Three long years

May will mark three years since being back to the States... boy, time sure flies when you're having fun or not. ;)

We'll be leaving at the end of the month for our trip to Cali. A month doesn't seem long enough for a nice, long vacation, but it'll have to do. I'm hoping that the next time around, some of my family will come here to visit. The bad thing about Bahrain though is that they don't give visitors any time to really spend w/ their families when visiting Bahrain. I'd love for my mom to come here for a few months, which I'm sure can be worked out if she chooses to do this, but... it's just a pain in the arse. Having to go and renew the visit visa and such.

I hate to fly and am dreading it more than you can imagine. Luckily, I haven't had any nightmares and hopefully I wont. I tend to be a bit of a fatalist when it comes to flying... looking around at ppl wondering if it's their time to die. Yes, I do that. And... I always, if possible, check out the pilot... don't want any drunk pilots flying me anywhere! But luckily that seems to happen more in the States. This will be such a long flight, but... it'll all be worth it once we arrive. I think we have a long layover in London prior to leaving for the States and I hate those, but this time I'll be w/ the hubby and it'll be easier. Plus, they have some good places to eat at the airport there and some good shopping, so we'll be able to waste away the time w/out a prob.

Some Arabs don't like the States. They think it's boring and the places close to early. I guess some things do close early, but it depends on what you like to do. If you're looking for coffee shops and such, then you're out of luck, unless you go to Dearborn, Michigan or Ohio. Not sure if Ohio has coffee shops, but I've heard from a girl I know that Dearborn feels just like the Middle East w/ suqs and everything. Sometimes I wonder what some ppl are looking for when they go to the States. My in-laws went to Florida years ago and wound up leaving early to come back to Bahrain. They hated it there. I'm not a Florida lover myself... but... I think I could have enjoyed at least a couple of weeks. Another woman that I worked for when I first moved to Bahrain hated Florida as well. She complained that it was terrible there - no places stayed open and it was so boring. I used to go there when I was a young girl to visit my cousin and I always loved it... but the heat was terrible.... very similar to Bahrain.

But, it's the same for me here. It's just not the same no matter how you flip the coin. I'm here for love and because my husband is here... and if I had my way, I wouldn't live in Bahrain. I'm sure there's a lot of ppl who could say the same about the States. But, there are also a lot of positives about living here... no taxes, no taxes, no taxes. Hopefully that won't change!

I happen to love the States and I miss being there desperately. I love California even more. Not only because my family is there but because the weather is always so nice. There's a lot of smog on days but one can overlook that easily. I'm so excited because it's been raining there and I miss the rain so much. Not that I want it to rain every day, but... several really good downpours w/ thunder, lightening and dark grey skies would be a slice of heaven. I do hope it stops long enough for us to enjoy DisneyLand and Knott's Berry Farm. I want my husband to ride Space Mountain which is the very first rollercoaster that I ever rode and it has a special place in my heart. For those of you that aren't familiar w/ it... the rollercoaster is in the dark! There's nothing like it. And then Knott's... well, it has the best rides, and they've added a lot more from what my sister says.

I will miss our cats tremendously. I worry about them being lonely while we're gone. Our cleaning woman will be there but it just isn't the same. They always hate us traveling and are in bad moods when we come home but this time it'll be for a month, so I'm SURE we'll catch hell when we get back to Bahrain. Cedrik our persian has to be brushed several times a wk. I've shown Satiya how to do it but he cried and hissed when she was doing it earlier in the week, so I'm sure he'll completely control her and refuse to allow it. He's so fussy and a real sour puss. And.. I don't think she understands how pissy they can get so I hope she doesn't get scratched or bitten. She doesn't handle them the same and they don't like it. We have some very spoiled furrbabies in our house... they rule the place, matter of fact.

One of my husband's friends is coming to watch the place while we're gone. He's ALLERGIC to cats! So, he'll be sleeping in the studio. Lastnight my husband started laughing and said, "what if we come home and Hisham is swollen really bad?" .... man, I just laughed and laughed. I can picture it and hope that it doesn't happen. When he's come over before, it only takes about 30 mins or an hour for him to start getting red and swollen a bit.... so we shall see what happens! He'll be there for a month! Phew... thank goodness the cats don't go in the studio.

Peace out!