Weekend Notes

Wednesday at last. I can go home, kick off my pink heels, scrub off the makeup, undo the 10 pins in my headscarf, throw off my kammasha, rent a movie and chillax for a couple of days. Whoever invented weekends was a genius.
.
(1) It's awfully dark in Salalah today, so I'm praying for rain. I miss the monsoon!
.

(2) I have a little story I'd like to share with you. I have to complain to someone, you know? I was driving down the highway my cousin in her car at night (my poor car is sleeping while she gets serviced and painted after a mini scrape with an a**hole of a taxi driver last week - I won't go into that). There was a jeep behind us practically glued to the back of our car even though we were on the slow lane. My cousin started getting nervous so she switched lanes to the fast lane and passed a few cars then went back to the slow lane. Jeep Jerk shows up again behind her and is flashing his headlights at her and then indicating. We drove a little faster trying to get away from him but he kept on coming up right behind her and flashing his lights then indicated. I told her perhaps he wants us to pull over (on the highway?!).

.

We finally reached Centrepoint and we drove into the parking lot. He parked right behind us and got out of his car and started banging on her window. She freaked out but I was fuming. I got out of the car and asked him what he wanted exactly? I could tell immediately he was drunk (believe me, drunk Omanis are NOT a pretty sight, especially in a dishdasha and kumma. It's plain weird). He said 'I'm an undercover police officer, show me your license and car ownership'. I stood stiff and asked HIM to show some identification. He shuffled back to his car and started searching and swearing. It was quite frightening. Then he got a phone call and started pacing back and forth on the phone. I told me cousin to drive away slowly, so we did and he barely noticed us (!!!). We memorized his license plate number and drove to the nearest police station and filed a complaint. A couple of my relatives just 'happened' to be at the station, so they took over and we went back to our shopping :) .... turns out the guy has a history and was not a policeman at all, but simply a drunk idiot who spends his time harrassing girls on the highway. Get a life.

.

(3) Almost every man in Salalah owns a weapon. It's a fact. And most certainly every man from the mountains in Salalah has at some point owned or used a weapon. Many have taken lives during the war. But nowdays, it's a requirement if you want to be considered a 'man'. Some have legal registered weapons and some have illegal weapons. If you want to buy weapons go to the weapon hangout market next to Oman International Bank in Al Haffa area. I'm serious. Old men gather there in the mornings to sell weapons and goats. It's illegal but it happens. Problem is, families are big here. Houses are full of children. Young men steal their father's weapons or 'borrow' them and take them on picnics with their friends to play around. Do they know how to use these weapons? Maybe and maybe not. In the past 24 months I've heard of at least 5 'accidental' deaths including one of a close relative last year who accidently shot himself while polishing his pistol. Stories like this are heard often in Dhofar. And it's usually boys playing around with their fathers' guns or somone shooting someone else by mistake, but to protect his reputation and avoid tribal problems, it's settled quietly between the families and they announce to the public that he shot himself by mistake even though secretly everyone knows his friend may have done it. Sigh.

.

(4) about the peaceful demonstrations that took place in Muscat yesterday, Muscat Confidential wrote about it here. In Salalah, nothing of the sort happened (or will happen). We're either too proud to protest here in Salalah (what will people SAY?) or too loyal to the Sultan to protest. Either way, I doubt the Dhofaris will protest.

.

(5) and finally, I'm too upset to discuss the corniche crisis right now. I'll write about it in detail soon. Basically, they're removing the ENTIRE Haffa Corniche hangout area at the beach to put up some fancy useless tourist project. The Corniche is the ESSENCE OF SALALAH. Dear Municipality, DAMN YOU for runining the heart of Salalah.

.

The End.