I've been in the States for a few weeks now. Enjoying my visit. Haven't really felt like writing much at all. Not even taking too many pictures this trip. Just experiencing everything without feeling the need to write about it.
Anyways... I guess I'm on a little break from posting. I might post a few pictures of the trip at some point in the next couple of weeks but I don't know when I'll get back to regular posting.
Ramadan is going to be starting around the beginning of August, so maybe I'll get back to regular posting then.
Love being here but miss my husband. Looking forward to seeing him again when I get home insha'Allah.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Book em!
I thought about waiting 3 more days to post to make it an even two months since I'd posted anything, and then figured that I had better post while I was in any kind of mood to do it or that three days might pass right by, along with another 60!
I'm not hiding or avoiding, there just hasn't been anything going on.
I stopped my picture a day some time ago as there was just nothing I felt like taking pictures of since I don't get out that much. Though I am still interested in this project in general and may restart at some point, a fresh start. And perhaps with a specific subject matter instead of random pictures every day.
The biggest news at the moment, aside from the fact that allergy season has hit at last, is that I booked my tickets for a visit back to the States.
I had hoped hubby would be coming but it looks like it's just me this time. He has some work that he can't leave, and in addition, he'll most likely be traveling for work as well, so it works out fine.
I'm excited beyond belief to get back home for a visit. I miss my family a lot. And how easy everything is in the States. How accessible everything is.
Not looking forward to the flight from Paris to LA, but until they invent that teleporting machine, or they let me fly on a Concorde, then I think I just have to deal with it. Hard to be bored and "trapped" in a long tube with several hundred other folks.
Anyways, it's nice having this trip to look forward to. And I feel energized, making lists and having something to do besides the normal nothing.
Not sure when I'll post again. No promises.
Oh, and here's the last day of the journal, I think I missed posting it before. There's not much to it, things had really died down by that point, at least in our neighborhood.
:::
Saturday, February 5th
Woke about 10:30. Nothing new overnight from what I could see. And for the most part, at least looking from the outside in, it would have almost seemed like business as usual today. Much more traffic about, more stores open, more people out. But, banks and stock exchange still closed until Monday. And still shortages of some goods and money, gas, etc.
I think the tanks are gone from this area, at least the patrol tanks. Gone back to wherever they came from. Fine by me. I'm not sure if they did any good or not.
Not much gun fire to speak of. A few shots around 8 p.m. and also at 11 p.m. A helicopter now and then.
So things in one sense have settled down. And yet, the tension is still high, people are still waiting, nothing feels like it's been accomplished. Of course, there are things that have happened, and I think there have been some moves in a positive direction, but still waiting. It's like that itch you can't scratch that starts to drive you mad after a while.
Not feeling safe enough to leave the apartment at this point. Easy enough for hubby to go out to the stores or cafe, but I'm still hearing bad things about foreigners being detained and I don't think there's any reason to risk that kind of thing. It would be unpleasant to be detained, to say the least.
So for now, watching like the whole world, waiting like the whole world.
When you really see the way this government has acted, when you really understand who these people are, it's enough to make you ill. How does the rest of the world not step in to stop leaders like these? How has this gone on for 30 years with no intervention?
I know that I have taken so much for granted, growing up and living in the United States. There are negatives to be said about the country, just like for any country, but there are definitely positives as well. And one thing I can't stress enough are the rights that the people living in the States have, that are not a given in other countries like Egypt.
Because they have been living under "emergency law" for 30 years, they essentially have no rights at all. None. No rights and further, the police can come and take you at any time, detain you as long as they wish and for whatever they wish. Maybe most people don't worry about something like that, but after seeing what the government is capable of in the last couple weeks, I think they should.
Some limited gun shots during the wee hours but nothing too major. Not much else happening. 5 a.m. and time for sleep.
I'm not hiding or avoiding, there just hasn't been anything going on.
I stopped my picture a day some time ago as there was just nothing I felt like taking pictures of since I don't get out that much. Though I am still interested in this project in general and may restart at some point, a fresh start. And perhaps with a specific subject matter instead of random pictures every day.
The biggest news at the moment, aside from the fact that allergy season has hit at last, is that I booked my tickets for a visit back to the States.
I had hoped hubby would be coming but it looks like it's just me this time. He has some work that he can't leave, and in addition, he'll most likely be traveling for work as well, so it works out fine.
I'm excited beyond belief to get back home for a visit. I miss my family a lot. And how easy everything is in the States. How accessible everything is.
Not looking forward to the flight from Paris to LA, but until they invent that teleporting machine, or they let me fly on a Concorde, then I think I just have to deal with it. Hard to be bored and "trapped" in a long tube with several hundred other folks.
Anyways, it's nice having this trip to look forward to. And I feel energized, making lists and having something to do besides the normal nothing.
Not sure when I'll post again. No promises.
Oh, and here's the last day of the journal, I think I missed posting it before. There's not much to it, things had really died down by that point, at least in our neighborhood.
:::
Saturday, February 5th
Woke about 10:30. Nothing new overnight from what I could see. And for the most part, at least looking from the outside in, it would have almost seemed like business as usual today. Much more traffic about, more stores open, more people out. But, banks and stock exchange still closed until Monday. And still shortages of some goods and money, gas, etc.
I think the tanks are gone from this area, at least the patrol tanks. Gone back to wherever they came from. Fine by me. I'm not sure if they did any good or not.
Not much gun fire to speak of. A few shots around 8 p.m. and also at 11 p.m. A helicopter now and then.
So things in one sense have settled down. And yet, the tension is still high, people are still waiting, nothing feels like it's been accomplished. Of course, there are things that have happened, and I think there have been some moves in a positive direction, but still waiting. It's like that itch you can't scratch that starts to drive you mad after a while.
Not feeling safe enough to leave the apartment at this point. Easy enough for hubby to go out to the stores or cafe, but I'm still hearing bad things about foreigners being detained and I don't think there's any reason to risk that kind of thing. It would be unpleasant to be detained, to say the least.
So for now, watching like the whole world, waiting like the whole world.
When you really see the way this government has acted, when you really understand who these people are, it's enough to make you ill. How does the rest of the world not step in to stop leaders like these? How has this gone on for 30 years with no intervention?
I know that I have taken so much for granted, growing up and living in the United States. There are negatives to be said about the country, just like for any country, but there are definitely positives as well. And one thing I can't stress enough are the rights that the people living in the States have, that are not a given in other countries like Egypt.
Because they have been living under "emergency law" for 30 years, they essentially have no rights at all. None. No rights and further, the police can come and take you at any time, detain you as long as they wish and for whatever they wish. Maybe most people don't worry about something like that, but after seeing what the government is capable of in the last couple weeks, I think they should.
Some limited gun shots during the wee hours but nothing too major. Not much else happening. 5 a.m. and time for sleep.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Two years and Tahrir
We finally made it down to Tahrir Square today. We've been meaning to go for a couple of weeks now but something always seemed to come up, preventing us from going.
The weather was beautiful, low 80's I guess. Not overly sunny so didn't have to worry so much about glare.
There was some sort of rally going on for the voting tomorrow. Lots of people and there were some police but I'm not sure if they were military or what.
After passing through Tahrir we went to the AUC bookstore. AUC being American University of Cairo. They had a book that I have been wanting so we finally picked that up. While there I asked the person behind the counter if it was possible to get a membership to the AUC library, but he said that you have to be a member of any university in Cairo to get a membership. Oh well! There are other libraries, but I would have loved to go inside that one, it's ginormous!
After that we took some more pictures down by the Egyptian Museum and then we walked around downtown for almost two hours, looking here and there and everywhere.
They have the best smells and I really wish I could record them for you. The food smells unbelievably good and I'd just bet on it that if you could smell it you'd book a ticket to Cairo for as soon as you could!
So, here are the pictures we got today.
If you want to view any of them larger, just click on the image and it will take you to a page with a larger image. Some of them are larger files sizes because I left the images a littler larger than usual. Sorry for those on dial up!
This first image is of Tahrir and the rally that was going on. Actually this one and the next one are both of the rally. Lots of people but the crowd was fine while we were there.
:::
:::
Then we have me standing next to a very dirty phone booth. The only reason I actually included this picture was so you could see how dirty it was. I'm not sure you could pay me to touch this unless I was in danger from losing life or limb. lol
:::
And then here is me, same basic spot, showing the crowds in Tahrir. This was taken from the opposite side of the street from the first two pictures.
:::
Next is me with the Mogamma in the background. That's the building where you do all your visa stuff. Great place to people watch. Probably also a great place to catch a lot of germs!
:::
Here is me with the Egyptian Museum and the burned out NDP building in the background. Really strange to drive over the bridge to downtown and see the big hulking building all burned.
:::
And last we have a picture of my sweety pie in the same spot, with the museum and burned out building behind him. Not sure what he's looking at but something must have caught his eye.
So that's it for pictures today!
:::
As of tomorrow, it will be two years since I landed here in Cairo.
Two years. Roughly 730 days.
I'm happy that I came here. I'm happy for my experiences. But I still miss a lot of things about the States. And sometimes, when we're out and I'm looking around, I feel *so* very foreign. It's jarring at times.
There is so much that I still want to do here. Places to go and things to see and insha'Allah I'll be able to learn the language which should make it more exciting. Hard to fully interact with a society when you can't communicate.
I wish it wasn't so expensive to travel, and that I could go back and forth more frequently to the States to visit. Also that the flights weren't so long. That's a real bummer. No matter how many cushions you sit on, 11 hours on a flight is going to leave you with a sore butt!
I have good days and bad days, which is the same as before I moved here.
I feel happy though and lucky, mashAllah, to be living with my husband, who I love so very much.
Just like everyone, I'm not sure what the future holds. Not sure how long I'll live here for. Not sure how long I'll love it for. But still, 2 years on, happy to be here sharing my life with hubby.
More to write about when I post next insha'Allah.
The weather was beautiful, low 80's I guess. Not overly sunny so didn't have to worry so much about glare.
There was some sort of rally going on for the voting tomorrow. Lots of people and there were some police but I'm not sure if they were military or what.
After passing through Tahrir we went to the AUC bookstore. AUC being American University of Cairo. They had a book that I have been wanting so we finally picked that up. While there I asked the person behind the counter if it was possible to get a membership to the AUC library, but he said that you have to be a member of any university in Cairo to get a membership. Oh well! There are other libraries, but I would have loved to go inside that one, it's ginormous!
After that we took some more pictures down by the Egyptian Museum and then we walked around downtown for almost two hours, looking here and there and everywhere.
They have the best smells and I really wish I could record them for you. The food smells unbelievably good and I'd just bet on it that if you could smell it you'd book a ticket to Cairo for as soon as you could!
So, here are the pictures we got today.
If you want to view any of them larger, just click on the image and it will take you to a page with a larger image. Some of them are larger files sizes because I left the images a littler larger than usual. Sorry for those on dial up!
This first image is of Tahrir and the rally that was going on. Actually this one and the next one are both of the rally. Lots of people but the crowd was fine while we were there.
:::
:::
Then we have me standing next to a very dirty phone booth. The only reason I actually included this picture was so you could see how dirty it was. I'm not sure you could pay me to touch this unless I was in danger from losing life or limb. lol
:::
And then here is me, same basic spot, showing the crowds in Tahrir. This was taken from the opposite side of the street from the first two pictures.
:::
Next is me with the Mogamma in the background. That's the building where you do all your visa stuff. Great place to people watch. Probably also a great place to catch a lot of germs!
:::
Here is me with the Egyptian Museum and the burned out NDP building in the background. Really strange to drive over the bridge to downtown and see the big hulking building all burned.
:::
And last we have a picture of my sweety pie in the same spot, with the museum and burned out building behind him. Not sure what he's looking at but something must have caught his eye.
So that's it for pictures today!
:::
As of tomorrow, it will be two years since I landed here in Cairo.
Two years. Roughly 730 days.
I'm happy that I came here. I'm happy for my experiences. But I still miss a lot of things about the States. And sometimes, when we're out and I'm looking around, I feel *so* very foreign. It's jarring at times.
There is so much that I still want to do here. Places to go and things to see and insha'Allah I'll be able to learn the language which should make it more exciting. Hard to fully interact with a society when you can't communicate.
I wish it wasn't so expensive to travel, and that I could go back and forth more frequently to the States to visit. Also that the flights weren't so long. That's a real bummer. No matter how many cushions you sit on, 11 hours on a flight is going to leave you with a sore butt!
I have good days and bad days, which is the same as before I moved here.
I feel happy though and lucky, mashAllah, to be living with my husband, who I love so very much.
Just like everyone, I'm not sure what the future holds. Not sure how long I'll live here for. Not sure how long I'll love it for. But still, 2 years on, happy to be here sharing my life with hubby.
