
-Sa3ad albdullah
-Jabir alahmad
-Sabah alahmad
-Sabah alsalim
-Abdullah asalim
-Mbarrak al abdallah al jaber
-Salwa
-Alahmedi
-Sobahiya
-Alde3eya
-Aljabriya
-Mbarak alkabeer
-Alahmedi
-AlSalmiya
-Sabah alnasir
-Jaber al ali

You can check this Thread to find the meanings behind some of the names.

The picture was taken from Cajie.

Posted By Yousef

macworld san francisco 2008 is 15 minutes away, I really hope there will be an update to their pro laptops line. most of the predictions are saying there won’t be any. I’m kinda curious as to what this year’s solgan “There is something in the air” means!? we’ll find out soon

For LIVE coverage Click here or Here.

We never stood a chance! they were not available online, the tickets that is, and the next day they were sold out! high demand? or lots of people with influence are attending? not quiet sure yet.

But thanks to MSB, we now have learned that they’re extending the shows for 2 more days. hopefully we’ll get to buy our tickets this time!

For more details CLICK ME

Do you think we’ll have delivery service in Kuwait any time soon?

Thank you loco for the picture.

Yesterday i’ve ordered an iPhone from apple.com “because still here in Kuwait the prices r so high” like before what i did for the last three iPhones which i’ve ordered a confirmation email sent to me telling me that my iPhone will be sent within 3 days “this is normal”.. the surprise is TODAY !! i got an email telling me what ?!?! here what i get:

To Our Valued Apple Customer:

Thank you for your interest in Apple’s iPhone.

You have exceeded our iPhone purchase maximum for online sales, and we are
unable to process your order.

Thank you again for your interest in Apple.

Sincerely,
Apple Online Store Customer Support

Please any one can tell me whats wrong with this !! so what ?! i’ve ordered three iPhone .. OK and ? akoooo shareka matabeeey etbeee3 !!! tegooly inta sharait wayeeeeeeeed !! yakhey kaifeeey !! wallah madry shagool ….

BTW thanks Bader

I think Zain will introduce something on November 12th.

I think it will be related to internet. You can access the Site here.

P.S. if any one knows more info please leave us comment.

UPDATE:

Today i passed Zain branch and asked them about the new service they told me its the HSDPA there will be 2 version of it:

HSDPA 3.6 which will cost u 13 KD/Month.

HSDPA 7.2 which will cost u 27 KD/Month.

i think all the subscriptions are with unlimited download and must be at least 1 year.

Today we decided to have our lunch from Mishref McDonald’s ((The one which is located in Mishref’s Garden)), So while we were waiting for our order “We’ve order from the car service” I noticed something unusual.

I noticed that the Garden have a newspaper boxes! They even have English newspaper boxes!

So I wondered… Who is living here! Who reads these newspaper??

We’ve been waiting for 7+ days now, and still no sign of us on that list… 

How much longer will it take!!!?

To see all the Kuwaiti blogs click Here

Back to the SHIT ! i need an Anti virus which is Kaspersky ((emda7oleey eyaaah)) for Windows Vista (( alah e3ez el Mac wallah)) for 2 of my laptops and i dont want to buy the original one which will cost me around KD30 for 2 licenses and since Hawali shops dont sells copy CDs any more so the only way i think is torrents .. so do anyone knows where can i download the full version of it ? Once again .. sij mat3aref egdairey ella lama etjareb ghairey.    

Posted By Yousef

Is there anyone left who haven’t had a problem with Aramex? I assure you, there are NONE! Every person with the slightest interest in having their packages arrive on time, as promised, must’ve had a problem with this company. Either because of their below zift customer service or their nonexistent sense of time!

just 2 days ago, I received an email from them telling me they’re going to raise their rates here in the emirates too. First Kuwait now the emirates. I’ve never ever seen a company that thrives with bad feedbacks! And now they think they’re entitled for a raise??

Anyway, I was reading their email and one thing just made me real mad. Our goal at SHOP&SHIP is to provide the highest level of quality & customer service while offering the best shipping options available.

One thing led to another, and I ended up replying to them with the following:

your goal is not to provide the highest level of quality and customer service. the only thing you aspire to is to do a mediocre job and cash in on your temporary novelty!

I based my negative opinion because of the following:

1-You never delivered a package without calling me and taking my whole address all over again. each time there is a package, your guys call me and let me instruct them and give every detail about where I live. (you’d think they’d refer to their past delivery details. but I guess thats “Good enough” service for you).

2-Whenever there is a problem, I either wait a very long time on hold & transfers between your personnel, or there is absolutely no one in the shop and ship department.

3-One time you lost my package, I’ve waited a very long time for it to arrive with NO luck, finally I complained, and they told me to bring something to prove my purchase, and so I did. they compensated me eventually… then… around 3 months later, my lost package magically arrived!

4-And after all this, you email me saying you’re gonna raise your rates???? and you actually wrote in the email that your goal is highest quality and customer service?!?REALITY CHECK ASAP!!!

Blip..blip..blip..

Where is that sound coming from?!

after much searching and looking around I finally found the source of that annoying sound! the bathroom is leaking. and not any kind of leak, it was leaking from the ceiling! but wait there is more, the water is actually coming from the light bulb in the bathroom’s ceiling!

I called the doorman/janitor and told him about it. he said it must be coming from the A/C’s machine, which is located right above that ceiling. he told me he’s going to call the A/C’s company and that they’re going to be here first thing in the morning.

Is north always north? even if you’re literally in the north pole? where does the compass point when you’re there? 

something to think about