The Six-K Club

I was thinking the other day what would it be like to through a day in Kuwait without Indians, I know this subject might be of great disappointment to some and might anger a few, but it comes from nothing but a mind that is totally respectful to all races and people throughout the world.

The truth is that in Kuwait we are highly dependent on expats to do our work for us, mostly from the Far East, places like India the Philippines & Bangladesh rank amongst the highest. But can you imagine a day going by without having Indians around? And so I sit on my desk and decide to ask this question for 4 people, Calvin (Kuwaiti born Indian who is one of the closest people to me, if not the), Mishari, a kind and humble Kuwaiti who is on the conservative and traditional side, Fadi (a Jordanian with Palestinian roots who has lived here for many years) and Tania who just joined from Lebanon and has only been in Kuwait for a month. *Mind you by Indian I mean all expats working the very jobs that Kuwait’s won’t work!

Jasem: “what do you think would happen if a day went by without a single Indian in Kuwait?”

Calvin: “disaster, street would not get swapped, garbage would not be taken away, breakfasts would never be made at homes, restaurants would be empty since there is no one to serve you and no one to cook the food, children would not be driven to school, school would not be cleaned, buses would not work, Kuwaiti would have to put their own petrol in their own cars”

Mishari: “everything is dirty, no cleaning whatsoever, garages would not work hence my car would not drive, nurses would be not available, no auditors, accountant, cashiers”

Tania: “less traffic, no taxi’s, back office operations would stop, higher unemployment in Kuwait, horrible IT systems, no pizza delivery”

Fadi: “I’ll miss my best friend Calvin”

Jasem: “no comment”

I had a chat today with Mo (a  man who is wise beyond his years) about tutoring and the conversation started and ended like this:

Jasem: what is it with these tutoring signs everywhere, i went to college I never asked for a tutor, this is nonsense.

Mo: do you even know what kind of an income some of these tutors can pull in on a monthly basis?

Jasem: what are we talking about here?

Mo: well 10 an hour, some tutor 3 at once, 30 an hour times 8 times 7 times 30. Do the math?

Mo: it’s totally ridiculous too, because the tutors are the teachers themselves which is one huge conspiracy, what makes you believe that the teachers both in universities and in high schools aren’t doing 100% job because they want/expect the students to ask them for a tutoring session which means more money in the bank.

Jasem: the education system is f*ed here!

Mo: everything else is too!

Jasem: what’s the solution?

Mo: we don’t hire monkey’s from all the over the world, we try to educate our children from within Kuwait, it’s unlikely that a Kuwaiti would tutor versus an expat (not to say that it doesn’t happen), we make sure that all school operate as if independent, school are rated based on their children’s scores which means better accountability equals better students equal less need for tutoring in universities etc.

Jasem: do you think that will ever happen?

Mo: do you think the expat pulling in 4,000 KD a month and living the high life is going to give them the chance, drastic measures need to be taken, who’s got the balls to do anything good for the country, it’s all about the bank accounts now. sad.

Jasem: let’s pick up some frozen yogurt!

Mo: you need to loose weight! shut up and drive!

Hands down the best sandwich bar in the world, best bread best meat selection the best chips! it’s just ridiculously great and now there opening in Kuwait. I can’t wait.

Location: Opposite Al Raya Complex, right next to NBK in Sharq.

I used to love making this back in the states when i wanted something quick, healthy and yummy for lunch.

- two slices of your favorite toast, and don’t get the cheap kind that feels like it was made in an emssembly line – bread with lots of love please.

- brush with olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt on them, very lightly, then toast in a pan on high heat for color & crunch.

- add good quality Dijon Mustard (or any mustard of choice)

- add your fav. turkey (I like honey roasted myself)

- add baby swiss cheese right on the bread as soon as you take off the grill for a nice melt affect.

- add avocado’s (i love them i know 99% of people can’t stand them)

assemble, place back on the grill and push down with a spoon for 5 seconds, cut in half serve with baked chips & a glass of super cold diet coke! YUMM.

A few weeks ago, I was at the Audi dealership here in Kuwait looking at possibly purchasing an Audi S8 when curiously asked the gent if he knew if they had any LP560’s on display and much to my surprise he got up and asked if I can drive him to the garage where he was going to show me something “special”.

We arrived at this old hanger where outside parked atleast 6 to 7 old hummer’s and inside was a boy’s dream come true. 2 LP 560’s, 1 in pearl white with orange interior 1 black on black and a superlaggera plus plus plus. I couldn’t contain myself and after reading so much online i’m convinced that I need this Lambo. It’s so much of every boy’s dream that it becomes a no brainer to just get one!

Here are some specs:

Only draw back: IT’S TOO DAMN EXPENSIVE & I CAN’T AFFORD IT!

At 7:30 p.m. today Calvin and I decided to have a salad, Napket was the choice and we headed to the avenues. I must admit the drive there was frustrating because it seemed like every car was on the road, it was ridiculously busy!