More to write about when I post next insha'Allah.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
One and a theory
Not to belabor a subject, but there is one memory I want to share.
I'm not sure how old I was, but I'm guessing somewhere around 5.
My family had taken a trip and I can't remember all the places we went or the ultimate destination, though it may have been Disneyland, however the memory I'm thinking of pertains to something that was bought at Magic Mountain.
There had been a stand there at the park selling blown glass figurines. Boy oh boy I loved those. Delicate, glass, sparkly, cute.
I apparently found one I really liked and I'm guessing the parents bought it for me because I don't really remember much about that part.
But what happens is, after we're home from the trip, I wanted to go next door to show the neighbor lady my special new figurine that I had got from the trip.
I don't remember anything about what happened next door, but I'm sure the neighbor made the appropriate oohs and aahs.
What I remember is, that coming home, and walking up the path to our front door, I dropped it.
Well, I was so upset. My new special sparkly glass ornament and it was broken.
It wasn't in a million pieces or anything, I think just a piece or two had really broken off, but it seemed unfixable and ruined.
But along with the sadness that I broke it, came a fear that I would get in trouble for breaking it.
This wasn't due to anything except being a kid and not realizing that this wasn't the end of the world for everyone else, that this didn't cost as much as a car and wasn't as precious to everyone else.
I'm sure in my mind, the thought was that kids get in trouble when they break stuff.
This has nothing to do with my folks, they didn't do anything wrong, but I guess stuff just seems overwhelming when you're little.
I think, though I'm not certain, that I tried to hide the fact for a little bit that I broke it but I'm a little hazy on that part.
I just remember walking up the path and dropping that shiny thing.
Hubby thinks that the reason kids remember bad memories is because perhaps emotions are stronger when we're young, in terms of not really knowing how to deal with those emotions.
It's easy enough to be happy and there's no problem with that, but little kids aren't really equipped to handle a lot of other emotions I think. It comes with time and as situations arise.
So perhaps, though of course I had many happy memories in childhood, perhaps I don't remember them as well is because I didn't know how to deal with the others, and so they stick out.
Of course I love my folks and this isn't a reflection on them at all. I know that I had many good times as a kid. I just wish I could remember more of them.
:::
Forecast is for 77 degrees today. Supposed to continue to warm up until Saturday when it's supposed to hit 91 degrees. Yikes!!
I'm definitely ready for some low 80's, but low 90's? *sigh*
Hopefully at least we've seen the last of the sand storms. If it's going to be hot I'd prefer not to be eating sand as well.
Not enough rain this year. I doubt we'll get any more at this point until the end of the year now. Wish we had had some more.
Alright, on to today's log. There is only one more after this.
:::
Friday, February 4th
Up at about 1 p.m. Seeing the news on al jazeera, 100's of thousands of people, maybe a million or more, gathered peacefully in Tahrir square. Chanting and cheering and milling around. Happy to see that there is no violence, same as before, until the police and thugs and pro presidential people got involved. I wonder how long the people will stay there?
Some of the things that I've read about from local ex-pats include having trouble finding atm's with money. I'd say over 99% of them have been out of cash for days. There's trouble getting fresh fruit and vegetables, and apparently the gas stations are out of gas. Many stores remain closed. Not sure how long all this can continue to go on and what will happen if it continues.
I still don't feel very safe to go outside but I think I was really just overwhelmed last night with too much news and getting a bit over fearful from all of the news. Feeling overall better today, just still not sure it's very safe for me to go walking around. Have heard of foreigners getting attacked in different areas of cairo by plain clothed police or others.
2:45 helicopter making rounds nearby
3:45 another round of helicopter
5:00 gun shot?
5:45 tank?
6:20 helicopter
Much more traffic out tonight judging by the sounds I can hear, though there should still be curfew in effect. Not normal traffic by any means but it's been so quiet at night lately that it's a noticeable increase.
8:40 helicopter
9:20 helicopter
10:03 helicopter
10:42 helicopter. i think it's making a continuous run around here somewhere.
3:25 It was fairly quiet tonight. Until about 45 minutes ago. There are a couple of cars nearby who have been honking back and forth for some time now. There's no pattern to it, so I don't know if it's a couple of kids just being irritating or what. There is also a lot of noise that reminds me of scavenging somehow. Not sure how to describe that but just odd noises. I don't think there's been as many people out at all tonight down on the street, for guard duty or otherwise. I think everyone wants a night inside. Maybe the fear of the thugs has died down, or maybe they're just worn from caring.
I have a deflated feeling, like somehow "we" have failed in our objective to get the president to leave. I know that this is a process and it takes time but I guess that myself and probably others as well felt a big lead up to today, hoping that there would be some sort of decisive outcome. No such luck.
I'm hoping that my hope will spring back eternal in the morning, after a night of sleep. Hubby asked tonight if I wanted to go back to the States for a month or two, but I would just worry about him if I was away, and we can't afford the trip anyways. He thought the embassy would pay for it, and I told him that they are only shipping people off to Greece or someplace nearby, not back to the States. And I think you have to pay them back anyhow.
Maybe, despite all the difficulties we would face in the States, we should think about heading that way to live. It remains to be seen what will happen to business here, and in particular hubbies business. I'm torn about living in either place, not completely satisfied with either.
And I really wish those darn cars would stop honking. lol
3:51 Honking be darned, it's time for sleep.
I'm not sure how old I was, but I'm guessing somewhere around 5.
My family had taken a trip and I can't remember all the places we went or the ultimate destination, though it may have been Disneyland, however the memory I'm thinking of pertains to something that was bought at Magic Mountain.
There had been a stand there at the park selling blown glass figurines. Boy oh boy I loved those. Delicate, glass, sparkly, cute.
I apparently found one I really liked and I'm guessing the parents bought it for me because I don't really remember much about that part.
But what happens is, after we're home from the trip, I wanted to go next door to show the neighbor lady my special new figurine that I had got from the trip.
I don't remember anything about what happened next door, but I'm sure the neighbor made the appropriate oohs and aahs.
What I remember is, that coming home, and walking up the path to our front door, I dropped it.
Well, I was so upset. My new special sparkly glass ornament and it was broken.
It wasn't in a million pieces or anything, I think just a piece or two had really broken off, but it seemed unfixable and ruined.
But along with the sadness that I broke it, came a fear that I would get in trouble for breaking it.
This wasn't due to anything except being a kid and not realizing that this wasn't the end of the world for everyone else, that this didn't cost as much as a car and wasn't as precious to everyone else.
I'm sure in my mind, the thought was that kids get in trouble when they break stuff.
This has nothing to do with my folks, they didn't do anything wrong, but I guess stuff just seems overwhelming when you're little.
I think, though I'm not certain, that I tried to hide the fact for a little bit that I broke it but I'm a little hazy on that part.
I just remember walking up the path and dropping that shiny thing.
Hubby thinks that the reason kids remember bad memories is because perhaps emotions are stronger when we're young, in terms of not really knowing how to deal with those emotions.
It's easy enough to be happy and there's no problem with that, but little kids aren't really equipped to handle a lot of other emotions I think. It comes with time and as situations arise.
So perhaps, though of course I had many happy memories in childhood, perhaps I don't remember them as well is because I didn't know how to deal with the others, and so they stick out.
Of course I love my folks and this isn't a reflection on them at all. I know that I had many good times as a kid. I just wish I could remember more of them.
:::
Forecast is for 77 degrees today. Supposed to continue to warm up until Saturday when it's supposed to hit 91 degrees. Yikes!!
I'm definitely ready for some low 80's, but low 90's? *sigh*
Hopefully at least we've seen the last of the sand storms. If it's going to be hot I'd prefer not to be eating sand as well.
Not enough rain this year. I doubt we'll get any more at this point until the end of the year now. Wish we had had some more.
Alright, on to today's log. There is only one more after this.
:::
Friday, February 4th
Up at about 1 p.m. Seeing the news on al jazeera, 100's of thousands of people, maybe a million or more, gathered peacefully in Tahrir square. Chanting and cheering and milling around. Happy to see that there is no violence, same as before, until the police and thugs and pro presidential people got involved. I wonder how long the people will stay there?
Some of the things that I've read about from local ex-pats include having trouble finding atm's with money. I'd say over 99% of them have been out of cash for days. There's trouble getting fresh fruit and vegetables, and apparently the gas stations are out of gas. Many stores remain closed. Not sure how long all this can continue to go on and what will happen if it continues.
I still don't feel very safe to go outside but I think I was really just overwhelmed last night with too much news and getting a bit over fearful from all of the news. Feeling overall better today, just still not sure it's very safe for me to go walking around. Have heard of foreigners getting attacked in different areas of cairo by plain clothed police or others.
2:45 helicopter making rounds nearby
3:45 another round of helicopter
5:00 gun shot?
5:45 tank?
6:20 helicopter
Much more traffic out tonight judging by the sounds I can hear, though there should still be curfew in effect. Not normal traffic by any means but it's been so quiet at night lately that it's a noticeable increase.
8:40 helicopter
9:20 helicopter
10:03 helicopter
10:42 helicopter. i think it's making a continuous run around here somewhere.
3:25 It was fairly quiet tonight. Until about 45 minutes ago. There are a couple of cars nearby who have been honking back and forth for some time now. There's no pattern to it, so I don't know if it's a couple of kids just being irritating or what. There is also a lot of noise that reminds me of scavenging somehow. Not sure how to describe that but just odd noises. I don't think there's been as many people out at all tonight down on the street, for guard duty or otherwise. I think everyone wants a night inside. Maybe the fear of the thugs has died down, or maybe they're just worn from caring.
I have a deflated feeling, like somehow "we" have failed in our objective to get the president to leave. I know that this is a process and it takes time but I guess that myself and probably others as well felt a big lead up to today, hoping that there would be some sort of decisive outcome. No such luck.
I'm hoping that my hope will spring back eternal in the morning, after a night of sleep. Hubby asked tonight if I wanted to go back to the States for a month or two, but I would just worry about him if I was away, and we can't afford the trip anyways. He thought the embassy would pay for it, and I told him that they are only shipping people off to Greece or someplace nearby, not back to the States. And I think you have to pay them back anyhow.
Maybe, despite all the difficulties we would face in the States, we should think about heading that way to live. It remains to be seen what will happen to business here, and in particular hubbies business. I'm torn about living in either place, not completely satisfied with either.
And I really wish those darn cars would stop honking. lol
3:51 Honking be darned, it's time for sleep.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Still?
Well, judging by the date on the calendar, it's time for another log post.
There are only two more after this, and they are all pretty short.
I'm glad that I kept the log, but not sure that I'll really look back on them at any point. Maybe sometime in the future but... who knows.
I hope they haven't been a total bore. I know it's not quite the same to read as to live through and a lot of it is kind of repetitive.
:::
The weather has gotten chilly again. Cold nose chilly. Those couple days we had at 80 plus degrees were really nice. Looking forward to warmer weather for sure.
Not looking forward to allergies but they don't seem to have started up yet so that's a blessing. I guess it's only a matter of time. Unless my body decides not to be allergic this year.
In any case, weather should be nice tomorrow, if a little chilly at 60, and we may go out for a walk somewhere. Depends on if we can manage to get out of bed early enough.
We've tried a couple of days this week to get down to Tahrir Square to visit a bookstore, but we just slept too late to really go down and walk around and get back by when hubby needed to.
Speaking of revolutions and bookstores, the reason for the visit to the bookstore was to get a book that I found on learning Egyptian Arabic.
I decided, even though I had wanted to learn to speak it before of course, that it was really just imperative that I make more of an effort. This really came home to me during all the protests and everything when I was not able to understand a lot of what was in the news here because I couldn't get a translation.
So, insha'Allah, this book, which has a CD included, will be a big help along the way. Hubby has promised to practice with me, so we'll see how that goes. It's a little embarassing starting out, knowing you aren't pronouncing right and feeling a bit goofy, but hopefully with time and practice this will pass.
I really look forward to the day when I don't have to ask, "What does that say?", or "What were they talking about?"
Alright, on to today's log.
:::
Thursday, February 3rd
Heard a few gun shots after going to bed. They were loud and close. Didn't hear much else that I remember.
Finally had a decent and long enough nights sleep though, which was really needed.
5:33 p.m. and the call to prayer is playing. It's been a fairly quiet day outside. Just been watching the news and wondering what will happen. This government is sneaky and devious in the ways they are trying to gain favor and turn things around. It's really disgusting. I hope with all my heart that the protesters get what they want, and that they send the president packing. I hope with all my heart that they don't give up before they get what they want.
From reading postings online from some other ex-pats living here in Cairo, it seems I'm not the only one who was doing extra cleaning while the internet was down for almost a week. Without being able to leave the house at night and many places closed during the day, it was hard to find stuff to do. I'm glad I had some books to see me through what would have otherwise been a very dull time.
