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While driving to Maki yesterday at Marina Waves I noticed the Skate Park at the side of the parking lot was open. I had passed it a few times before but the lights were always off but yesterday they were open and some kids were riding their BMX bikes up and down the ramps. On the way out I got a better look (while still driving by in the car) and I noticed the two kids had similar blue helmets and bikes. This is why I am guessing that the park actually rents out bikes, boards, blades and gear. I should probably pass by another day and try to get more details unless a reader already has more details and can share it with us. It looks wayyyy better then the one that used to be located in the basement of the Salmiya palace Hotel.

update: here are some better pictures taken by Yo Ghurt [1] [2] [3]

I first passed by Auto Bullz around a month ago when they first opened and I was pretty impressed. Tonight I passed by for the second time and took a more careful look at the place and it really isn’t as good as I thought it was the first time I went there. Its mostly filled with cheap knockoffs which really sucks. Instead of the pimped out H2 they had on display the last time they now have an MV Augusta motorbike which I personally think is cooler. But really the place is too big, over staffed and just feels cheap.

– They never make the boss look bad (e.g. stupid, incompetent, clueless, etc.)
– They dress and talk the way you want them to
– They are always willing to do whatever it takes (insane hours, etc.)
– They make perfect scapegoats
– They don’t care what their workspace is like, and don’t complain if they don’t have the equipment they need

[Link]

Was just at Sultan Center, seems they have a major phone line problem because all their Knet machines are down and they have “Please Pay Cash” posters all over the place. That can’t be good for business.

Today I met up with Marzouq again to go riding. We met in front of Galleria 2000 like yesterday and we headed off onto the Gulf road. As we were getting onto the gulf road from Salmiya I fucked up and ended up crashing onto the ground and sliding towards the curb.

I am still not sure exactly what happened. I have played the scene over and over in my head and my current conclusion is I was taking the curb at a speed faster than I was comfortable with and I stupidly pulled the brakes too hard and locked up the front wheel making it slide under me. I crashed on to the ground and me and the bike both slid towards the curb.

It all happened really fast except one part felt like it was in slow motion. The view suddenly shifted to inside the helmet and I was on the floor sliding towards the black and yellow curb and I can very clearly see my helmet visor getting scratched and finally I stopped.

I got up, and looked around to see if any cars were coming. I saw Marzouq had already stopped his bike behind me so that the cars could drive around us. I then proceeded to lift my bike up when Marzouq came and took over and told me to go sit down. He asked me if I was hurt and I looked down and saw my jeans had torn at my knees and I was bleeding. I went sat down, took out my camera and started taking pictures of Marzouq moving my bike and then of my injuries.

My left knee was scraped, the left side of my waist also, I had a tiny scrape on my left elbow and another scratch on my right leg. Finally my left wrist was hurting me a bit.

We parked the bike and noticed the left foot rest had brkoen off so we called TriStar to come pick up the bike. They told us they already had found out about the crash and the bike truck was on its way. Talk about excellent customer service. Marzouq wanted to take me to the hospital but I told him to pass by my place first so I could change and take Nats car.

I got home, took off my watch (knew I needed to take it off for the xtray), got into shorts and a tshirt and left again with Nat and Marzouq. We got to the hospital and two hours later I left with bandages everywhere and my left hand in a cast. Yes, I have been typing this post with one hand, its a pain!

I am back home now. I am disappointed my hand is in a cast because it means I won’t be riding for a while. My favorite jeans are ripped which totally messed up my wardrobe. But, I am glad I came out of the fall with minor injuries. If I was an unsafe rider wearing shorts, tshirt and no helmet you can bet I wouldn’t be here typing this post. I regret not having gotten biking jeans. I was actually gonna post about Draggin Jeans the other day. If I was wearing them me knee wouldn’t have gotten messed up.

Here are some pictures, the ones marked GRAPHIC are you guessed it, graphic pictures.

Marzouq moving my bike
My busted knee (GRAPHIC)
My waist (GRAPHIC)
My leg (GRAPHIC)
My elbow (GRAPHIC)
My scratched helmet
Me waiting to have my cast put on

I have to end this post with a special thanks to Marzouq who was a true friend today. Thanks dude!