The restaurant was amazing, seriously. I love the decor and that’s just the start, what really was amazing was the quality/presentation of foods & ingredients. It’s rare to see here in Kuwait a place that truly take pride in good ingredients and i guess Napket is a first. Off course, i was stunned to see the plastic plates & utensils i’d rather dine off of some good cutlery and china when I’m in a place that looks like an incredible restaurant off of 5th ave however the food was damn worth it.

Jasem’s Menu:

Salad – Mixed leaves, chicken, black olives, tomatoes & pine nuts. (lemon olive oil dressing) – 5 stars.

Frozen Yogurt – with fresh mangos, and granola – 5 stars

Calvin’s Menu:

Penne Pasta with mushroom sauce – 5 stars

Frozen Yogurt – with white chocolate & strawberries – 5 stars.

I’m definitely going back, probably very soon! wanna join?!

Today was the first time i go out and walk, it was incredible. At around 3 p.m. after having some grilled fish with pops, I looked out of the window and realized that the weather seemed perfect. I then stood up and saw my thighs that are now larger than life and my stomach that I can’t stand and decided enough is enough! Got in the car, played some house music and baby were back in business! the walk was incredible, I need to keep up my healthy eating habits and walk for 3 weeks, before i can slowly run again. I would hate to strain any muscle and end up like I was when my shoulders gave up and arrive at post 12 kilos Jasem.

Next time, i’ll post when/where i’ll be and your welcome to join. Oh yeah, house music is my savior!

This is truly the best shaving cream on earth I cam across it while bored at work and surfing www.neimanmarcus.com, it needs to brush hence the “brushless” part and it just pure bliss. If you want to get your hands on it click [Neiman Marcus] it costs $18.50.

The story begins when I decide to put some money on the side into a fixed deposit, however I always wondered that doing that might make me not able to use cash incase I did need it, so i got in my car drove to my bank and talked with my officer only to arrive here.

She told me to use what GB calls an E-Savings account and claimed that the beauty of this account is that it grows at 3.25% annually and your allowed to withdraw money from your account upto 3 times a month without loosing the interest. Let me recap, here’s an account that pays KIBOR plus you are able to withdraw and add funds (withdraw upto 3 times monthly) without loosing your interest on the entire monthly daily accrued rate – SOUNDS F’ING AMAZING!

A month later (today) and after finding out that i did not get paid a single dime on my account i called 1805805 to find out that you can only withdraw 1 time a month before loosing the interest, so I drove to the nearest branch, not the one that I normally visit. There they told me that you cannot take out ANY funds from an E-Savings account.

Basically,

The officer gave me ok on 3 times a month

Call center claims it’s 1 time a month

Another branch claims it’s zero times a month

I become outraged drive 200 km/h to salmiya branch just to see everyone there ready for me (since i called before i arrived and they knew what to expect) and only heard “were sorry there was miss communication, it was the HR’s fault and the guy who trained us gave us the wrong info” etc.

So what about the call center – (even though she had to confirm this with her supervisor)

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, i’m sitting here venting, pissed the —– off wondering if i should just use the camel …

Told you i was going to write about everything & anything.

Plain and simple this is my favorite yogurt in the whole wide world. Nothing compares, however there is a catch, I don’t enjoy the bottom part.

There are two ways of eating it, you can literally shake it until it’s all mixed together which is quiet good however you would be having the extra sugar that you really don’t need and it’s too sweet, atleast i think so. What i do is have just the white part and i make sure that when they buy it they don’t toss it around in the car so that i can have as much white goodness uninterrupted by the super sweet jam on the bottom.

For the longest time i wondered weather this was a low fat yogurt or wasn’t, finally here’s the details from www.almarai.com

Nutritional Facts (Average Per 100 g)

Each yogurt comes in 150 gram packages so you would need to multiply the number by 1.5, all in all makes for a great morning breakfast/snack/or guilt free late dinner. I mix it with granola or broken up granola bars – YUM.

Were almost a day before we all sit down and celebrate the new coming of 2009, much has happened in 2008 that brings joys and tears to my eyes. From the peak of the club to it’s total stop, from turbulent markets to markets with no cash, from loved ones falling down to illnesses and friends that didn’t live up to their designations, it has been an interesting year indeed. I personally have realized some dreams in 2008 both on a personal and professional level yet i have one thing that has gone completely wrong, I gained weight, and allot of it. I was on the scale for the first time in years in Dubai on my trip a few days ago, the scale read 100 Kgs. I literally went from 88 Kgs, to 100 Kgs you do that math.

I sat here in my room for the past 2 hours wondering what has gone wrong, and i really can’t find something that i can blame besides myself. It’s funny how one begins to deny what is happening and start to believe that another Kilo won’t hurt and “if i have done it before i can do it again”. I write this because i feel pleasure getting this off my chest, and to be honest i am more at ease telling the entire world this than sitting in front of someone and talking about it with shame written all over my face.