6:30 First gun shot of the evening.
6:42 Possibly a tank going by but not sure without getting up to look. Could have just been a heavy truck, though there shouldn't be any out at this point with the curfew, though we do get a small trickle of cars throughout the night.
7:55 tank time.
8:15 Helicopter going by.
I've heard that they are imposing a 24 hour curfew for tomorrow to try to keep anyone from going towards downtown to protest. The more moves the government makes to try to end this, the more they are rallying the people to try to fight them for their rights. The government is making all the wrong moves if they truly want to end this.
Getting more nervous as I hear about foreigners being attacked, and not just in Tahrir square. Pretty sure I won't be stepping outside the apartment for a while. Who knows what will happen in the next two days, but I pray we will be safe.
The president continues to play dirty to try to divide and conquer. I'm really disappointed that Christiane Amanpour, who I had thought of as a good journalist, would actually let her "interview" of the president out as it is just lies, lies, lies! Shame on her and on ABC for airing this garbage!!! (as an afterthought, it now being February 28th, I never did see the interview and I don't know the intention of airing it, though I doubt it was for anything on ABC's part except ratings/money. but, as much as i hate that the president is a liar and some people can't see past it, maybe some people were able to see through him. don't know.)
12:20 gun shot nearby
Reports that there is about to be a slaughter in Tahrir, that police and thugs are about to go in and start doing a lot of damage to the protesters. Also reports that there is no live coverage in Tahrir right now to witness what is going to happen! Sad and worried. (it seems that one of the tactics of the current regime is to strike fear and confusion in people!)
1:40 multiple gun shots nearby
2:30 Too tired and stressed from the news to watch it or read it any more tonight. Will focus on other things instead and try to relax and calm down. Hubby asked if I felt safe and I said no! From all I have read, no I don't feel safe. Hopefully some rest and less news will fix that.
3:15 gun shots in the distance
Hubby was watching al jazeera, they were saying there was 200k people now in Tahrir square, so it's possible that number could be 10 times as much by noon tomorrow!
5:30 a.m. and time for sleep!
There are only two more after this, and they are all pretty short.
I'm glad that I kept the log, but not sure that I'll really look back on them at any point. Maybe sometime in the future but... who knows.
I hope they haven't been a total bore. I know it's not quite the same to read as to live through and a lot of it is kind of repetitive.
:::
The weather has gotten chilly again. Cold nose chilly. Those couple days we had at 80 plus degrees were really nice. Looking forward to warmer weather for sure.
Not looking forward to allergies but they don't seem to have started up yet so that's a blessing. I guess it's only a matter of time. Unless my body decides not to be allergic this year.
In any case, weather should be nice tomorrow, if a little chilly at 60, and we may go out for a walk somewhere. Depends on if we can manage to get out of bed early enough.
We've tried a couple of days this week to get down to Tahrir Square to visit a bookstore, but we just slept too late to really go down and walk around and get back by when hubby needed to.
Speaking of revolutions and bookstores, the reason for the visit to the bookstore was to get a book that I found on learning Egyptian Arabic.
I decided, even though I had wanted to learn to speak it before of course, that it was really just imperative that I make more of an effort. This really came home to me during all the protests and everything when I was not able to understand a lot of what was in the news here because I couldn't get a translation.
So, insha'Allah, this book, which has a CD included, will be a big help along the way. Hubby has promised to practice with me, so we'll see how that goes. It's a little embarassing starting out, knowing you aren't pronouncing right and feeling a bit goofy, but hopefully with time and practice this will pass.
I really look forward to the day when I don't have to ask, "What does that say?", or "What were they talking about?"
Alright, on to today's log.
:::
Thursday, February 3rd
Heard a few gun shots after going to bed. They were loud and close. Didn't hear much else that I remember.
Finally had a decent and long enough nights sleep though, which was really needed.
5:33 p.m. and the call to prayer is playing. It's been a fairly quiet day outside. Just been watching the news and wondering what will happen. This government is sneaky and devious in the ways they are trying to gain favor and turn things around. It's really disgusting. I hope with all my heart that the protesters get what they want, and that they send the president packing. I hope with all my heart that they don't give up before they get what they want.
From reading postings online from some other ex-pats living here in Cairo, it seems I'm not the only one who was doing extra cleaning while the internet was down for almost a week. Without being able to leave the house at night and many places closed during the day, it was hard to find stuff to do. I'm glad I had some books to see me through what would have otherwise been a very dull time.
6:30 First gun shot of the evening.
6:42 Possibly a tank going by but not sure without getting up to look. Could have just been a heavy truck, though there shouldn't be any out at this point with the curfew, though we do get a small trickle of cars throughout the night.
7:55 tank time.
8:15 Helicopter going by.
I've heard that they are imposing a 24 hour curfew for tomorrow to try to keep anyone from going towards downtown to protest. The more moves the government makes to try to end this, the more they are rallying the people to try to fight them for their rights. The government is making all the wrong moves if they truly want to end this.
Getting more nervous as I hear about foreigners being attacked, and not just in Tahrir square. Pretty sure I won't be stepping outside the apartment for a while. Who knows what will happen in the next two days, but I pray we will be safe.
The president continues to play dirty to try to divide and conquer. I'm really disappointed that Christiane Amanpour, who I had thought of as a good journalist, would actually let her "interview" of the president out as it is just lies, lies, lies! Shame on her and on ABC for airing this garbage!!! (as an afterthought, it now being February 28th, I never did see the interview and I don't know the intention of airing it, though I doubt it was for anything on ABC's part except ratings/money. but, as much as i hate that the president is a liar and some people can't see past it, maybe some people were able to see through him. don't know.)
12:20 gun shot nearby
Reports that there is about to be a slaughter in Tahrir, that police and thugs are about to go in and start doing a lot of damage to the protesters. Also reports that there is no live coverage in Tahrir right now to witness what is going to happen! Sad and worried. (it seems that one of the tactics of the current regime is to strike fear and confusion in people!)
1:40 multiple gun shots nearby
2:30 Too tired and stressed from the news to watch it or read it any more tonight. Will focus on other things instead and try to relax and calm down. Hubby asked if I felt safe and I said no! From all I have read, no I don't feel safe. Hopefully some rest and less news will fix that.
3:15 gun shots in the distance
Hubby was watching al jazeera, they were saying there was 200k people now in Tahrir square, so it's possible that number could be 10 times as much by noon tomorrow!
5:30 a.m. and time for sleep!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Memories
My husband, from time to time, will tell me wonderful stories about things that happened when he was a child.
He was quite the mischievous little guy and the stories are often quite amusing. I love watching him smile and laugh as he spins the stories out for me.
I wish that I could remember my early years so well. At least I think I wish that.
When I try to remember my childhood, I can remember here and there an event, but it's never something funny or nice. It's usually something quite the opposite.
And also, it seems that many of my memories are really just pictures, I mean literally, I have seen the pictures from when I was younger and so though I don't remember the actual time or event, my memory is a picture of that time or event.
It's kind of strange. Kind of sad.
I wish I had memories to look back on and laugh and smile about.
However, my memory for current happenings, including recent history, are usually quite excellent. And not so much for hubby. It seems our memories, in ability to recall them, are quite reversed.
I wonder how it would be to have your whole life available on DVD to watch as you wished. Fast forward through the boring parts. The sleeping and being in class, etc., but to really see and feel the things you have long forgotten. What's the point of having memory if it doesn't work?
:::
I was browsing around online the other day and found a whole slew of people living in Cairo or other parts of Egypt who blog. Expats that is, people who have moved here from other countries.
I read a handful to see what they were like. Some were nice, some were boring. But I wonder what it is, everyone's obsession with writing out the minutiae of their life? Does this speak to a larger issue of disconnection? Of needing to be heard or validated? I don't know why I write, only that it's a need. I'm just not sure what's pushing that need.
I wish I had something more interesting to write about. Or some great wisdoms to share. Maybe thoughts about current politics and world events. But honestly I'm just not that deep. That's not to say I think I'm shallow, just... I guess my interests and emotions lay elsewhere, and for some reason they don't get shared here. I'm sure I must have, buried inside somewhere, something great to share. It's just... buried.
Okay, enough blathering on....
Today's log is shorter, as are the next (last) few after this.
And I wanted to point out, that although I mention a few times in this and other logs, that I wish things were getting back to normal, I don't mean that I wish things were exactly the same as before, president and all, I just mean that I wish things would settle down and we could get to living our lives without the constant interruption of the army and protesting and all the stuff that is going on.
That doesn't mean I don't care for what's happening. And I know it's an involved process and takes time. I just want some normalcy. I don't think that's too much to ask?
:::
Wednesday, February 2nd
1:30 p.m. and I'm woken by a helicopter flying directly overhead and also by my husband calling to see if the internet is working. Takes me a minute to get the computer up since I was sleeping, but yes, alhamdulillah, the internet is back.
Couple minutes later and now there are crowds down on the street chanting for the president. Lots of car horns honking in time with the people chanting. Not sure if they are walking down towards Tahrir or not. This is the second bunch I've heard in the last few minutes. Tempted to get the camera and go out but after just having woken and seen so many crowds pass by already previously, I just can't be bothered.
No idea what the news is yet but now that there's internet I need to check mail and news and lots of other things.
2:50 Well finally starting to get a look at the news in the media. Seems there has been so much support for the people of Egypt from people all over the world. I've just seen from CNN that there are injured protesters in Tahrir because the people now are divided about the president. Maybe hubby is right and this will turn into a civil war. I truly hope not.
I've just read where one of the pro presient protesters admitted that they were forced into doing it. Which is what I was writing about earlier, that I figured they were paid or given some other incentive. It seems forced is the answer, sadly.
Just seeing some pictures of the crowds of demonstraters in Tahrir square. Wow!!! Really amazing!
4:00 I have to say, being cut off from the media has had one good affect on me, which is that I didn't freak out like I might have if I'd seen all the videos and pictures on the news that I can see now. It's pretty crazy out there and I really hope this can come to a peaceful end soon.
4:21 Helicopter going by periodically. Still not sure what they are looking for, but maybe just keeping an eye on things and probably informing the army of what's happening from their vantage point in the sky.
6:00 Still trying to catch up on the news and what's happening currently. Seems that the pro president protesters in Tahrir are at least partially made up of plain clothed police and seem to be targeting people from the media. Shame on the government. Shame on the president. They say there will be change but it's lies as usual. As much as I want things to be back to normal, I also support the people in their continued protesting to bring about much needed change.
6:45 and having trouble with the internet. Not sure if it's gone down again or something else happening.
6:50 seems internet is okay and maybe there's just a lot of traffic or some slight hiccups getting everything going again. I really hope it doesn't go down like it did before. So hard to be cut off from everything.
7:30 and hubby has gone down to the cafe to watch news and talk with people. Been relatively quiet so far this evening since dark. Let's see what happens tonight.
8:10 Sounds like the first tank of the night is going by.
8:40 Can hear a chanting crowd somewhere down the street. Went out onto the balcony but couldn't see anything.
9:10 First gun shots of the evening, not too close.
9:30 Still getting helicopters close by every half hour or so.
10:40 Tank time!
12:45 a.m. gun shots.
Over all it's been a kind of a loud night the last few hours. Not sure if it's people arguing nearby or what but it always sounds like it's on the verge of breaking out into a fight.
The news isn't too good and it looks like the president is trying to fool everyone but still use the strong arm tactics he has always used. I hope the people see through it. I hope they can finally get him off his throne!
4:00 fairly uneventful evening in our area. Gun shots now and then but nothing major. Not too much tank traffic. All in all kind of quiet. Not sure about tomorrow!
He was quite the mischievous little guy and the stories are often quite amusing. I love watching him smile and laugh as he spins the stories out for me.
I wish that I could remember my early years so well. At least I think I wish that.
When I try to remember my childhood, I can remember here and there an event, but it's never something funny or nice. It's usually something quite the opposite.
And also, it seems that many of my memories are really just pictures, I mean literally, I have seen the pictures from when I was younger and so though I don't remember the actual time or event, my memory is a picture of that time or event.
It's kind of strange. Kind of sad.
I wish I had memories to look back on and laugh and smile about.
However, my memory for current happenings, including recent history, are usually quite excellent. And not so much for hubby. It seems our memories, in ability to recall them, are quite reversed.
I wonder how it would be to have your whole life available on DVD to watch as you wished. Fast forward through the boring parts. The sleeping and being in class, etc., but to really see and feel the things you have long forgotten. What's the point of having memory if it doesn't work?
:::
I was browsing around online the other day and found a whole slew of people living in Cairo or other parts of Egypt who blog. Expats that is, people who have moved here from other countries.
I read a handful to see what they were like. Some were nice, some were boring. But I wonder what it is, everyone's obsession with writing out the minutiae of their life? Does this speak to a larger issue of disconnection? Of needing to be heard or validated? I don't know why I write, only that it's a need. I'm just not sure what's pushing that need.
