Kuwait National Day was last week.  I took a few minutes to brave the crowds and try to document some of the activities.  From what I had gathered, traffic is usually snarled on the Gulf Road for most of the weekend.  Kids are lined up along the side of the road with cans of spray foam, water balloons, squirt guns, etc …. they then clog traffic by spraying everyone and everything.

I don’t get it.  But apparently they love it.

I walked over to the Marina Mall and took a few photos from the pedestrian bridge over the Gulf Road.

There’s also a large flag on a beach …..

More on that later.

Busy day at the office …. thank god for mobile commuting — I mean, if I wasn’t able to stay on top of everything through a devise as small as an iPod Touch I would be weeks behind …. but I’m not …. in fact … I was productive while traveling and probably got more paperwork done there then I do onsite where I’m constantly distracted with stupid issues….

Anyway — trip was quick, but awesome … plenty to come.

Kuwait.

Flags hanging from light posts celebrating National Day.

lovealwayslindsay:

handsup-thumbsdown:

Twitter going MAD for this right now

News of the Day: The Dubai Mall aquarium springs a leak, forcing a partial evacuation

The acrylic is 2.5 feet thick, with fused overlapping joints. This fault line is unexpected. The Civil Defense has pretty much declared a state of emergency in the mall. Oh, Dubai.

This video is awesome.

I was just there a few weeks ago taking a picture that I later posted on this blog.  And yes, that video is awesome.  That’s a lot of water.

Nature: 1

Dubai Engineering: 0

Today is National Day.

The whole country is decorated in green, red and white and there are shopping specials happening all over the place.

Last night, I was at our local grocery store, The Sultan Center, getting a few supplies for the weekend.  I decided to buy a slice of “National Liberation Cake” to show some of my national joy … I think this helped my karma for what happened next…..

So I was in line checking out when someone over the loud speaker said, “Everyone hold where you are we are now going to spin the Liberation Wheel.”  Not knowing what that meant and why I cared I just got frustrated that the lady stopped ringing up my groceries.

The next thing I heard was “The winner is number 6!”  Still confused, I looked around to see what that meant.  Within seconds there were lights flashing everywhere, people clapping and cheering and suddenly I realized everyone was looking at me.  I quickly glanced up and realized I was in checkout line number 6.  This dude then walks up, shakes my hand and walks me away from my groceries.

I won.

What did I win?  Well, they gave you a gift certificate equal to what you were spending that moment in line.  I was only spending 7 KD (about $25), so that’s what I got.  Apparently, they would have matched you all the way up to 300 KD (about $1,000).

It was pretty exciting … who knew.  Now I will certainly eat my “National Liberation Cake” with pride.

Yup, that’s today.

We have had one of the worst dust storms throughout this past week.  I have not seen things this bad the whole time I’ve been here.  Visibility is basically zero (above photo is usually a view straight out to the water), the air quality is horrible, there is dust and dirt everywhere …. I have had a bad cold this week — which I blame entirely on the bad air outside and the bad air at work.

Today, though, I feel much better — coincidentally it is clear outside and I’m not at the job site.

From the article:

“The participation of the women’s team in a tournament outside the country defies the teachings of Islam and is against the nature and physique of women,” the Islamist lawmaker said.

Instead of getting upset that women played soccer (football) out side of the country, I would spend more energy trying to figure out why they lost 17-0!!  I have never heard of a soccer game with even 17 combined goals!

Ouch.

A view of one side of our project from above.  The other half is the larger side with the roller coaster and whatnot.  This just gives a good idea of the state of the site … I wish there was a better way to show the horrible air quality and dust …. but hey, don’t worry, they tell us it’ll be dust free any day now.

Ha.

Well that’s good news.  I am not going to try to change my trip back the way it was — way too much work.  Hopefully they keep talking or reach an agreement by the weekend.

The trip is back on!!

Lufthansa called me this afternoon.  I had sent their customer service an email this morning, but didn’t expect to hear anything.  I do not know if the call was related to my email or if it’s because they were contact customers — either way, considering what they’re going through, I’m impressed with the quick response.

She informed me that my Friday flight was indeed canceled and asked if rebooking me on the same flight Saturday would be okay.  I said that would probably be fine as long as she can change my return ticket too.

