Ok, there are not many of them, but they appear rarely enough that I certainly noticed their presence.
 |
| Shutterbug! |
Here's to the glimmers of a Doha autumn!
XO,
JZog
September 30, 2013
Something Rare in the Air
I saw something in Doha on Friday that is as rare as witnessing a native Qatari driving under the speed limit . . . Clouds!
Ok, there are not many of them, but they appear rarely enough that I certainly noticed their presence.
The weather has tempered enough for me to walk along the Corniche in the mornings and evenings. Even though the daily high temperatures still hover between 95 and 100, relative to a 130 degree heat index, 95 does feel cool. Perspective, perspective, perspective! The cooler temperatures have meant that many of Doha's residents have begun venturing out from their air-conditioned cocoons. Friday night the Souq buzzed with people shopping, eating and hooka-ing.
Ok, there are not many of them, but they appear rarely enough that I certainly noticed their presence.
September 26, 2013
PeppeRoni Pizza
I miss all of you, and I suppose I should blush with embarrassment because of how much I miss my dog.
But, I really, really miss my dog.
Many of you know PeppeRoni Pizza the Wonderpup and her wiggly welcomes. I miss scratching her bum in the mornings as she barrels between my legs, nearly knocking me over in my barely-awake stupor. I miss her laying on my feet until they fall asleep while I write and read during the day. I miss her excitement as she greets me when I leave for 30 seconds to retrieve the mail.
I miss watching when KZog expresses frustration, or even thinks about it, actually, she lets herself into the backyard and hides under the barbeque pit until he walks out there and apologizes to her. I miss driving in the Subaru with her in the front passenger seat with her head out the window until we reach 50 mph, when she curls up in the backseat, with her muzzle nuzzled over my armrest.
Sigh.
To be fair, I stole Roni away from KZog last summer for two months to keep me company while I labored over archives in Chicago. For a dog, she is quite worldly. Or United States-ly, anyway. I don't think I could shuttle her to a foreign country in cargo . . .
I hope she misses me, too.
XO,
JZog
But, I really, really miss my dog.
 |
| (Taken with 100 ASA film on my manual camera) |
Many of you know PeppeRoni Pizza the Wonderpup and her wiggly welcomes. I miss scratching her bum in the mornings as she barrels between my legs, nearly knocking me over in my barely-awake stupor. I miss her laying on my feet until they fall asleep while I write and read during the day. I miss her excitement as she greets me when I leave for 30 seconds to retrieve the mail.
 |
| Lickin' Chops |
I miss watching when KZog expresses frustration, or even thinks about it, actually, she lets herself into the backyard and hides under the barbeque pit until he walks out there and apologizes to her. I miss driving in the Subaru with her in the front passenger seat with her head out the window until we reach 50 mph, when she curls up in the backseat, with her muzzle nuzzled over my armrest.
Sigh.
To be fair, I stole Roni away from KZog last summer for two months to keep me company while I labored over archives in Chicago. For a dog, she is quite worldly. Or United States-ly, anyway. I don't think I could shuttle her to a foreign country in cargo . . .
 |
| Chicago Dog |
XO,
JZog
September 23, 2013
Kodachrome
Last week I *finally* received the new camera kit I ordered from the US. As with most everything else here, transporting something across time and space took a few minor bureaucratic miracles. But, after 11 days, I may retire my 10-year-old digital Nikon in favor of this:
I follow in a well-established family tradition of shutterbugging (I'm looking at you, Dad, Aunt D and CMit!), and will work hard to live up to the standards set. The new Nikon had its first trip out to the Souq last Friday:
Nikon D3100, Courtesy en.wikipedia.org
I now have both a 18-55mm lens and a 55-200mm lens, a combination with which I can capture pretty much anything on film. I also ordered an independent flash, though I had to send it to Texas, as shipping it to Doha would violate export controls. (I could write an entire post on how I do not fully understand the ins and outs of export control and compliance, but that would bore everyone.) The quality of the photos is fantastic, and despite its fancy schmancy appearance, the cost did not break the ol' Zog piggy bank. Of course a generous donation from JZog's dad certainly helped. (Thank you, thank you, thank you Dad!) In fact, this camera kit proved such a steal that Dad ordered one, too. Instead of dueling banjos on the ranch, we'll have dueling cameras!
I follow in a well-established family tradition of shutterbugging (I'm looking at you, Dad, Aunt D and CMit!), and will work hard to live up to the standards set. The new Nikon had its first trip out to the Souq last Friday:
Souq and Spiral Mosque
Camels - I cannot resist!
Public Transportation?