I passed by TriStar today again since a friend of mine wanted to buy a jacket from them. Nat was with us and I wanted to show her “my dream bike” which I posted about yesterday but turns out it got sold on Thursday night right after I left the place. It was originally parked between the red and yellow Ducati’s in the picture above.

I just updated my Baba Taher Restaurant review. I was there over the weekend and I managed to catch the place when it was empty so I took a picture of the inside plus a picture of my dish. If you haven’t checked out the review yet now would be the best time. [Link]

I don’t eat at home since I don’t know how to cook nor do I want to learn how to cook. I know how to make the basics which are sandwiches, omelets, burgers and cookies and I don’t see a need to learn how to make other dishes.

Since its ramadan all restaurants are closed till like 5:30PM, this means when I am done with work at 3 I have over 2 hours before I eat. The thing is I can’t go out to eat at 5:30 because my riding lessons are from like 5 to 6:30. Thats why I have to eat at home.

Yesterday while shopping at Sultan Center in Salmiya I decided to pick up 2 packs of Kobe Burger, I have been wanting to try it for a long time now but since I don’t eat at home I found no need to get it. After picking up the burgers I picked up a packet of sliced American white cheese loaves, 1 white onion, a bottle of Heinz Ketchup and some burger buns. Nat didn’t want Kobe Burgers since she doesn’t like thick burgers so I picked up a packet of regular frozen burgers for her.

I have a Kenwood grill at home and I use it mainly to grill my burgers on and this is how I do it:

– I grill the burger for 5 minutes, flip it, let it grill for another 5 minutes, flip it, let it grill for another 5 minutes and finally I flip it one last time for a final 5 minutes.

– Once I am done I put a slice of cheese on the burger, leave it on the grill for another minute then I take the burger with cheese and place it on the bottom half of my bun.

– I then place it in the microwave for 10 seconds so the cheese can melt.

– I then put some ketchup on the burger and top it off with diced white onions

– I cover my burger with the top half of the bun and my burger is ready to eat.

I am sure Gastronomica is better at making burgers then me since if you check out his website you will notice all his meals are very gourmet like. Hopefully he will be nice enough to share a tip or two in the comments below but until he does this is how I make my burgers.

How did the burgers come out? Fanfrigintastic! I like my burgers well done and I was expecting this burger to come out dry but it didn’t. It was soft, juicy and tasted like something you would find at a posh restaurant or hotel room service. It was surprisingly very good and it turned out to be the best burger I ever made.

Now the biggest problem with the Kobe Burger is the price. Each patty costs KD1.250 which isn’t cheap if you compare it to other frozen burgers. BUT without getting into the taste or quality of meat please look at the picture above of the burgers on the grill. Do you notice the 2 large patties on the left? Do you notice the tiny patty on the top right? Guess which patty is your average everyday frozen one? These kobe burgers are big and thick. Kobe beef also comes from Wagyu cattle which are “renowned for its flavor, tenderness, and fatty well-marbled texture”. So yes KD1.250 is worth it specially if you have a passion for burgers.

From now on if I ever need to make burgers at home this is the only burger I will get. I can no longer have those crappy frozen burgers that come 8 in a pack. I have been spoilt. Final score is a 4.5 out of 5. I would have given it a 5 but they are a lot messier to cook then the regular burgers because these are bigger and juicier so they spray more grease. This means more cleaning for me which always sucks.

I was flipping through Al Hadaf which is like Al Waseet and decided to find out how much certain cars cost to rent. Turns out you can rent a Mustang Saleen for KD60 a day. [Link]

You can also rent a Lamborghini Gallardo for KD400 a day but from a different place, call 6977266 if you are interested.

You can rent a Porsche Carrera 4S for KD145 a day while a Caymann will set you back KD125. Also from a different place and you can contact them on 5649100

Anyone got ANY pictures of the old Kids R Us in Kuwait? Tried google and I couldn’t even find the old yellow koala logo yet alone pictures of the actual place.

Although Fasttelco have removed the YouTube and MySpace block, a ton of other sites are still blocked including LiveJournal.com!

I am a big shawerma fan and I really enjoy trying shawerma’s from new places. Shawerma is such a simple thing but its amazing how many different flavors and presentation styles there are. I rarely get disappointed when I have a shawerma because they are hard to fuck up. Somehow though the Mishref Coop Restaurant found the secret ingredient to making a crappy shawerma.

