Rendezvous

First and foremost pardon me for the late update and for deserting this place. Has it been a while? No it's been much longer than that. So much has happened during that period of time. I'll try to rush (although I doubt it) through all events in chronological order.

This last exam period was definitely one of the most hectic and stressful exam periods I've ever been through. Not only were my exams spread across a three weeks period, the world cup was also on, I was somewhat excited about going back especially having not gone back for a whole year and not to mention the very busy last 2 weeks or so before starting our exams. Well all's over now and I'm quite glad it is. I thought I'd never live to see the end of these exams! My last exam was on Thursday the 22nd. It was the best written exam and I think it's also the one in which I performed the best. I was worried that my mind would be too occupied with going back that it would affect my concentration and my willingness to get things done. However I was surprised that in the last couple of days the thought seldom ever crossed my mind. After the exam we went for a game of bowling. I went back home after that to pack my bag for the next day. We left to the city later on that night, and we came back very late or very early in the morning. Tried to sleep and I failed, so I got up to watch Brazil vs. Japan (Yes I'm a die hard Samba fan if you want to call it so!). My friend and I planned to go to the city in the morning right after the match to run some final errands before we left. We stayed in the city much longer than we had expected which meant I would have no time to bum around once I got back. So I packed in the stuff I had bought, took a shower and was off to the airport.

I was travelling with a friend of mine. We had both made the reservations together and had also reserved adjacent seats. However when we were checking in we were told that my friends booking is not even on the system. We were told that it was their fault, and that they would find a solution. Their solution was that we would both get to travel on first class! Ok fine that wasn't really their solution, but wouldn't it have been cool? A they booked us on the direct flight to Dubai. The one we were on stops over at Singapore. The direct is always a bit dearer than the indirect flight, it's also a bit more comfortable (since it's 14 hours non-stop!) and it has a fantastic on-board entertainment system. Oh by the way I always fly Emirates just in case you were wondering. 500+ channels providing an endless list of movies, programs, series, documentaries, sports and games. It's guaranteed to keep you busy. This was no ordinary flight though, something happened on this flight that has not happened on anything other flight I've been on. No I wasn't taken hostage. A poor old woman collapsed on the flight. The thing is it happened right in front of me. Our seats were located on the exits (very spacious), and right in front of us was one of the cabins washrooms. The lady got off her seat and was headed to the washroom, and soon as she got to the door she grabbed a wall/partition, did a 180 turn and then fell to the ground with a loud thud. Had I seen the same sight elsewhere I would know what was going on, but since it had happened on a plane and it was unprecedented I didn't have the slightest idea what was wrong with the lady. Two people seated next to the spot she fell in called for help, and the air hostess' fled to the scene. They tried helping her recover and did all they could do and found that they were not offering enough help. The next thing I knew was that they asked if any doctors onboard could come forward and identify themselves to anyone from the cabin crew. Luckily enough two passengers identified themselves as qualified doctors and they continued providing the lady with help. I saw all sorts of first aid kits. I even saw a big briefcase which I've never seen before that need not be open unless with permission from the captain. Most of the first aid took place at the exit space (where we were seated) and they opened up that huge medical briefcase and that's when I saw all sorts and colours of viles and vaccines! Talk about being prepared for worst case scenarios huh? I've never seen so many vaccines packed in such a tiny space before! Well there's always a happy ending, and this story also has one. The lady had recovered, and it turns out that she suffered from low blood pressure.

I arrived at Seeb Int'l airport at 9:30 on Saturday the 23rd of June. My parents and the rest of my family thought that I would be arriving the next day, reason being I showered them with lies. Yes that's right, I lied. I lied to them all. Ever since I had made my reservations I told them I'd be arriving on the 24th (a day before my actual arrival). Why? Well I wanted to surprise them, as simple as that. And I succeeded at that. Infact I did it much better than I had expected. I played along pretty well I must say, and I managed to keep things under control. I was on the phone with my mother the day I was actually leaving and she told me that my paternal aunts (some 3-4 aunts with their kids) would be at the airport to receive me as a surprise. I took it as a joke and laughed it off. Little did I know that they were pretty damn serious about it. Luckily enough I got away with it using my little surprise as an excuse. Since we now have a new driver that hasn't seen me, and I'm not particularly sure that he even knows I exist, I was fretting arriving home while no one's there except him. I was worried he'd have second thoughts about letting me (a stranger) in. There were no problems in that department since everyone was at home. The minute I walked into the house the maid was shocked and had this look of awe. She smiled, ran out of the kitchen into the lobby and then ran up the stairs. The look on my face said "what the fudge is going on?!” She knocked on the living room door, then barged and said to my mother "Madam, Arabian Prince (sub in my name) is here!” I heard that while I was on my way up the stairs. I made my way to the living room door, took a deep breath and smiled. As I walked in, I saw my mother and younger brother sitting back watching tv not really knowing what was going on. I looked at my mother while she looked back. She was shocked. She was startled. She was all that and more. She kept repeating my name 5-6 times while staring at me, not sure if it was reality or a dream. She then stood up, I gave her a big warm hug. I think she was still doubtful of the whole situation at that point. Hugged my little brother as well, and I couldn't believe how much he's grown. My mother then went to call my father. Now the look on my fathers face and his reaction was priceless! He stood there shocked, then asked me how it's possible that I'm here (even before greeting me), then I greeted him, he was also startled and honestly speaking his reaction was so funny, it's priceless. All in all, I wouldn't replace that whole experience for anything whatsoever. Then came the phone calls to all my aunts. Each phone call was funnier than the next, and they also couldn't believe that they wanted to surprise me at the airport and that the tables have turned now and I ended up surprising them.