Souq Interior
Ewers and Swords
Rosebuds
Souq Spices
Camomile
Souq Shuttle
A Refreshing Lemon-Mint
Friday Night at the Souq
I still have a soft spot for my 10-year-old Nikon. It has documented most of the Zogs' travels and other exploits,
took nearly all of the thousands upon thousands of research photos for
my dissertation, and snapped hundreds of pictures of PeppeRoni the
Wonderpup. So, especially because my new camera does not exactly
qualify as "compact", I keep the ol' girl charged and tucked in my
satchel in case of a photo-taking emergency.
And with any new Nikon, one must have Kodachrome:
(For even more information on my new camera, see Ken Rockwell, who runs a wonderful site for anyone looking for any camera-related reviews or advice.)
XO,
JZog
September 20, 2013
Medical Mayhem
Part I.
As I mentioned before, Qatar requires a medical exam of sorts - blood drawn and a chest x-ray - in order to secure a residency permit. They keep tight reigns on who enters and exits the country.
Earlier this week I received an email instructing me to reclaim my passport (hooray!) and report to a shuttle bus the next morning for the medical visit (boo!). Fortunately for me, a friend of mine had to endure the medical exam as well, so she picked me up from my building and we arrived with a few minutes to spare before the scheduled time of departure. Unfortunately for everyone, the air conditioning on the bus did not work, making for a very long ten minutes that we sat and waited for some unknown reason an even longer twenty-some-odd minutes on the road to the medical center.
Now part of the benefit in working for Qatar Foundation, which sponsors Education City, which contains the campus of Texas A&M University - Qatar, is that we receive expedited processing for those administrative tasks associated with obtaining our residency permits. In the email directing us to retrieve our passports, we also learned that upon our arrival at the medical center someone would meet us and help guide us through the process.
After our mobile sauna experience, our guide arrived over 10 minutes late, by which time three-quarters of the group had split up to try to figure out how to navigate the hellish labyrinth that is this medical center dedicated to residency permit processing. Once our guide did manage to grace us with his presence, the ladies and gents had to part ways, meaning that we ladies still had to flail through on our own. After receipt of a stamp for "registration confirmation", we stood in a line to have blood drawn. No names called here; only waiting in lines and barcodes - on the paperwork, on the test tube for the blood sample.
Unusually for me, I escaped any troubles giving blood. They then herded us into a waiting room for the chest x-ray where we waited for over an hour before discovering that "the systems were down" and would not function again for at least a few hours.
With no other options we regrouped and schlepped back to the non-air conditioned bus where we were told that we would have to return the next day for the chest x-ray. Confoundingly, we were also told that we could not return on our own and that this x-ray required an appointment. I saw no evidence that day that having an appointment mattered.
Part II.
Our second visit transpired much more smoothly, though it involved much perspiration since we still had to travel in the steam machine. After separating the ladies from the gents, we walked into the waiting room, sat down, and immediately the workers shuffled our party to a different x-ray area. There they took us in groups of about ten where they directed us to change into gowns in either one doorless room or the hallway. (Nothing like a shared physical experience to grow closer to one's colleagues.) Luckily the x-rays took little time and soon we had all re-enrobed and trekked back to the bus. After roasting for another half an hour waiting everyone to finish, our guide collecting our passports and paperwork (ugh) and we sweated back to campus.
While terribly inconvenient and uncomfortable, I now find myself one step closer to securing my residency permit, and, more importantly, my exit visa, so that I may leave and reenter Qatar. In the meantime, I have devised a Disneyworld Epcot national experience ride for Qatar in which park-goers step onto a bus with the heat turned to 105 degrees and have to navigate different tasks in return for stamps, including giving up your passport, stripping to your skivvies and organizing paperwork in order to exit the ride. Think Disney might be interested?
In other news, my new camera has arrived! I'll write another post all about it, but for now I leave you with a couple of photos I took from my balcony.
As I mentioned before, Qatar requires a medical exam of sorts - blood drawn and a chest x-ray - in order to secure a residency permit. They keep tight reigns on who enters and exits the country.
Earlier this week I received an email instructing me to reclaim my passport (hooray!) and report to a shuttle bus the next morning for the medical visit (boo!). Fortunately for me, a friend of mine had to endure the medical exam as well, so she picked me up from my building and we arrived with a few minutes to spare before the scheduled time of departure. Unfortunately for everyone, the air conditioning on the bus did not work, making for a very long ten minutes that we sat and waited for some unknown reason an even longer twenty-some-odd minutes on the road to the medical center.
Now part of the benefit in working for Qatar Foundation, which sponsors Education City, which contains the campus of Texas A&M University - Qatar, is that we receive expedited processing for those administrative tasks associated with obtaining our residency permits. In the email directing us to retrieve our passports, we also learned that upon our arrival at the medical center someone would meet us and help guide us through the process.