Tuesday night I had a recording in a studio in Mishref, once I was done I decided I would treat myself to a shawerma from the Mishref Coop Restaurant. The skewer looked very appetizing so I went ahead and ordered two chicken shawerma and a coke.

It sucked to summarize my experience. The chicken tasted weird, like nothing was added to it when cooked, no spices, no flavor no nothing. The chicken was also very oily and had a weird smell. The garlic was also non existent. I was very disappointed and I would never have shawerma there again.

Final score is a 1 out of 5. It gets a 1 because I ate it and didn’t die afterwards.

Another reason to choose Qualitynet over Fasttelco.

Update: Here are some more sites that were just blocked:
MySpace.com
SomethingAwful.com
TheSuperficial.com
SocialiteLife.com
Jewaira.wordpress.com Local blogger, other wordpress.com sites not blocked

Today as you can tell from the posts below is just not my day. I have to put all the blame on traffic. Not just any traffic but Shuwaikh traffic specifically. Shuwaikh traffic has got to be the worst traffic of its kind. The other day on my way to IKEA I got stuck 20 minutes at the intersection just before IKEA. In the end I just parked my car on the side and walked to IKEA.

My motorbike lessons take place in Shuwaikh and the place I take the lessons is also right next to IKEA. Once I am done with my lessons at around 6:30 I have to drive back to Salmiya. The first day I drove back via the 4th Ring Road and the drive back took over an hour. Then I started taking the long way round which is going to Kuwait City and then towards Fahaheel Expressway and that drive takes around 40 minutes.

Getting in and out of Jabriya at that time is also hell as I experienced today. Its like everywhere I went today it was just really packed. Traffic really stresses me out and I tend to snap at the tiniest thing. Anyway enough complaining for tonight.

My driving license is expiring in a few days, so on Sunday I passed by the Hawally Traffic Department in Jabriya. Regular readers might remember I had passed by the same place two weeks earlier when getting my motorbike learners permit. So once again I got my papers typed out in the typing room and then headed towards window #1.

When I got there it turned out to be the same person who had given me trouble the last time. Previously when I went to get my riding learners permit he had told me to come back the next day just like that for no reason. In the end a nice high ranking officer helped me and Nat out and I was able to get the paper work done in the same day. Anyway I went up to him with all my papers this time, he looked at them and then gave them back and told me to come back in the evening. I was like why? He was like from 4 to 7pm its for renewals. I was like fine whatever and left. On my way out I saw the nice cop from last time standing not doing anything. I was like cool, he will help me out again.

I go up to the high ranking cop and go hey remember me? Me and my wife came here 2 weeks ago and you helped us out and stuff. He told coldly replied no, and then rudely turned around and walked away. I was like thinking to myself what the fuck just happened here? This guy was like super friendly to us last time and he was kidding around with Nat and he was telling her about the dangers of riding and how he wouldn’t advise her to ride and stuff and then he went and finished up all our papers. Now its like he never met me before. I was like doesn’t matter, whatever, I followed the cop back to his office the whole time going excuse me in Arabic wanting him to turn around. Finally just before he got into his office he turned and was like what? I was like I want to renew my papers but that guy said I should come in the evening. He told me then come in the evening and walked away. I was like fuck it and left the place.

Tonight I passed by at 6:30pm to finish up my papers. I go in and the place was empty except for 2 guys sitting next to each other at 2 adjacent windows. I go up to one guy and without saying a word I give him my papers. Since my papers say I am Canadian I figured I would get better treatment like that, and it works most of the time. The guy signs my papers and places a stamp then the guy next to him tells him in Arabic “Tell him to come back tomorrow”. The guy continues to sign the papers then hands them back to me and tells me come back tomorrow. So I replied back in Arabic why? I came already before and you told me come back between 4 and 7, now I am here you are telling me come back tomorrow. The guy was like yes, no one is here now come back tomorrow at 5. I was like yeah buy I have work. He is like I finished everything for you, all you need to do is come back tomorrow have your picture taken here and get your license. I was like ok why can’t I do that now? He was like come back tomorrow.

So with no chance of reasoning with the guy and no wasta available I had to leave the place without getting my driving license renewed. Now I need to go back for the third fucking time just to get my license renewed. Three visits just for a renewel!