I wish I had something more interesting to write about. Or some great wisdoms to share. Maybe thoughts about current politics and world events. But honestly I'm just not that deep. That's not to say I think I'm shallow, just... I guess my interests and emotions lay elsewhere, and for some reason they don't get shared here. I'm sure I must have, buried inside somewhere, something great to share. It's just... buried.
Okay, enough blathering on....
Today's log is shorter, as are the next (last) few after this.
And I wanted to point out, that although I mention a few times in this and other logs, that I wish things were getting back to normal, I don't mean that I wish things were exactly the same as before, president and all, I just mean that I wish things would settle down and we could get to living our lives without the constant interruption of the army and protesting and all the stuff that is going on.
That doesn't mean I don't care for what's happening. And I know it's an involved process and takes time. I just want some normalcy. I don't think that's too much to ask?
:::
Wednesday, February 2nd
1:30 p.m. and I'm woken by a helicopter flying directly overhead and also by my husband calling to see if the internet is working. Takes me a minute to get the computer up since I was sleeping, but yes, alhamdulillah, the internet is back.
Couple minutes later and now there are crowds down on the street chanting for the president. Lots of car horns honking in time with the people chanting. Not sure if they are walking down towards Tahrir or not. This is the second bunch I've heard in the last few minutes. Tempted to get the camera and go out but after just having woken and seen so many crowds pass by already previously, I just can't be bothered.
No idea what the news is yet but now that there's internet I need to check mail and news and lots of other things.
2:50 Well finally starting to get a look at the news in the media. Seems there has been so much support for the people of Egypt from people all over the world. I've just seen from CNN that there are injured protesters in Tahrir because the people now are divided about the president. Maybe hubby is right and this will turn into a civil war. I truly hope not.
I've just read where one of the pro presient protesters admitted that they were forced into doing it. Which is what I was writing about earlier, that I figured they were paid or given some other incentive. It seems forced is the answer, sadly.
Just seeing some pictures of the crowds of demonstraters in Tahrir square. Wow!!! Really amazing!
4:00 I have to say, being cut off from the media has had one good affect on me, which is that I didn't freak out like I might have if I'd seen all the videos and pictures on the news that I can see now. It's pretty crazy out there and I really hope this can come to a peaceful end soon.
4:21 Helicopter going by periodically. Still not sure what they are looking for, but maybe just keeping an eye on things and probably informing the army of what's happening from their vantage point in the sky.
6:00 Still trying to catch up on the news and what's happening currently. Seems that the pro president protesters in Tahrir are at least partially made up of plain clothed police and seem to be targeting people from the media. Shame on the government. Shame on the president. They say there will be change but it's lies as usual. As much as I want things to be back to normal, I also support the people in their continued protesting to bring about much needed change.
6:45 and having trouble with the internet. Not sure if it's gone down again or something else happening.
6:50 seems internet is okay and maybe there's just a lot of traffic or some slight hiccups getting everything going again. I really hope it doesn't go down like it did before. So hard to be cut off from everything.
7:30 and hubby has gone down to the cafe to watch news and talk with people. Been relatively quiet so far this evening since dark. Let's see what happens tonight.
8:10 Sounds like the first tank of the night is going by.
8:40 Can hear a chanting crowd somewhere down the street. Went out onto the balcony but couldn't see anything.
9:10 First gun shots of the evening, not too close.
9:30 Still getting helicopters close by every half hour or so.
10:40 Tank time!
12:45 a.m. gun shots.
Over all it's been a kind of a loud night the last few hours. Not sure if it's people arguing nearby or what but it always sounds like it's on the verge of breaking out into a fight.
The news isn't too good and it looks like the president is trying to fool everyone but still use the strong arm tactics he has always used. I hope the people see through it. I hope they can finally get him off his throne!
4:00 fairly uneventful evening in our area. Gun shots now and then but nothing major. Not too much tank traffic. All in all kind of quiet. Not sure about tomorrow!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Fruit Loops and Captain Crunch
It's funny to me, well, maybe funny isn't the right word, but... weird, when I think back on the different foods I ate growing up and continuing until today.
As kids we like the sugary bright colored foods. Even as adults I'd say most people like sugary bright foods.
But aside from being a bit picky as to artificial flavors and colors, I surely can't eat the same foods I did when I was younger.
The thought of a large piece of chocolate cake gives me the shivers, and not in a good way. All that sugar and butter just makes me feel sick thinking about it, and I know if I ate it I wouldn't feel well.
I'm not sure if this is a case of having not eaten a lot of sugar for so long that my body just won't tolerate larger amounts, or just getting older or what.
But I often find myself fondly remembering eating things like cheese puffs or captain crunch with crunchberries or chocolate pop-tarts. Many many things that I wouldn't even think about eating today.
Sometimes I get a bit sad , wishing I could eat with abandon the way I did when I was younger, but upon further contemplation, I realize I don't want to fill my body with all that junk. It's not "real" food, it's chemically altered, manufactured, filled with artificial colors and flavors and stabilizers and stuff to make it last til dooms day.
So, now when hubby is eating something that I wouldn't touch, I find that a good sniff of it is enough (mostly) to fill any cravings, and I can be content with putting healthier foods into my body to keep it running.
If given the chance to go back in time for a day to eat whatever I wanted, to remember what all that junk tasted like and get a fill of it, I'd probably jump at the chance, given that there'd be no ill effects. I don't think anyone is turning back my clock though.
Okay, enough about food, on to today's log. This is the fourth I believe.
:::
Tuesday, February 1st
12:30 p.m. and I'm woken by the sound of protesters outside. My first thought is that it's going to be another day like last Friday.
I got out of bed, threw on some clothes, covered my hair and grabbed the camera on the way to the balcony. By the time I got there, the chanting had either died out or gone by me completely, and all I could catch was the end of the group marching right up Faisel Street, right along with the cars.
I'm not sure how big the group is since I missed the beginning of it, but when I called hubby who is down at the cafe to ask him what was going on, he said that they were marching all the way to Tahrir square and they hoped to attract other protesters to march along with them. So presumably the group, if it makes it that far, will be quite large.
My first hope is that everyone will be safe today and come to no harm. The violence really wears at me. No matter what it's for or the cause, it just really brings me down. I know people want change and things aren't always fair in life, but I guess I'm just a big peace baby at heart. lol
Anyways, there was some arguing down on the street after the protesters had gone by and I asked hubby what they were arguing about. He said they were mad about the protesters going because it meant their houses (everyone's houses?) would be unprotected from the thugs. This arguing was very loud and very animated and I wasn't so sure that it wouldn't break out in a fight, but it seemed to settle down after a few minutes.
I heard a helicopter going by shortly after the protesters went by, so I'm sure their progress is being followed.
God help the protesters and God help us all.
1:15 and I'm tired after too little sleep. I need a nap already!
2:50 Word is that there is half a million people in Tahrir square!!! Holy smokes can you even imagine that number of people in one place? I can't. And especially not in that area. It is large but I don't see how it could hold that number of people. It must be absolute chaos there. I'm told that the number of protesters who were for the current president and against today's protesters and very small in number. Which I think is good news and hopefully will help to prevent any major disaster. I guess a decision is expected today on whether the president will stay or go. If he stays, I'm not sure if the protesters will stop or what will happen. I guess this will be a long few hours of waiting to find out what will happen.
5:00 Dishes and laundry are done and I've just finished book ten of the Sookie Stackhouse stories, so I'll need to find something new to occupy me as far as reading goes. Feeling antsy and restless and there's not much to keep me occupied at the moment. Thinking of family and friends back home.
5:30 We lay down to try to get some rest before the evening really starts up. There is a helicopter making regular sweeps of the area.
7:00 Neither of us could find sleep so we just talked about what was happening.
It's pretty windy outside tonight and definitely chillier. Not sure if that will affect the groups out in the streets or not.
7:30 Hubby heard that the group in Tahrir that was for the president had grown to 6,000 people, which still seems like nothing compared to the half a million who want the president gone. However, it appears that with those 6k people, there are movie stars and journalists or other famous people, who are making a claim that the president is their father and how can the people act this way, etc., etc.
Now when I first heard that there were going to be people protesting against the protesters, who wanted to keep the current president, I found it really hard to believe, and my thought was that they were either relatives of the current government who had been rallied together, or just people who were getting paid to take a stand against the protesters. When I heard that actors had gotten in on it, it made me feel even more sure that these were people who were getting paid money or some other form of incentive to try to dissuade the protesters. Honestly it's just kind of sick. The abuses that the government have heaped on the people, and for some famous folk to get up and try to use their status to get people to go back to being subservient sheep. They should be ashamed of themselves.
8:30 helicopter passing close by.
It's actually been fairly quiet this evening so far, which is a good thing. Not sure if it's the cool weather or something else keeping people inside. Or maybe they're all down at Tahrir square.
9:00 helicopters going by every 15 minutes or so.
9:18 Just called hubby who's down at the cafe. It was just announced that the president will give a speech, though it wasn't announced what time the speech would be, so everyone is waiting. Someone else is speaking right now in a live interview but I can't remember who he said it was. One of the ministers perhaps.
10:20 first tank i've heard tonight
Five days now with no internet. Although we aren't getting news online, there is still news to be heard. And hubby has noticed that the news agencies here are finally starting to turn around and actually report instead of just echoing what the government wants them to. It would be nice if they continued on the path of getting actual information out.
Watching the movie Troy. Can't say the acting is great but the story seems appropriate. People fighting for what they want and love.
11:10 Hubby called and it seems the president gave his speech. He has conceded and will not run for re-election. There is more to it but I didn't get the details.
Congratulations to Egypt and her people! I'm sure there will be much celebrating, though there is much work to be done moving forward.
Supposedly the internet will be back tonight, but no idea if and when that will happen.
I can hear what sounds like a crowd outside somewhere chanting and some random single gunshots. Celebrating? :)
I did find out yesterday what the deal was with the police letting the prisoners out of jail. I'll have to ask hubby because my mind has misplaced the details, but it was in relation to one man being mad at another for something.
I'm surprised there really isn't more celebrating outside. I wonder what it will be like tomorrow. And will the nights continue? The thugs are still loose and the police never did show up in our neighborhood. So much remains to be seen.
12:00 Called the folks and were talking with them for a bit when hubby and I started to hear a crowd chanting and getting closer. I was still on the phone with my parents and so I went out onto the balcony so they could hear. I couldn't tell where the crowd was at first but they were coming from further down the street in our direction and they finally got to the spot where we could see them. And then there was quite a bit of gun fire happening. I think it made my parents a little nervous but I guess I'm used to it? I mean not really, but my thought was, "dang, I can't record this with my camera while I'm on the phone". lol?
Turns out that the people are not happy that Mubarak will stay until his term is over, they want him to leave NOW! Can't blame them, because I can't see what would change if he stays til elections in September, but unless someone else steps up, what can happen?
1:30 and hubby has gone back down to the cafe to watch the news. He's worried about what will happen to the people who aren't leaving Tahrir square.
Things sure are a mess at the moment. I definitely think there should have been some better leadership or plan going into this "revolution", but there wasn't.
I can hear a crowd again outside as I'm writing this. Who knows what they're doing.
Anyways, be careful what you wish for right?
2:20 gun shots and crowd in the distance.
2:45 gun shots. went outside to see what all the commotion was about and there were overloaded minibuses (heading towards Tahrir square) full of people yelling and chanting. was taking video and someone starting shooting. a lot. i kept the camera going but stood back against the wall behind me, so i was blocked from being in the line of fire by the side of the patio.
it seems that now the people are happy with the president's announcement and are chanting good things about the president? i don't understand how can this be! hubby thinks there could well be a civil war if people can't get their act together and their story straight. and i don't think anyone wants a civil war.
Weirder and weirder i tell you. Even hubby is concerned about going outside tomorrow.
3:15 and another small crowd chanting as they walk up the road towards Tahrir square. This is how my day started at just past noon and I guess it's how my day will end. I think this is the 4th group I've seen today going that direction up the road. I think fourth but it could be more, I'm losing track.
3:50 Watched two movies tonight and can't settle on anything to read. Tired from not enough sleep lately and a little too much nervous energy. Time for bed I think. I'll be happy if we're not woken by gun shots or any more crowds going by.
As kids we like the sugary bright colored foods. Even as adults I'd say most people like sugary bright foods.
But aside from being a bit picky as to artificial flavors and colors, I surely can't eat the same foods I did when I was younger.
The thought of a large piece of chocolate cake gives me the shivers, and not in a good way. All that sugar and butter just makes me feel sick thinking about it, and I know if I ate it I wouldn't feel well.
I'm not sure if this is a case of having not eaten a lot of sugar for so long that my body just won't tolerate larger amounts, or just getting older or what.