After our mobile sauna experience, our guide arrived over 10 minutes late, by which time three-quarters of the group had split up to try to figure out how to navigate the hellish labyrinth that is this medical center dedicated to residency permit processing. Once our guide did manage to grace us with his presence, the ladies and gents had to part ways, meaning that we ladies still had to flail through on our own. After receipt of a stamp for "registration confirmation", we stood in a line to have blood drawn. No names called here; only waiting in lines and barcodes - on the paperwork, on the test tube for the blood sample.
Unusually for me, I escaped any troubles giving blood. They then herded us into a waiting room for the chest x-ray where we waited for over an hour before discovering that "the systems were down" and would not function again for at least a few hours.
With no other options we regrouped and schlepped back to the non-air conditioned bus where we were told that we would have to return the next day for the chest x-ray. Confoundingly, we were also told that we could not return on our own and that this x-ray required an appointment. I saw no evidence that day that having an appointment mattered.
Part II.
Our second visit transpired much more smoothly, though it involved much perspiration since we still had to travel in the steam machine. After separating the ladies from the gents, we walked into the waiting room, sat down, and immediately the workers shuffled our party to a different x-ray area. There they took us in groups of about ten where they directed us to change into gowns in either one doorless room or the hallway. (Nothing like a shared physical experience to grow closer to one's colleagues.) Luckily the x-rays took little time and soon we had all re-enrobed and trekked back to the bus. After roasting for another half an hour waiting everyone to finish, our guide collecting our passports and paperwork (ugh) and we sweated back to campus.
While terribly inconvenient and uncomfortable, I now find myself one step closer to securing my residency permit, and, more importantly, my exit visa, so that I may leave and reenter Qatar. In the meantime, I have devised a Disneyworld Epcot national experience ride for Qatar in which park-goers step onto a bus with the heat turned to 105 degrees and have to navigate different tasks in return for stamps, including giving up your passport, stripping to your skivvies and organizing paperwork in order to exit the ride. Think Disney might be interested?
In other news, my new camera has arrived! I'll write another post all about it, but for now I leave you with a couple of photos I took from my balcony.
XO,
JZog
JZog
September 18, 2013
Victory is Mine!
After over a month, my search is over. The battle is won!
I found pepper! That tasty, speckled dust is mine!
I thought that I had searched everywhere, high and low, near and far, for ground black pepper. Alas, I neglected the bulk kiosk at the Carrefour, which actually offers three varieties of black pepper: peppercorns, slightly less round than peppercorns, and ground up into the delicious powder that I know and love and use on everything. It did not occur to me to buy pepper in bulk, I suppose, because I have never bought pepper in bulk. Still, I cannot understand why I can purchase salt in a shaker but not pepper.
Right now, my precious commodity remains in its "original" packaging.
As a bonus, this entire bag cost 2.79 Qatari riyals, which amounts to 77 US cents. (By the way, does everyone realize the cents sign no longer appears on computer keyboards?)
Luckily I managed to smuggled one pork-related product in Qatar.
Salty Sow lives with KZog in TX. Anyway, now I may enjoy my perfectly poached eggs with black pepper. Huzzah!
Elevator Update: Since Monday, only three of our six lifts have returned to operational status, though, really, that suffices to keep all us residents mobile.
Dissertation Situation: On Monday, I sent my second of five chapters to my adviser and began working through the next one. Though my brain feels a little fuzzy, I think I can keep this pace and turn in the third chapter within three weeks.
Next Episode: Parts I and II of "Medical Mayhem in the Middle East" or "Liaison Schmiaison".
'Til then!
XO,
JZog
I found pepper! That tasty, speckled dust is mine!
I thought that I had searched everywhere, high and low, near and far, for ground black pepper. Alas, I neglected the bulk kiosk at the Carrefour, which actually offers three varieties of black pepper: peppercorns, slightly less round than peppercorns, and ground up into the delicious powder that I know and love and use on everything. It did not occur to me to buy pepper in bulk, I suppose, because I have never bought pepper in bulk. Still, I cannot understand why I can purchase salt in a shaker but not pepper.
Right now, my precious commodity remains in its "original" packaging.
As a bonus, this entire bag cost 2.79 Qatari riyals, which amounts to 77 US cents. (By the way, does everyone realize the cents sign no longer appears on computer keyboards?)
Luckily I managed to smuggled one pork-related product in Qatar.
Pepper Pig
Salty Sow lives with KZog in TX. Anyway, now I may enjoy my perfectly poached eggs with black pepper. Huzzah!
Elevator Update: Since Monday, only three of our six lifts have returned to operational status, though, really, that suffices to keep all us residents mobile.
Dissertation Situation: On Monday, I sent my second of five chapters to my adviser and began working through the next one. Though my brain feels a little fuzzy, I think I can keep this pace and turn in the third chapter within three weeks.
Next Episode: Parts I and II of "Medical Mayhem in the Middle East" or "Liaison Schmiaison".
'Til then!
XO,
JZog
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