by Natasha Tynes | Dec 9, 2004 | Everyday me!
Yesterday was a memorable day. Dalia surprised us, showing up in Doha along with Duri, who we had expected, here for half a day to attend a business meeting.
The original plan was to meet Duri and his co-worker Mohammad at the
airport, take them somewhere for breakfast for a few hours before
their meeting.
However, there was a pleasant change in
plans. Dalia, who earlier said she couldn’t accompany Duri to Doha,
surprised us by showing up at the airport with son Sanad and Duri. What a nice surprise and such a pleasant way to spend the day.
After getting over the surprise of having Dalia here, we all headed to Johnny Rockets, where we had a fine filling breakfast and picked up from where we left off in Dubai nearly two months ago.
After Duri and Mohammad excused themselves for their meeting,
we took Dalia and Sanad to Doha’s number one landmark: City Centre.
Dalia’s friend Dima, who lives here in Doha, also joined us at the mall where
we had a nice chat and took a brief tour of the mammoth complex.
This was followed by a drive a long the Corniche then a stop at our
place, where Dalia got to watch our wedding video for the first time.
Duri and Mohammad joined us in the evening. Right before heading to
the airport we stopped at Salasa (a Mexian restaurant at the Marriott
hotel) for some drinks and appetizers. Overall we had a wonderful day and
were pleasantly surprised. [Click on the pictures for an enlargement.]
by Natasha Tynes | Dec 7, 2004 | Film
We watched Alexander the other day. Yes, it made it to Doha that quickly. Impressive no? I know the critics were very hard on this epic, so I’ll try to be less so.
In spite of having to sit for three hours non-stop to watch a gory saga, I found the film to be informative, as I was not really aware of all this infamous conqueror’s travails. But I did take it with a grain of salt because you just can’t trust Hollywood’s version of history.
The star of this movie for me was Angelina Jolie, although her fake accent irritated me a bit — particularly the way she rolled the letter ‘R.’ Val Kilmer was very good as well, although his screen time was brief.
As for Farrell, well, I understand he is supposed to be a natural blond in this movie, but really, what’s up with the black eyebrows?
Overall, I didn’t regret watching the movie and thought it was worth my money. I just expected something quasi-perfect from a legend like Oliver Stone but this one didn’t quite get there.
by Natasha Tynes | Dec 7, 2004 | Doha affairs, Everyday me!, Shutterbug
We were shocked to see the amount of Christmas decorations Qatar is offering this year. You really feel it is Christmas time on the peninsula. City Center, the country’s main shopping center and almost the only hang-out, is all decked out and very glittery! Really, a very refreshing scene.
Things were so different last year. They were very few decorations, nothing like this time. City Center’s ornamentation consisted primarily of a couple of reindeer and a couple of mammoth presents dangling from the fourth floor ceiling.
Last year it was a bit depressing being in Doha during the holidays, as we were still new to the country and still living at the Movenpick hotel. To keep ourselves sane back then, we found a smattering of things to decorate our hotel room just to get some glimpse of the festive season.
This year, not only did they decorated the place, but they are also playing Christmas carols. Click the pictures for enlargements.
by Natasha Tynes | Dec 6, 2004 | Jordan, my nation
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For those of you who are in Amman these days, there seems to be an interesting play going on as part of the Jordanian Theatre Festival.
Directed by Sawsan Darwazeh, the play entitled “Musabah Bel Woudouh,” or "Struck with Lucidity," will be performed at the Royal Cultural Centre on Dec 6-7 at 5:00pm. [That’s today and tomorrow, so hurry!]
According to the play’s brochure, the play is: “A monologue about the schizophrenia and double standards from which our society suffers.”
Seems intriguing. I wish I was there!
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by Natasha Tynes | Dec 6, 2004 | Weblogs
Bahraini bloggers never cease to impress me. I just checked out their newly-established online community and I must say, it really is top-notch. In addition to their well-designed layout, the topics currently being discussed are quite compelling.
I’m very pleased with our Jordanian blogging community and I have high hopes for Jordanplanet. We will keep working on it until we form our own credible alternative media. Looking at the success of the Bahriani blogging community makes me even more hopeful.
After getting over the surprise of having Dalia here, we all headed to Johnny Rockets, where we had a fine filling breakfast and picked up from where we left off in Dubai nearly two months ago.