I got a bit of resistance here.  I wasn’t too pushy, but I reminded her that this flight was canceled because of issues on Lufthansa’s side.  I would understand if it was a weather delay or me changing the itinerary, but this was avoidable and was entirely on Lufthansa.

She kept pushing saying that my ticket was non-refundable and no changes were allowed and that if I wanted to change my return I would have to purchase a whole new ticket.  I told her that this is completely unacceptable and that I should be punished and have my weekend vacation stripped by one day because of an internal disagreement at Lufthansa.  She put me on hold for a good 5-10 minutes and then returned saying that she’d be happy to change my reservation at no cost to me.

So, instead of Friday-Monday, I’ll be traveling Saturday-Tuesday.  Exact same flights, so the same amount of time in the city.

Next step is to call Marriott and make sure I can keep that rate and reservation — but I don’t foresee any problems there.

So, the stresses of the morning are over.  I’ll still have a beer and bratwurst this weekend, just a day later.

I salute Lufthansa’s customer service and the way they handled this situation.  I understand the bit of push back on my ticket change, but they handled it well and still gave me what I wanted.

Don’t worry.  I’m still upset that the whole thing is happening and I will still treat you to my union rant later tonight.

So, now Lufthansa is showing my flight as “not available” — which apparently means canceled.

My hotel booking in Berlin was a promotional prepay rate that is “non refundable” — hopefully my Marriott Platinum status will help me here ….

No help for love from Lufthansa or Marriott yet ….

Guess I should get back to work — which is a mess and full of stupid drama today too … it’s just one of those days.

FML.

This is my airline to Germany this weekend.  My flight is technically 1 hour past the last strike day … but I’m sure I’m still fucked and Kuwait isn’t at the top of their list of destination to recover.  I know what my day is going to look like now ….

Standby for my annual Union rant.

UPDATE:  Website is now showing my flight at canceled.  The good news is my Frankfurt to Berlin flight is still a go!  HAHA.  Damnit!

Many of y’all have already heard my rants on the airline industry.  As a guy that has spent way too many hours in the air over the last 5 years … here’s my quick opinion on fees, etc:

Base Ticket:

Set up some predictable system so that I know going in that if I want to fly your airline from LA to NYC it is going to cost me X dollars.  This will save me hours searching 15 different websites and carriers and make me more loyal to you.

Acceptable Fees:

1. Picking better seats such as exit or bulkhead (<$50)
2. Meals / Food (<$10)
3. Alcohol (<$6)
4. Blankets & Pillows (<$10)
5. Headsets (<$3)
6. Second checked bag (<$50)

I am willing to pay the above fees, because I don’t expect free food or headphones.  If I want a better seat, I am willing to pay ahead so that I don’t have to worry.

Airlines should NEVER charge for:

1. First checked bag (you’re an airline — do you expect me to fly with no luggage?)
2. Soda / Water (common courtesy)
3. Picking seat ahead of time — except exit, bulkhead, etc which can warrant a higher fee.

That said — I’m willing to pay, but as long as it is reasonable and I know what to expect BEFORE I get to the airport.

Finally and I’m going to say it again — Airlines should totally consider charging for the overhead space above your seat.  A nominal fee, say $10 — which I’m sure would reap millions and millions per year.  Those idiots who try to bring a dozen bags on the plane and take up all the overhead space with their tiny purses and Wal-Mart bags should have to pay.  It slows down the boarding process and thus makes planes late.  If people were only allowed to bring the bags they had bought space for then the loading process would go much quicker and the airlines would make money.  Call me crazy, but I think it’s a great idea.  The casual customers would revolt — but I bet business travelers (your bread and butter) would actually embrace it.

My thoughts exactly.

I think I’m so fascinated by this story because I’ve been following Tiger from the beginning.  I’ll never forget that first Masters.  When I saw him play a couple summers ago in DC — that was one of the coolest sports moments of my life.

I just think his fall from grace is so spectacular and so completely mishandled that it’s almost comedic.  Bill Simmons feels the exact same way in his column ….

As Bill says, “Wake me up when he plays a tournament.”