Did I mention that it's been so hectic ever since I set foot in Oman? Well it has, and hectic isn't a strong enough word to describe what I've been through. There were a couple of things on my agenda (hey I like that word lol), most of which were finishing and finalising the processing of important documents. I was dragged around as soon as a couple of hours after my arrival where I had to take care of applying for a temporary driving license as I had lost mine. I also had to apply for a new ID card. Yes, you guessed it. I lost my ID card as well. No I haven't been that careless on several occasions. It's just that I lost my whole wallet once, and it contained my ID card, driving license, my bankcards, a credit card and a big amount of cash. I don’t usually carry big amounts of cash, but on that particular day I had withdrawn money for the rent and some shopping. I didn't really manage to get any shopping done, and someone else probably went on a shopping spree with my money. I lost it at the cinema. I don't know how it could've fallen out of back pocket when I was seated the whole time! Oh well, loads of lessons learnt. And if you don't know what it's like let me tell you about. It's not even one bit fun having to speak to people who take you as one of the many idiots or ignorant people they deal with on a daily basis. Especially given that the weather is just wonderful and people function much better in this heat. (Now if you really thought people actually functioned better in this heat, then you're either reading this from another continent or you're just plain dumb!)

I can't believe I've typed up so much yet still have some more to go. I can't be blamed. I haven't updated in a while, and this is one of the many ways I can update my blog right? Fine, maybe it's long and boring. It might even be pointless. Wouldn't you agree? Yes? Then what the hell are you doing reading this!! Leave now! I'm sure you have something better to do. If you don't have anything better to do then hang on to your seats, because it's going to be a jerky ride from here on. (No it won't, you can still leave. You have my permission to do so)

I might've not brought anything up about my willingness to get my open water diving license as soon as I'm back. Well I did that, and I now have my open water diving license. I started on my second day! My friend F and I talked about getting our license once we're back so that we can go on diving trips all around the land down under, namely Cairns where it's renowned for its Great Barrier Reef. I've been there before once, and it was with my family. All I managed to do was snorkel and I wasn't even aware of the magnificence of SCUBA diving. Not only that, but we also realised that Oman offers so many diving sites and opportunities for divers. We finished the open water course in 3 days. Unbelievable? Believe it! (Ripley’s Believe it or not lol) They were three long and strenuous days! We started at 9am everyday and weren’t done before 5pm. Fun. Yes those three days were packed with fun as well. I’m not complaining about nothing yet. Except the fact that I just arrived and didn’t even get to rest or sleep in late. I asked for it, but it surely paid off.

By the end of my SCUBA diving open water course, I had not met my whole family nor had I met any friends. I only saw a couple of friends when I went to watch one of the matches. I felt bad for not calling and meeting any of my friends. So for the next 2 days my aim was to meet up with as many friends as possible. Yeah I know that family comes first. But whenever I was done with my diving lessons I was spending the rest of my time at home. Besides that I spend most of Friday at my Grandma’s house. It’s a family thing.

Saturday, the 1st of July. We were scheduled to be leaving for Dubai. (By we I meant my parents, brothers aunt and uncle and their kids and two other cousins so yes it’s quite.. um.. cosy haha) Here I am in Dubai several hours after leaving, it was a nice drive, long but nice. They’ve planned to spend anywhere from 5 days to a week. It would be the longest I’ve spent in Dubai I think, let alone the longest I’ve spent in Dubai with my parents.

I think I’ve bullshitted enough for one entry. If you’ve read this far then I seriously commend you on your wasted efforts. If you’ve skipped a couple of lines, then I still commend you. If you’ve skipped a paragraph here and there, then you sure know what you’re doing! Now if you thought of just reading this last paragraph, then your mama’s so fat… just get the hell out of here!

Last but certainly not least, I’ll most probably update once I’m back from Dubai. Until then, pardon the extremely long entry, take care of yourselves and each other. (Jerry Springer, you suck!)