But I often find myself fondly remembering eating things like cheese puffs or captain crunch with crunchberries or chocolate pop-tarts. Many many things that I wouldn't even think about eating today.
Sometimes I get a bit sad , wishing I could eat with abandon the way I did when I was younger, but upon further contemplation, I realize I don't want to fill my body with all that junk. It's not "real" food, it's chemically altered, manufactured, filled with artificial colors and flavors and stabilizers and stuff to make it last til dooms day.
So, now when hubby is eating something that I wouldn't touch, I find that a good sniff of it is enough (mostly) to fill any cravings, and I can be content with putting healthier foods into my body to keep it running.
If given the chance to go back in time for a day to eat whatever I wanted, to remember what all that junk tasted like and get a fill of it, I'd probably jump at the chance, given that there'd be no ill effects. I don't think anyone is turning back my clock though.
Okay, enough about food, on to today's log. This is the fourth I believe.
:::
Tuesday, February 1st
12:30 p.m. and I'm woken by the sound of protesters outside. My first thought is that it's going to be another day like last Friday.
I got out of bed, threw on some clothes, covered my hair and grabbed the camera on the way to the balcony. By the time I got there, the chanting had either died out or gone by me completely, and all I could catch was the end of the group marching right up Faisel Street, right along with the cars.
I'm not sure how big the group is since I missed the beginning of it, but when I called hubby who is down at the cafe to ask him what was going on, he said that they were marching all the way to Tahrir square and they hoped to attract other protesters to march along with them. So presumably the group, if it makes it that far, will be quite large.
My first hope is that everyone will be safe today and come to no harm. The violence really wears at me. No matter what it's for or the cause, it just really brings me down. I know people want change and things aren't always fair in life, but I guess I'm just a big peace baby at heart. lol
Anyways, there was some arguing down on the street after the protesters had gone by and I asked hubby what they were arguing about. He said they were mad about the protesters going because it meant their houses (everyone's houses?) would be unprotected from the thugs. This arguing was very loud and very animated and I wasn't so sure that it wouldn't break out in a fight, but it seemed to settle down after a few minutes.
I heard a helicopter going by shortly after the protesters went by, so I'm sure their progress is being followed.
God help the protesters and God help us all.
1:15 and I'm tired after too little sleep. I need a nap already!
2:50 Word is that there is half a million people in Tahrir square!!! Holy smokes can you even imagine that number of people in one place? I can't. And especially not in that area. It is large but I don't see how it could hold that number of people. It must be absolute chaos there. I'm told that the number of protesters who were for the current president and against today's protesters and very small in number. Which I think is good news and hopefully will help to prevent any major disaster. I guess a decision is expected today on whether the president will stay or go. If he stays, I'm not sure if the protesters will stop or what will happen. I guess this will be a long few hours of waiting to find out what will happen.
5:00 Dishes and laundry are done and I've just finished book ten of the Sookie Stackhouse stories, so I'll need to find something new to occupy me as far as reading goes. Feeling antsy and restless and there's not much to keep me occupied at the moment. Thinking of family and friends back home.
5:30 We lay down to try to get some rest before the evening really starts up. There is a helicopter making regular sweeps of the area.
7:00 Neither of us could find sleep so we just talked about what was happening.
It's pretty windy outside tonight and definitely chillier. Not sure if that will affect the groups out in the streets or not.
7:30 Hubby heard that the group in Tahrir that was for the president had grown to 6,000 people, which still seems like nothing compared to the half a million who want the president gone. However, it appears that with those 6k people, there are movie stars and journalists or other famous people, who are making a claim that the president is their father and how can the people act this way, etc., etc.
Now when I first heard that there were going to be people protesting against the protesters, who wanted to keep the current president, I found it really hard to believe, and my thought was that they were either relatives of the current government who had been rallied together, or just people who were getting paid to take a stand against the protesters. When I heard that actors had gotten in on it, it made me feel even more sure that these were people who were getting paid money or some other form of incentive to try to dissuade the protesters. Honestly it's just kind of sick. The abuses that the government have heaped on the people, and for some famous folk to get up and try to use their status to get people to go back to being subservient sheep. They should be ashamed of themselves.
8:30 helicopter passing close by.
It's actually been fairly quiet this evening so far, which is a good thing. Not sure if it's the cool weather or something else keeping people inside. Or maybe they're all down at Tahrir square.
9:00 helicopters going by every 15 minutes or so.
9:18 Just called hubby who's down at the cafe. It was just announced that the president will give a speech, though it wasn't announced what time the speech would be, so everyone is waiting. Someone else is speaking right now in a live interview but I can't remember who he said it was. One of the ministers perhaps.
10:20 first tank i've heard tonight
Five days now with no internet. Although we aren't getting news online, there is still news to be heard. And hubby has noticed that the news agencies here are finally starting to turn around and actually report instead of just echoing what the government wants them to. It would be nice if they continued on the path of getting actual information out.
Watching the movie Troy. Can't say the acting is great but the story seems appropriate. People fighting for what they want and love.
11:10 Hubby called and it seems the president gave his speech. He has conceded and will not run for re-election. There is more to it but I didn't get the details.
Congratulations to Egypt and her people! I'm sure there will be much celebrating, though there is much work to be done moving forward.
Supposedly the internet will be back tonight, but no idea if and when that will happen.
I can hear what sounds like a crowd outside somewhere chanting and some random single gunshots. Celebrating? :)
I did find out yesterday what the deal was with the police letting the prisoners out of jail. I'll have to ask hubby because my mind has misplaced the details, but it was in relation to one man being mad at another for something.
I'm surprised there really isn't more celebrating outside. I wonder what it will be like tomorrow. And will the nights continue? The thugs are still loose and the police never did show up in our neighborhood. So much remains to be seen.
12:00 Called the folks and were talking with them for a bit when hubby and I started to hear a crowd chanting and getting closer. I was still on the phone with my parents and so I went out onto the balcony so they could hear. I couldn't tell where the crowd was at first but they were coming from further down the street in our direction and they finally got to the spot where we could see them. And then there was quite a bit of gun fire happening. I think it made my parents a little nervous but I guess I'm used to it? I mean not really, but my thought was, "dang, I can't record this with my camera while I'm on the phone". lol?
Turns out that the people are not happy that Mubarak will stay until his term is over, they want him to leave NOW! Can't blame them, because I can't see what would change if he stays til elections in September, but unless someone else steps up, what can happen?
1:30 and hubby has gone back down to the cafe to watch the news. He's worried about what will happen to the people who aren't leaving Tahrir square.
Things sure are a mess at the moment. I definitely think there should have been some better leadership or plan going into this "revolution", but there wasn't.
I can hear a crowd again outside as I'm writing this. Who knows what they're doing.
Anyways, be careful what you wish for right?
2:20 gun shots and crowd in the distance.
2:45 gun shots. went outside to see what all the commotion was about and there were overloaded minibuses (heading towards Tahrir square) full of people yelling and chanting. was taking video and someone starting shooting. a lot. i kept the camera going but stood back against the wall behind me, so i was blocked from being in the line of fire by the side of the patio.
it seems that now the people are happy with the president's announcement and are chanting good things about the president? i don't understand how can this be! hubby thinks there could well be a civil war if people can't get their act together and their story straight. and i don't think anyone wants a civil war.
Weirder and weirder i tell you. Even hubby is concerned about going outside tomorrow.
3:15 and another small crowd chanting as they walk up the road towards Tahrir square. This is how my day started at just past noon and I guess it's how my day will end. I think this is the 4th group I've seen today going that direction up the road. I think fourth but it could be more, I'm losing track.
3:50 Watched two movies tonight and can't settle on anything to read. Tired from not enough sleep lately and a little too much nervous energy. Time for bed I think. I'll be happy if we're not woken by gun shots or any more crowds going by.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Me again
Not much going on in the "exciting" department.
Had some power outages recently and aside from that, some burnt out lightbulbs. Not sure what the power outages were about but I hope they aren't starting early for the summer!
The light bulbs were a bit of a pain since one was in the kitchen and we didn't have any spares and hubby couldn't get home to get me one til later in the evening. I suppose I could have walked down to the store but it wasn't that urgent. The only thing really waiting was dishes. And I really wasn't in any hurry to do them.
Actually, hubby bought me a new mop last week or so and that really is kind of exciting! :D
Seems goofy but when your mop goes bad and you can't clean your floor well, it's a bit of a pain, especially when sand storm season heats up. So, despite the fact that it's kind of fluorescent pink and yellow, I am happy and it mops well. lol
We might be inheriting some couches from one of the family's other apartments, and then recovering them. I'm kind of excited about that too actually. Well, not sure if they'll get recovered at first or we'll buy the kind of cover you just put over the whole couch. I'd prefer to get them entirely reupholstered and get new cushions but I'm not sure which it will be.
Also, finally got a pie plate, so I can make actual pie now.
I guess I did have some exciting stuff. :D
Today is part 3 of the log. So without further ado...
:::
Monday, January 31st
Sleep by 6:30 a.m. or so and wake by 10:30. Not by choice but hubby woke, I think it was his phone ringing. I thought I'd go back to sleep but after laying in bed for an hour I could see that wasn't going to happen.
Sunny today and a little chilly. Traffic outside but not heavy like before.
Hubby went to the store and got a few things. Crowded at the store but not too bad.
Helicopter passed by a little while ago.
No water in the apartment since I woke up. Not sure if it's just the normal thing of water being out but it doesn't seem like it since it's usually only out for a short while. It's been out for over an hour now, close to two I guess. We did fill up a case of emtpy water bottles on Friday night, so we have water to wash hands and stuff, but I'm really happy I did all the dishes and most of the laundry yesterday.
I feel the need to get outside as I'm starting to feel a little too restless and cooped up. Not sure if I'll get outside before it gets dark or not. Apparently, the curfew has been moved up to 3 p.m. now!! Why so early I don't know and I find it ridiculous! I'll be very interested to see what happens with the police supposedly guarding the streets and if we'll see them tonight.
Still no internet. This is day 4. Most of what I've been doing is reading. I think it's time to watch something and give my reading a break.
2:15 and getting out for a walk before curfew starts!
3:00 and back from our walk. Was really nice out, little bit of a chill but I was too warm with my fleece jacket. The sky is a brilliant blue. Just really beautiful out today.
Many people out walking around going from place to place, I imagine mostly buying groceries. I noticed on the main street that most of the shops were closed and some were closing as we walked by.
We made it over to Pyramid street and right as we came out, on the left, were tanks!! Boy I was excited and I asked hubby if we should ask them if it was okay to take pictures and he said that he thought they would say no, so we should sneak them. Tried to get video but no idea how that came out yet, and he got a few shots of me with the tanks in the background. Yay!
I just felt so happy to be outside with the sun on my face and getting some "fresh" air. It's hard being cooped up all the time. And there's really no way for me to go out at all once it's dark now. Too dangerous. There really aren't any women out on the streets past dark now.
Hubby heard that there were fresh protests in Tahrir square because people felt that though there are some changes being made, they are just surface changes and nothing will really be different. Sounds about right from what I can tell, and I say good for them. Keep at it til you get what you want.
I know it's hard on everyone. I don't know the percentage of people still going to work but it must be pretty small. I'm sure it's hit the taxi drivers very hard and I feel bad for them. This hits so many places that you wouldn't really think of. I think the people probably doing okay are the stores selling food. I think just about everything else is probably suffering.
To be honest, yes I wish this was over and that things could get back to some form of normal. Mainly I think it's just kind of exhausting to not know what's happening or how things will be moving forward, and I think just about everyone is a little on edge. You can feel it in the air. At least I can. Excited, nervous, hopeful.
4:00 and there is news that they might cut the power, so we're making sure laptops and whatever else are charged. The water did come back on earlier, so we're okay there until (and if) the power goes out, at which point the water pump will not work so we would be without power or water. Joy! Just like summer only not. lol
5:15 Been standing out on the balcony for a little while, just watching the neighborhood hum. First gun shots of the night a few streets over. The sun hasn't even quite hit the horizon yet. The traffic has died down considerably and I don't see any more women walking around, just men now. Wondering when and if the police will get here.
I actually saw quite a bit of air traffic while I was out on the balcony. Six planes. I think that they were all leaving as opposed to coming, but I don't know for sure. I can't imagine why anyone would by flying into Egypt now, unless they were Egyptian or had family here. I heard that the embassies were offering to help people who couldn't afford to get out, but I'm not sure if that was just the U.S. embassy or others as well. I imagine a lot of foreigners have left. Not a majority by any means, but quite a few I'm sure.
5:30 and the evening call to prayer. It's starting to get chilly outside. And I'm told the police are on their way! Let's see what tonight brings.