I have decided that 2009 would be my come back, personally. The Six-K Club and all its members are welcome to join on my daily runs, what i’m going to do is post on the website where i’m going to be and the time and if you want to show up your more than welcome, however, don’t ask why i gained weight and please bring an iPod, i love my alone time and this time i want to share it with you all.

The website will be running quiet differently, i’m going to post more random posts, much like my personal blog (my ex blog i would guess would be a better term) www.extension5151.com, about politics, markets, friends, experiences, etc. This way even though the weather might throw us a curve ball and we can’t walk at-least your in touch with the site, and hopefully i’m wondering if you can pull some IT geeks around to help me start a thread or maybe a chat room for us.

I love you all truly, i still to this day tell everyone i meet how much you all mean to me and how much this club really deep down inside me makes me feel, I will proudly say that without you i wouldn’t have kept off the weight for so many years (and it’s more evident now than none), i met so many friends when i didn’t even have ONE, and to this day i find love and support from all of you. You truly are the spirit, i’m just the bystander .

Jasem

Thank you all for showing up I had an amazing time.

Afrah,

This is a message to you my hero, words can’t describe how proud i am of you. I can only see myself using your courage to get back on track and hopefully finish my dream run at Beirut Marathon next year. You look marvelous &  i am tremendously proud of your courage, success, and happiness and can only wish you the best going forward, you are the reason why there was, is and will alwys be a Six-K Club.

Dear Club Members,

Well, here i am asking you to again re-start the magic that we all started  and love while it lasted. The Six-K Club has been put on pause for quiet some time, and i think the time has come for us to meet up again and go for a nice walk together. I would like to start off by wishing everyone and happy Ramadan & Eidkom Mbarak! I have proposed the following for the month of Ramadan (the few weeks left of it at least) – all  walks from now on will be announced 3 to 4 days before and members will recieve emails + the website will be updated (we will not have a schedule due to work commitments etc… )

Saturday -  September 13, 2008
Location – Salwa Hall Parking Lott – Gulf Road.
Time – 4:00 (meet & greet) 4:30 walk starts.

I miss you all and hope to see you all there.
we are going to give out free bracelets please be there.

Jasem.

Thank you for your dontation, the funds were sent over to Celine & Lyndon’s Ella fund. I love you all.

Here’s Ella’s site, http://www.babysites.com/sites/ellasmama/?seq=1

I just heard excellent news from my friend Elliot ! the results from Ella’s CT Scan are back, the cancer on her lungs is 100% gone and the tumor on her liver has shrunk 50% ! Thank you for all of those of you who have prayed for her, let’s keep on saying our prayer until she goes back home to here parents and her beautiful baby sister Maya (who Celine needs to send me pictures off) soon.

Thank you all who made donations, i have sent the money to the U.S. it was close to 3,000 US Dollars raised! which is amazing. Thank you all for everything.

Love Jasem.
Ps* The Six-K Club will be back VERY SOON, i hope you are all ready.

So far USD, 2,884.0369 raised ! thank you so so much everyone.

I have decided to match every single KD in donation upto a certain amount …. So far we have raised 102 KD thanks to the generosity of everyone.

Doctor expesnses can’t get really out of control, i would like to ask you all to find it in your heart to help Celine and Lyndon in their fight to save their daughter Ella fight this cancer and hopefully it never shows up again. If you would like to make a donation just let me know i’ll take it from you and wire it all them .. thanks alot.

I am travelling in a few hours to Dubai, i’m spending exactly 11 hours and coming back to wonderful Kuwait (who am i kidding). Anyways between meetings with clients and an interview i really want to look my best, even though self confidence has reached an all time low.

I went to my closet to pick out a suit from the few that i have managed to purchase and never wear over the years. none fit. So i had to rush today to the Avenues to get one. I headed strait to Boggi and got myself a nice three button single breasted suit, navy with a very thin pin stripe, almost invisible. I then rushed to the tailor, who happens to be on the houses payroll since mom spends more hours explaining to the guy how to design the next dress or whatever than speaking to any of her friends, who cut the pants and gave them a half an incher of extra space so i can actually breathe.

I am happy to tell the world that i’m a size 37 (which is funny because 38 was too damn big and 36 was snugg), from my usual very comfortable 36 size. I’m now down 1 Kilo from what i have wrote earlier, Dubai’s trip over the weekend (few days ago) with Calvin set me back a few calories, offcourse i had to pull the “were on vacation F it” to kind of feel unguilty whenever we had a bite here or there.

The weather seems not to be on my side too, not for running in Mishref i would collapse of asthma attack in 2 seconds should i try, and flying in this weather is going to make me RIDICULOUSLY nervous.

ala yaster. Bon Voyage for Me