Ever so pink

We went out on Thursday morning to the mogamma building to get my resident visa.

The building is crowded even on a good day. And seeing as how Thursday is the last day of the week here, it was even more packed!

We got there around 11:20. We got the form we needed and then hubby decided that we would take it back on Saturday instead of fighting the crowds.

As I mentioned the last time we went to the mogamma, the place is a perfect germ incubator. And with swine flu and every other kind of flu, particularly as there are people from all over the world trying to get different visas there, it seems like a bad idea to spend any amount of time there.

The plan is to go close to when they open Saturday so that we will avoid the crowds, but since we're usually not sleeping til after 3 a.m., and sometimes after 4 or 5, getting anywhere by 9 a.m. seems a bit daunting.

In any case, after we got the form and left, hubby asked if I wanted to walk around downtown so I said sure. This answer was the result of me forgetting that when you do any exercise or something to strain your body, it's not the next day you hurt but the day after. And that it was two days before that we walked down to Metro and I got sore feet etc.

It was fine at first, despite hubby's permanent race walking. When he asked what I wanted to look at, I couldn't quite say though. We weren't buying and he rarely slows down enough for me to get a good look in the windows. Hmmmm....

He suggested we find a cafe, so after some walking around, we went to one that we had gone to when I visited in 2007. It's in a computer mall. It's called... I dunno, Cafe Rose or something like that.

We found a table and sat down. Hubby ordered coffee and a sprite for me. I told him I didn't want anything but water seeing as how I hadn't ate or drank anything yet that day, and putting sprite in my body first thing after I'm tired and hot from walking around was a bad idea. lol

Well, I got thirsty and drank some anyways. Which seemed fine until we were on our taxi ride home and I started to feel not so well. Of course, we were stuck in traffic at that point. I was sure I was going to be sick before we could make it home but it was fine alhamdulillah.

While sitting at the cafe, I noticed, being ever observant, that there was a roach crawling around on the ground under our table. Hubby noticed me looking down and asked if it was a bug. I said yes. I watched it, thinking it would just pass us by, but then it started crawling up the wall next to me, at which point I stood up and then hubby made us trade chairs. I asked him why he didn't just kill it, but it seemed that wasn't on his agenda. Not his house, not his bug. lol

So... I thought all was fine, and then a few minutes later, out of the corner of my eye, I saw that same darn bug crawling on the floor right towards me. What, am I a magnet or something? So I finally took matters into my own hands (or feet as it were) and stepped on the thing.
Yay!
It was fairly small, which is why I was able to get close enough to it to step on it. If it was one of those ginormous multi-colored light/dark brown ones, forget it. I wouldn't get anywhere close to one of those buggers, they're freakishly huge and scary.


I finally uploaded the pictures I took from our walk the other day. What a surprise when I looked at them and they all had a pink background! I dropped my camera a couple of years ago and I've had some problems off and on since then, but it's pretty rare. Usually what happens is I'll get some lines going across the viewfinder and pictures. This pink background is something new. While it does make for a nice saturated effect, I wouldn't want it for my normal picture taking. Hopefully it will right itself. Though I do so want a new camera!

Anyways, here's the pictures. I had originally only intended to post 2 of them, but that was before I saw how strange they turned out, at which point I decided to post them all.

This is one of my favorite buildings in the area. The glass is a pretty blue color, and I like the round part of the building as well. I'm a sucker for round buildings with lots of glass.
This picture is fairly pink, as you can see.



This is the same basic view, but for some reason it came out slightly less pink.



And this is a third view, a vertical shot, and it's very pink!



Next we have the park there, first looking one direction and then the other. You can't see how big the park is from these. It's not very wide but it's quite long.

Looking one way:



Looking the other way:




We might go by the apartment tomorrow. I told hubby I wanted some things from my luggage, most of which I have been without for the last 4 1/2 months while we've been at the in-laws. It's been so long I've forgotten a lot of the stuff I brought with me, though I didn't bring all that much to begin with! Anyways, looking forward to seeing and going through some of my things.

We might go out to a cafe or something later today but not sure. As you may have noticed, our plans are ALWAYS subject to change. lol *sigh*

The weather finally seems to have cooled down on a more permanent basis, though there could be small spikes. It's been in the 80's or very low 90's for a while now. Much nicer. I actually got cold sleeping last night with the fan on. The fan is normally on 24/7, but when it's cool enough of course we don't need it.


We are thinking about me getting a job. It seems that I'm not allowed to work without a work visa. As far as I know, you can't just go get a work visa, you have to find a job you want and then your prospective employer gets the visa for you.

Hubby has a friend whose wife works at a multi-national company, and she's going to see if there is anything available there. It would be a bit of a commute, and I don't know if I want to work a 9 hour day *and* commute on top of that, but we shall see.

Hopefully something will turn up job-wise, though I would prefer to work part time and not full time.


Right now all I want is to go to the beach and lay out on the sand and relax under and umbrella. Been a long while since I've been to the beach but I sure could use a vacation. Sounds funny to say perhaps, seeing as how I haven't worked in over 6 months now, but still, things aren't always easy in my current circumstances, and I often feel a bit stressed about things. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be here and living with hubby. Just.... ya know?

Off to dream of warm sandy beaches....