9:42 It's fairly loud out in the streets as it has been the last few nights with small groups of guys walking around and "protecting" the area. Although the police might be on their way, I guess they haven't gotten to our area yet. After I have some dinner I'll go out on the balcony to have a look around.
There was news that the president (or someone) told the internet provider companies to be ready to turn the internet back on when the word was given, so hopefully it will be very soon. Hard to be so cut off from the world. If we had a t.v. at the house or I could easily get a Western paper, maybe we wouldn't feel so cut off. Hubby has been listening to a little radio quite a bit to keep up with the news as best he can.
10:30 before I hear a tank rolling by, though there could have been some earlier that I didn't hear. This was one of the louder ones and much easier to hear, even though I was in the kitchen doing dishes.
11:00 gun shots in the distance.
12:00 Been waiting out on the balcony for a while in hopes of catching a tank passing by, but the schedule doesn't seem to be reliable at all tonight.
Called hubby who is down at the cafe watching the news and chatting. He heard that there would be protests tomorrow but that they were supposed to be peaceful, that the police had orders not to shoot. He also said that he heard that the U.S. government told the Egyptian president that if one more person was killed that the U.S. would stop all aid to Egypt. Wow! That's a pretty big statement. And Egypt certainly can't afford to lose the aid that they are receiving. I don't know that they spend it well but they can't afford to lose it in any case.
Really bored. I feel like I'm missing the excitment down on the street but there's really nothing to be missing. I'm just getting tired of feeling like I'm waiting for something to happen and not knowing what that something is.
Time to read or watch a movie.
1:00 Lots of noise and commotion down on the street for a little while now, but I'm tired and cold and don't feel like getting decent enough to go out on the balcony and see what's going on.
1:01 I can hear a tank going by.
1:17 and still a lot of commotion in the street nearby. Can't imagine what's going on.
1:30 Finally called hubby to see what all the noise is and he says it's from guys playing soccer. lol
1:40 Hubby called to ask me to drop something down from the balcony to him, and while I was out there I could hear there was a tank coming, so I dropped the item down to hubby, and then despite the fact that I am wearing flip flops and our floors are all tile, I ran into the apartment pell mell, grabbed the camera off our bed and turned it on while running back to the balcony, just in time to finally film a tank going by. I couldn't tell where it was when I first heard it coming, I just knew that it was coming, so unfortunately, it's passing by on the far side of the street, behind a fence, but I think the video probably still came out okay. Would be nice to get one while it was passing on the street just below. Hubby got a video of one with his cell phone, but, it's on his cell phone. lol
Also, while I was out there I saw the guys playing soccer. Right in the middle of Faisel street. Which would never have been able to happen in a million years before this whole revolution of sorts started. The street is always busy, and even at the wee hours like 3 and 4 a.m., there are still cars coming by. It quiets of course, but it's never truly empty like it mostly is now at night.
I do still see cars go by on the road on occasion at night, even though there is curfew, but I'm not sure if they have a special permission or they're just risking being out. Not sure what the punishment is for being out driving during curfew.
I heard that the Metro, the light rail here, is being stopped during curfew hours, as well as the choo choo trains. Steam trains? lol
So things are coming to a halt pretty much at night. Except for the groups of guys hanging out.
3:00 Hubby home and the big news is that although there is supposed to be a very large amount of protesters tomorrow in Tahrir square, and that the protest is supposed to be peaceful, now there is word that there is also a very large group who is taking the opposite side of the protesters, supposedly wanting the current president to stay in office. I can hardly believe it, but if this is the case, tomorrow could well turn out to be very violent and I wouldn't be surprised if there were some deaths involved.
Every day brings news but it's not always welcome. Really wish the internet would come back.
4:15 a.m. The quran has started playing on a speaker somewhere nearby.
5:00 tank going by.
5:30 ginormous cat fight in the stairwell. lol The cats are fierce here!
5:53 tank going by.
Had some power outages recently and aside from that, some burnt out lightbulbs. Not sure what the power outages were about but I hope they aren't starting early for the summer!
The light bulbs were a bit of a pain since one was in the kitchen and we didn't have any spares and hubby couldn't get home to get me one til later in the evening. I suppose I could have walked down to the store but it wasn't that urgent. The only thing really waiting was dishes. And I really wasn't in any hurry to do them.
Actually, hubby bought me a new mop last week or so and that really is kind of exciting! :D
Seems goofy but when your mop goes bad and you can't clean your floor well, it's a bit of a pain, especially when sand storm season heats up. So, despite the fact that it's kind of fluorescent pink and yellow, I am happy and it mops well. lol
We might be inheriting some couches from one of the family's other apartments, and then recovering them. I'm kind of excited about that too actually. Well, not sure if they'll get recovered at first or we'll buy the kind of cover you just put over the whole couch. I'd prefer to get them entirely reupholstered and get new cushions but I'm not sure which it will be.
Also, finally got a pie plate, so I can make actual pie now.
I guess I did have some exciting stuff. :D
Today is part 3 of the log. So without further ado...
:::
Monday, January 31st
Sleep by 6:30 a.m. or so and wake by 10:30. Not by choice but hubby woke, I think it was his phone ringing. I thought I'd go back to sleep but after laying in bed for an hour I could see that wasn't going to happen.
Sunny today and a little chilly. Traffic outside but not heavy like before.
Hubby went to the store and got a few things. Crowded at the store but not too bad.
Helicopter passed by a little while ago.
No water in the apartment since I woke up. Not sure if it's just the normal thing of water being out but it doesn't seem like it since it's usually only out for a short while. It's been out for over an hour now, close to two I guess. We did fill up a case of emtpy water bottles on Friday night, so we have water to wash hands and stuff, but I'm really happy I did all the dishes and most of the laundry yesterday.
I feel the need to get outside as I'm starting to feel a little too restless and cooped up. Not sure if I'll get outside before it gets dark or not. Apparently, the curfew has been moved up to 3 p.m. now!! Why so early I don't know and I find it ridiculous! I'll be very interested to see what happens with the police supposedly guarding the streets and if we'll see them tonight.
Still no internet. This is day 4. Most of what I've been doing is reading. I think it's time to watch something and give my reading a break.
2:15 and getting out for a walk before curfew starts!
3:00 and back from our walk. Was really nice out, little bit of a chill but I was too warm with my fleece jacket. The sky is a brilliant blue. Just really beautiful out today.
Many people out walking around going from place to place, I imagine mostly buying groceries. I noticed on the main street that most of the shops were closed and some were closing as we walked by.
We made it over to Pyramid street and right as we came out, on the left, were tanks!! Boy I was excited and I asked hubby if we should ask them if it was okay to take pictures and he said that he thought they would say no, so we should sneak them. Tried to get video but no idea how that came out yet, and he got a few shots of me with the tanks in the background. Yay!
I just felt so happy to be outside with the sun on my face and getting some "fresh" air. It's hard being cooped up all the time. And there's really no way for me to go out at all once it's dark now. Too dangerous. There really aren't any women out on the streets past dark now.
Hubby heard that there were fresh protests in Tahrir square because people felt that though there are some changes being made, they are just surface changes and nothing will really be different. Sounds about right from what I can tell, and I say good for them. Keep at it til you get what you want.
I know it's hard on everyone. I don't know the percentage of people still going to work but it must be pretty small. I'm sure it's hit the taxi drivers very hard and I feel bad for them. This hits so many places that you wouldn't really think of. I think the people probably doing okay are the stores selling food. I think just about everything else is probably suffering.
To be honest, yes I wish this was over and that things could get back to some form of normal. Mainly I think it's just kind of exhausting to not know what's happening or how things will be moving forward, and I think just about everyone is a little on edge. You can feel it in the air. At least I can. Excited, nervous, hopeful.
4:00 and there is news that they might cut the power, so we're making sure laptops and whatever else are charged. The water did come back on earlier, so we're okay there until (and if) the power goes out, at which point the water pump will not work so we would be without power or water. Joy! Just like summer only not. lol
5:15 Been standing out on the balcony for a little while, just watching the neighborhood hum. First gun shots of the night a few streets over. The sun hasn't even quite hit the horizon yet. The traffic has died down considerably and I don't see any more women walking around, just men now. Wondering when and if the police will get here.
I actually saw quite a bit of air traffic while I was out on the balcony. Six planes. I think that they were all leaving as opposed to coming, but I don't know for sure. I can't imagine why anyone would by flying into Egypt now, unless they were Egyptian or had family here. I heard that the embassies were offering to help people who couldn't afford to get out, but I'm not sure if that was just the U.S. embassy or others as well. I imagine a lot of foreigners have left. Not a majority by any means, but quite a few I'm sure.
5:30 and the evening call to prayer. It's starting to get chilly outside. And I'm told the police are on their way! Let's see what tonight brings.
9:42 It's fairly loud out in the streets as it has been the last few nights with small groups of guys walking around and "protecting" the area. Although the police might be on their way, I guess they haven't gotten to our area yet. After I have some dinner I'll go out on the balcony to have a look around.
There was news that the president (or someone) told the internet provider companies to be ready to turn the internet back on when the word was given, so hopefully it will be very soon. Hard to be so cut off from the world. If we had a t.v. at the house or I could easily get a Western paper, maybe we wouldn't feel so cut off. Hubby has been listening to a little radio quite a bit to keep up with the news as best he can.
10:30 before I hear a tank rolling by, though there could have been some earlier that I didn't hear. This was one of the louder ones and much easier to hear, even though I was in the kitchen doing dishes.
11:00 gun shots in the distance.
12:00 Been waiting out on the balcony for a while in hopes of catching a tank passing by, but the schedule doesn't seem to be reliable at all tonight.
Called hubby who is down at the cafe watching the news and chatting. He heard that there would be protests tomorrow but that they were supposed to be peaceful, that the police had orders not to shoot. He also said that he heard that the U.S. government told the Egyptian president that if one more person was killed that the U.S. would stop all aid to Egypt. Wow! That's a pretty big statement. And Egypt certainly can't afford to lose the aid that they are receiving. I don't know that they spend it well but they can't afford to lose it in any case.
Really bored. I feel like I'm missing the excitment down on the street but there's really nothing to be missing. I'm just getting tired of feeling like I'm waiting for something to happen and not knowing what that something is.
Time to read or watch a movie.
1:00 Lots of noise and commotion down on the street for a little while now, but I'm tired and cold and don't feel like getting decent enough to go out on the balcony and see what's going on.
1:01 I can hear a tank going by.
1:17 and still a lot of commotion in the street nearby. Can't imagine what's going on.
1:30 Finally called hubby to see what all the noise is and he says it's from guys playing soccer. lol
1:40 Hubby called to ask me to drop something down from the balcony to him, and while I was out there I could hear there was a tank coming, so I dropped the item down to hubby, and then despite the fact that I am wearing flip flops and our floors are all tile, I ran into the apartment pell mell, grabbed the camera off our bed and turned it on while running back to the balcony, just in time to finally film a tank going by. I couldn't tell where it was when I first heard it coming, I just knew that it was coming, so unfortunately, it's passing by on the far side of the street, behind a fence, but I think the video probably still came out okay. Would be nice to get one while it was passing on the street just below. Hubby got a video of one with his cell phone, but, it's on his cell phone. lol
Also, while I was out there I saw the guys playing soccer. Right in the middle of Faisel street. Which would never have been able to happen in a million years before this whole revolution of sorts started. The street is always busy, and even at the wee hours like 3 and 4 a.m., there are still cars coming by. It quiets of course, but it's never truly empty like it mostly is now at night.
I do still see cars go by on the road on occasion at night, even though there is curfew, but I'm not sure if they have a special permission or they're just risking being out. Not sure what the punishment is for being out driving during curfew.
I heard that the Metro, the light rail here, is being stopped during curfew hours, as well as the choo choo trains. Steam trains? lol
So things are coming to a halt pretty much at night. Except for the groups of guys hanging out.
3:00 Hubby home and the big news is that although there is supposed to be a very large amount of protesters tomorrow in Tahrir square, and that the protest is supposed to be peaceful, now there is word that there is also a very large group who is taking the opposite side of the protesters, supposedly wanting the current president to stay in office. I can hardly believe it, but if this is the case, tomorrow could well turn out to be very violent and I wouldn't be surprised if there were some deaths involved.
Every day brings news but it's not always welcome. Really wish the internet would come back.
4:15 a.m. The quran has started playing on a speaker somewhere nearby.
5:00 tank going by.
5:30 ginormous cat fight in the stairwell. lol The cats are fierce here!
5:53 tank going by.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!
Alright, yes, I do remember Mister Rogers fondly. I was just thinking about what a beautiful day it was today and that song popped into my head.
I think it was a little above 75 degrees today, though it's supposed to go back down to mid 60's tomorrow and after.
Still, days are getting longer, weather is getting warmer, and pretty soon it will be too warm for the heavy blanket on the bed, at which point it will go into storage until around December.
I love Spring.
Well, except for the allergies. lol
:::
Alright, after I posted today's post, I got a bug to redo the page, so yes, same blog but different colors and design to it. Let me know what you think. Like it, hate it, text too small, ugly colors, whatever.
:::
Things seem to be progressing here, though admittedly I am not keeping up with all of the latest news. I do get headlines and an occasional story but after all the constant news watching I did for a couple of weeks I really need a break from all that.
One thing that I have found very interesting, is that the government, well, now the military, send out text messages to everyone on their cell phones.
The way cell phones work here, is that you buy a sim card, which has a phone number on it, and put that in your phone, and then you buy some minutes for your phone and that's it!
Although you can buy a monthly subscription here for your phone, what the majority of people do is to buy minutes for their phone, no monthly plan involved.
So instead of paying a monthly bill, you just go to any corner stand or grocery and you will be able to buy cards (they are like the gift cards you can buy in the States for places like Target, etc.) worth a certain monetary amount, and then you enter the card information into your phone by dialing the phone company and entering the "fill up" number, and it fills up your phone with a corresponding number of minutes you can talk for.
So anyways, I have received probably 7 or so text messages on my cell phone, all in Arabic of course, from the government and military. Mostly just saying that they are here to protect the citizens and everything is fine.
And many other people are getting the messages as well. I even got one on my internet connection, which looks like a memory stick that you put in the USB port on your computer. The connection uses a sim card of course. Though that is on a monthly plan.
Well, the point is, I find this a really great means of communicating with citizens, and I'm wondering why this isn't done in the States? Or if it is done there, why it isn't more widespread, because I've never heard of it being done there. Seems like an effective way to get in touch with people during an emergency.
And of course, no matter how poor the people are here in Egypt, pretty much everyone has a cell phone.
:::
Okay, on with today's log. It's a bit shorter than the last one. And maybe not as interesting. I can't remember now though I read it last night. lol
One thing to note, I'm copy and pasting the text into this window from the file I originally wrote in. I have not made any spelling or other grammatical changes to clean the log up. This was how it was written and that's how it will stay.
Next post to come on Monday insha'Allah.
:::
Sunday, January 30th
Was asleep by 7 a.m. Woke several times and though hubby was out of bed by 11:30 or so, I actually managed to sleep til 2:30.
Just finished doing some cleaning on the balcony and hubby is cleaning the floors.
3:45 p.m. and we can hear some type of jet fighter flying by. Alright, I went outside to check them out. There were 2 jets and they made many many passes in the area. I tried to get some video but, you know, they move pretty fast and it's hard to estimate where they're going to come from exactly. The last couple of passes they made were so low that it was starting to get painful to listen to, even inside.
I was honestly a bit nervous, figuring that it was bad that they were flying around, but hubby thinks it's a good thing, to scare any thugs and report any masses to the army down on the street.
Speaking of which, we will not have army on our street, they will be on Pyramid street, which I mentioned is a 5 to 10 minute walk away. So, our streets will continue to be manned by the residents and I can only assume that tonight and some nights further, will be like last night.
Anyways, the jets stopped about 4:15 or so, so I had a good while to watch them flying overhead. Which, despite the fact that it made me a little nervous because I wasn't sure of their intent at the time, was actually pretty awesome. They are great to watch and I kind of felt like I was getting my own private air show.
5:40 now and the evening call to prayer is sounding. I heard today that the curfew starts at 4 p.m. and ends at 6 a.m.? Not sure the end time in the morning, but starting it at 4 seems a bit early. That's almost 2 hours before the sun hits the horizon.
Also heard that the president named a vice president for the first time in 30 years, though there is always supposed to have been one, and an elected one, not one who was appointed. Although it's a good step that there is at least a vice president, even if the people didn't get to elect him, the problem is that he's the equivalent of the head of the CIA or something like that. I'm not sure that's a great person to have as a vice president.
And even if the president is replacing ministers, I still don't trust what is happening.
The president shut down the only news agency that was reporting the truth here in Egypt, Al Jazeera. How can you trust a leader who not only limits free press but shuts it down entirely? I don't think you can. If the people let these changes go, and let things move forward with the changes the president has made, I think all of this, all the effort, will have been wasted. I don't think anything will change until and if they can manage to have a fair and un-tampered with election in September. Then, and only then, I think there might be some hope of change. Because you can bet that the people will not be voting to elect people who will keep the present regime in place.
Heard that the multi-national companies and embassies have internet back, but us common folk still have no internet. It's been 3 days now. Another restriction of freedom that tells me that the current government shouldn't be trusted.
I know things will be different now but I'm still not sure how. One of the things I am curious about is law enforcement, and what will happen with the police. It is well known that they are very easily bribed and from what I have read and heard, there are more criminal elements in the police structure than in the general society, if you do it by percentage or something at least. I'm not saying that there are NO honest police, but it is so well known that they are crooked that people really don't trust them.
I forgot, earlier, about the time that the jets were flying over, I noticed that there was a helicopter making circles. I figured it to include the area where my in-laws live and hubby confirmed it, though how large of an area it was circling I'm not sure. And neither sure what it was doing. Just interesting as I've never seen or heard a helicopter in the two years that I've been here. Not that I've ever heard jets here either.
6:45 and the first tank of the evening is rolling by.
7:42 and another tank going by. Whistles along the street as it goes by.
7:44 and the first gun shots of the night. Middle to far distance and rapid fire.
7:52 helicopter flying by somewhere near.
7:59 and I hear the helicopter flying nearby again, so maybe it's making a regular sweep of the area for a while? Really hard to know anything. Though it is much closer this time than when I heard it just a bit ago.
No surprise that the regular air traffic, which we hear a fair amount of since we seem to be close to the landing pattern, has died off quite a bit and I think I've only heard a few planes in the last few days. We really aren't that close to the airport at all, but I know on my return flight here from my visit to the States over the summer, I found it strange that we flew right over the pyramids, which is basically right next to where I live, before making our way over to the airport. I guess it really isn't that far for an airplane, though it takes us 45 minutes to drive there, without traffic.
8:34 and time for another round of helicopter flying around. Very close this time. If it had been daytime, maybe I'd be able to see if they were army helicopters or what, but as it's night and dark out, I don't think I'd be able to tell.
9:00 and time for another tank to pass by, to lots of whistles as usual. At this point, there really is no other traffic to speak of on the roads, so it's very loud and obvious when the tank comes by.
9:07 Just went out onto the balcony to see if I could catch the tank, but of course it had already gone. I waited too long to decide to try to see if I could get some video of it. But, there are lots of guys milling around out on the streets, walking in small groups, talking, carrying sticks and other weapons. I learned, actually, that the people here are very well armed, with many more people than I had imagined carrying guns of some sort, many of them even automatic weapons. I'm not sure if I feel safer with this news or not, seeing as how most of the people using them are probably not trained in how to use them and how to be careful and safe of other people in the area while they are shooting.
Hubby is out now with the others on the street, doing his guard duty. I know he really misses being able to read the news online to find out what is happening, and one way to find out is to be out on the street to hear what is going on, and to see the t.v. in the cafe down on the corner.
9:25 and time for another very close pass by the helicopter.
11:00 tank goes by and I finally catch it, but just the tail end, hardly able to be seen.
12:07 and tank time again. I love that everyone gets so excited when they go by.
12:25 and helicopter time. Further away this time.
Parents call and it's nice to hear from them and we catch up a bit on the news.
12:26 gun shots ack, very close. continual. whistling now and gun shots further away. no idea what is going on. not sure that it's a good idea to go out to check. yelling in the street. more gun shots, further away.
12:31 just went out onto the balcony to see what i could see and call hubby to see what was going on. i guess they caught a couple of guys with guns, and so the gun shots were to warn the guys they caught. i think. there were some more gun shots while i was out on the balcony. i think everyone is kind of trigger happy and i'd be a little nervous if i was hanging around anyone down on the street with a gun right now. lol?
12:33 and i hear a tank but the timing isn't right going by the rest of the night. they're about half hour early. who knows!
1:07 and tank time.
1:25 and hubby home. not sure if he will go back out or not. he says the police will be here tomorrow to guard the streets. not sure if i think that's a good thing or not, but off hand i'd say not. do you trust the people who let everyone out of jail to begin with??!
2:27 single gunshot in the distance.
3:35 multiple gun shots mid distance away.
3:43 hubby just got a text message on his cell phone from the phone company saying that the army was in the streets. i find this beyond strange! hubby says it's for people who don't have t.v. to be able to see the news i guess. weird.
I think it was a little above 75 degrees today, though it's supposed to go back down to mid 60's tomorrow and after.
Still, days are getting longer, weather is getting warmer, and pretty soon it will be too warm for the heavy blanket on the bed, at which point it will go into storage until around December.
I love Spring.
Well, except for the allergies. lol
:::
Alright, after I posted today's post, I got a bug to redo the page, so yes, same blog but different colors and design to it. Let me know what you think. Like it, hate it, text too small, ugly colors, whatever.
:::
Things seem to be progressing here, though admittedly I am not keeping up with all of the latest news. I do get headlines and an occasional story but after all the constant news watching I did for a couple of weeks I really need a break from all that.
One thing that I have found very interesting, is that the government, well, now the military, send out text messages to everyone on their cell phones.
The way cell phones work here, is that you buy a sim card, which has a phone number on it, and put that in your phone, and then you buy some minutes for your phone and that's it!
Although you can buy a monthly subscription here for your phone, what the majority of people do is to buy minutes for their phone, no monthly plan involved.
So instead of paying a monthly bill, you just go to any corner stand or grocery and you will be able to buy cards (they are like the gift cards you can buy in the States for places like Target, etc.) worth a certain monetary amount, and then you enter the card information into your phone by dialing the phone company and entering the "fill up" number, and it fills up your phone with a corresponding number of minutes you can talk for.
So anyways, I have received probably 7 or so text messages on my cell phone, all in Arabic of course, from the government and military. Mostly just saying that they are here to protect the citizens and everything is fine.
And many other people are getting the messages as well. I even got one on my internet connection, which looks like a memory stick that you put in the USB port on your computer. The connection uses a sim card of course. Though that is on a monthly plan.
Well, the point is, I find this a really great means of communicating with citizens, and I'm wondering why this isn't done in the States? Or if it is done there, why it isn't more widespread, because I've never heard of it being done there. Seems like an effective way to get in touch with people during an emergency.
And of course, no matter how poor the people are here in Egypt, pretty much everyone has a cell phone.
:::
Okay, on with today's log. It's a bit shorter than the last one. And maybe not as interesting. I can't remember now though I read it last night. lol
One thing to note, I'm copy and pasting the text into this window from the file I originally wrote in. I have not made any spelling or other grammatical changes to clean the log up. This was how it was written and that's how it will stay.
Next post to come on Monday insha'Allah.
:::
Sunday, January 30th
Was asleep by 7 a.m. Woke several times and though hubby was out of bed by 11:30 or so, I actually managed to sleep til 2:30.
Just finished doing some cleaning on the balcony and hubby is cleaning the floors.
3:45 p.m. and we can hear some type of jet fighter flying by. Alright, I went outside to check them out. There were 2 jets and they made many many passes in the area. I tried to get some video but, you know, they move pretty fast and it's hard to estimate where they're going to come from exactly. The last couple of passes they made were so low that it was starting to get painful to listen to, even inside.
I was honestly a bit nervous, figuring that it was bad that they were flying around, but hubby thinks it's a good thing, to scare any thugs and report any masses to the army down on the street.
Speaking of which, we will not have army on our street, they will be on Pyramid street, which I mentioned is a 5 to 10 minute walk away. So, our streets will continue to be manned by the residents and I can only assume that tonight and some nights further, will be like last night.
Anyways, the jets stopped about 4:15 or so, so I had a good while to watch them flying overhead. Which, despite the fact that it made me a little nervous because I wasn't sure of their intent at the time, was actually pretty awesome. They are great to watch and I kind of felt like I was getting my own private air show.
5:40 now and the evening call to prayer is sounding. I heard today that the curfew starts at 4 p.m. and ends at 6 a.m.? Not sure the end time in the morning, but starting it at 4 seems a bit early. That's almost 2 hours before the sun hits the horizon.
Also heard that the president named a vice president for the first time in 30 years, though there is always supposed to have been one, and an elected one, not one who was appointed. Although it's a good step that there is at least a vice president, even if the people didn't get to elect him, the problem is that he's the equivalent of the head of the CIA or something like that. I'm not sure that's a great person to have as a vice president.
And even if the president is replacing ministers, I still don't trust what is happening.
The president shut down the only news agency that was reporting the truth here in Egypt, Al Jazeera. How can you trust a leader who not only limits free press but shuts it down entirely? I don't think you can. If the people let these changes go, and let things move forward with the changes the president has made, I think all of this, all the effort, will have been wasted. I don't think anything will change until and if they can manage to have a fair and un-tampered with election in September. Then, and only then, I think there might be some hope of change. Because you can bet that the people will not be voting to elect people who will keep the present regime in place.
Heard that the multi-national companies and embassies have internet back, but us common folk still have no internet. It's been 3 days now. Another restriction of freedom that tells me that the current government shouldn't be trusted.
I know things will be different now but I'm still not sure how. One of the things I am curious about is law enforcement, and what will happen with the police. It is well known that they are very easily bribed and from what I have read and heard, there are more criminal elements in the police structure than in the general society, if you do it by percentage or something at least. I'm not saying that there are NO honest police, but it is so well known that they are crooked that people really don't trust them.
I forgot, earlier, about the time that the jets were flying over, I noticed that there was a helicopter making circles. I figured it to include the area where my in-laws live and hubby confirmed it, though how large of an area it was circling I'm not sure. And neither sure what it was doing. Just interesting as I've never seen or heard a helicopter in the two years that I've been here. Not that I've ever heard jets here either.
6:45 and the first tank of the evening is rolling by.
7:42 and another tank going by. Whistles along the street as it goes by.
7:44 and the first gun shots of the night. Middle to far distance and rapid fire.
7:52 helicopter flying by somewhere near.
7:59 and I hear the helicopter flying nearby again, so maybe it's making a regular sweep of the area for a while? Really hard to know anything. Though it is much closer this time than when I heard it just a bit ago.
No surprise that the regular air traffic, which we hear a fair amount of since we seem to be close to the landing pattern, has died off quite a bit and I think I've only heard a few planes in the last few days. We really aren't that close to the airport at all, but I know on my return flight here from my visit to the States over the summer, I found it strange that we flew right over the pyramids, which is basically right next to where I live, before making our way over to the airport. I guess it really isn't that far for an airplane, though it takes us 45 minutes to drive there, without traffic.
8:34 and time for another round of helicopter flying around. Very close this time. If it had been daytime, maybe I'd be able to see if they were army helicopters or what, but as it's night and dark out, I don't think I'd be able to tell.
9:00 and time for another tank to pass by, to lots of whistles as usual. At this point, there really is no other traffic to speak of on the roads, so it's very loud and obvious when the tank comes by.
9:07 Just went out onto the balcony to see if I could catch the tank, but of course it had already gone. I waited too long to decide to try to see if I could get some video of it. But, there are lots of guys milling around out on the streets, walking in small groups, talking, carrying sticks and other weapons. I learned, actually, that the people here are very well armed, with many more people than I had imagined carrying guns of some sort, many of them even automatic weapons. I'm not sure if I feel safer with this news or not, seeing as how most of the people using them are probably not trained in how to use them and how to be careful and safe of other people in the area while they are shooting.
Hubby is out now with the others on the street, doing his guard duty. I know he really misses being able to read the news online to find out what is happening, and one way to find out is to be out on the street to hear what is going on, and to see the t.v. in the cafe down on the corner.
9:25 and time for another very close pass by the helicopter.
11:00 tank goes by and I finally catch it, but just the tail end, hardly able to be seen.
12:07 and tank time again. I love that everyone gets so excited when they go by.
12:25 and helicopter time. Further away this time.
Parents call and it's nice to hear from them and we catch up a bit on the news.
12:26 gun shots ack, very close. continual. whistling now and gun shots further away. no idea what is going on. not sure that it's a good idea to go out to check. yelling in the street. more gun shots, further away.
12:31 just went out onto the balcony to see what i could see and call hubby to see what was going on. i guess they caught a couple of guys with guns, and so the gun shots were to warn the guys they caught. i think. there were some more gun shots while i was out on the balcony. i think everyone is kind of trigger happy and i'd be a little nervous if i was hanging around anyone down on the street with a gun right now. lol?
12:33 and i hear a tank but the timing isn't right going by the rest of the night. they're about half hour early. who knows!
1:07 and tank time.
1:25 and hubby home. not sure if he will go back out or not. he says the police will be here tomorrow to guard the streets. not sure if i think that's a good thing or not, but off hand i'd say not. do you trust the people who let everyone out of jail to begin with??!
2:27 single gunshot in the distance.
3:35 multiple gun shots mid distance away.
3:43 hubby just got a text message on his cell phone from the phone company saying that the army was in the streets. i find this beyond strange! hubby says it's for people who don't have t.v. to be able to see the news i guess. weird.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Mo better Monday
Sand storms off and on for the past week. It seems a little early in the year for it but then again, we're almost to March.
Weather is also starting to warm up a bit and there are a couple of days forecast at low 80's in the coming week.
I love the Fall and Spring here in Cairo, but the short Winter and the ever lasting Summer really just aren't that pleasant.
We recently bought a kind of small sized emergency light. You charge it by plugging it in, but then the light will last for quite some hours, so it will be useful in the Summer when the power goes out all the time. I do also have the hand crank flashflight, but you have to keep winding it every few minutes or so or the light starts getting dimmer and dimmer.
:::
Finally decided it was okay to post the log/journal that I kept while the internet was down during the recent activities here in Cairo. Looking back it seems that I kept a log for about 5 or 6 days, can't remember exactly.
I'll be posting a couple of entries a week. They're kind of long in one sense and there's no way I want to post it all at once and overwhelm anyone.
So, the first one today and then the next one either Wednesday or maybe Thursday.
Would appreciate any feedback on these posts. I had hubby read over the first day and he thought it was accurate and enjoyed reading it.
Unfortunately, most of what I got regarding images were videos, in which you can kind of clearly tell where we live. I'm not so excited about posting those up and I got very few pictures, so I'm not sure what to do about that. I may post up the videos privately for family or something to see. Will think about it.
So, onto the first day. By the way, this first day is fairly long but by the last log, it was much shorter.
:::
Jan 29, 2011
The sun has set some few hours ago. And now, in the dark, we hear gunshots. I am told that they are signals, from sentries on nearby streets. What they are signaling, I'm not certain.
It's disconcerting to hear them from a few streets away, and more so to hear them right on your own street.
I hope they don't keep at it throughout the night.
It is said that police were letting the prisoners out of the police stations. Which explains all the looting of electronics that has been happening in the last 24 or so hours. And not just thieves hubby says, they are "thugs". Apparently this has been done to keep people too busy guarding their houses to be able to go out and demonstrate.
They have looted many many places, some large, some small, all over Cairo.
I would have to say, not so safe to be walking the streets at night now.
Even the very young boys on the back streets are carrying around weapons, perhaps something like bats.
There is supposedly a curfew, from 6 p.m. til 7 a.m., but I don't know how long that is supposed to stay in effect.
Last night (Friday night), after things settled down on our street, was the quietest night I've ever spent here in Cairo. Hardly a car going by and not much to speak of for foot traffic either. It was eerily quiet.
But we did hear unexplained firing. My first thought was that it was tear gas being fired somewhere not too far away, the sound carrying in the quiet night.
Hubby thinks more along the lines of gunfire of some kind, which may be more accurate, since it was more rapid fire than I think the tear gas cannons shoot.
This went on through the wee hours, every 20 minutes or so from 3 a.m. til maybe 5:30 a.m.
They cut the internet by midnight on Thursday night, and when we woke at noon on Friday, all cell lines were dead as well.
The phone lines came back by 11:30 a.m. today, Saturday, but they still have not turned the internet back on.
With cell phones, communication and information is able to spread more easily, once again.
We hear news that there are buildings that have been set afire in Tahrir square, the area that seems to be the main meeting point for the protesters.
We know someone who knows someone living in Tahrir square, with a direct view. I wonder what it has been like the last few days, and although I'm not sure I'd feel safe living there right now, I wish I had been able to capture some of that on film.
The army was out with tanks on Pyramid Street last night (about 5 or 10 minutes walk from us). Not sure if they are still there or what is going on.
I heard that the army is being sent out to guard the streets because the police are just gone. But, I hear that the army is nicer than the police, that the police are justs corrupt and can't be trusted.
So, presumably we will have an army guy, gun and all, guarding somewhere nearby? Probably quite a few since we live just off the main street.
After things died down yesterday, hubby went out to buy some supplies, as we weren't sure what would happen.
He got a case of water and food and even some candles. We had heard that they might cut the power and though I have a flashlight that runs by manual power, it's always good to have a backup.
There is still a smell here and there today of tear gas. It got up onto some of the roofs and I suppose with the wind blowing off and on it hasn't all gone yet. I hope it goes soon. I hate to leave the windows open with drying laundry, if there's a the chance of even little bits of tear gas blowing in.
It actually sprinkled about 3 times in the night, but only for about a minute each time. We could hear the splatters on the air conditioner outside our bedroom. And it was very windy as well. There was even dust in the air but thankfully that didn't turn into a dust storm today.
The army has asked everyone to guard their selves and their possessions until they can get to each area to protect us.
well, 10:00 p.m. and it seems they are attacking on our street? I just got out of the shower and hubby got a call while I was showering that the building his business partner lives in was attacked. I believe they were able to take care of the situation, but it seems that things are getting out of hand.
It can't be just prisoners that were let out who are attacking, so I don't really understand this.
The people wanted freedom and a fair government, and how does that jibe with stealing and looting? Are the two factions completely separate, one only taking advantage of the groundwork the other laid? (I figured out the answer to this later on, with the additional information that the police let out the prisoners on purpose, to keep people busy and from demonstrating)
So, things are a bit beyond not safe on the streets right now, and I think I'd even be reluctant to go out in the daytime.
Hubby was telling me about the gun shots in the neighborhood and what they mean. It seems that this is well known, and he knew about it because he was living in Kuwait when the takeover happened there.
So what happens is this, the block or parts of the block get together, and they separate out all those people that have guns. Those people take turns, up on the roofs, guarding the buildings. They fire shots at intervals to let the others know that everything is okay. The first guy starts and it goes down the line. If anyone misses firing a shot, then they know something is wrong.
There are also guys down at the beginning of every street, and you need to get a password before leaving the street, and then when you come back, you need to repeat the password to pass by.
Sounds like a lot of work but perhaps it's effective.
Okay, just heard from hubby, apparently the gun that was going off on our street was just the owner of the building "saying hello". *sigh*
I don't know what will happen in the coming days. I'm excited and nervous and happy and scared.
The banks are still closed and not sure when they will open. I know the stock market has taken a tumble as well.
And I hear that things have erupted in Jordan as well, and other countries. It seems the middle east is having some kind of general revolution!
I have to say, they way the government has handled this whole situation is just disgusting. They obviously care nothing for the people, for rights, for freedoms. For peoples well being and happiness. The things I have seen the government doing in the past few days give me just the tiniest hint of why the people here are so fed up. I don't blame them.
I'm not about to take to the streets and protest. And I feel bad for those who do, getting tear gassed and water cannoned, and even being shot at. Even a rubber bullet can kill you when they shoot in the right place.
But the people have rights, everyone has rights, and after 30 years of being denied the rights, people are simply fed up. They've had enough.
I'm tempted to play some music and chill out a bit, but I don't want anything to interfere with the sounds outside, as it's a very good clue as to what is going on around us. We need to be at least somewhat alert.
I've put a chicken in the oven to roast, so at least we'll have something nice to eat for dinner. Wouldn't mind some home made macaroni and cheese with that, and a nice crisp salad, but no such luck, don't have the right ingredients for either. Maybe just some pasta.
Not sure when it will be "safe" to upload videos of the protesting and attacks that happened here yesterday, Friday, but when I feel it is safe I will. Or I'll send them to someone else to upload and link to them.
I'm not sure how far the government will go in that department. I know that they don't have the same freedoms here in that way that we do in the States, the freedom to post what you want, to state your opinions and thoughts. So I worry about stepping over any lines.
I'm sure the government has bigger fish to fry than an American housewife who mostly talks about how dusty it is, but still.... doesn't hurt to at least be somewhat cautious? People have gone to jail here for posting online. I don't want to be one of those people.
Hubby just said he wants to help guard the building. This raised immediate alarms for me. "What if.., what if... what if...", but he feels that he needs to help, and that more people make a better show at scaring off thugs. Not sure when he will go down. He will sleep for a few hours and then see how things are.
I have a feeling this will be a long night, and like many nights recently, I may not sleep til the sky is light.
10:45 p.m. Just heard from my folks. They used my calling card I left them to call my cell phone. Nice to hear from family and back home and feel connected to something outside the mess here.
Midnight and eating dinner when a gun goes off four times in rapid succession. I'm not sure gunfire makes for good digestion.
12:41 and shooting and a scuffle on the street. Not sure what's going on. Hubby is down at the cafe on the corner......and now the scuffle seems to have moved a street over or a little further up but it's still going on. Some yelling and shouting and now it sounds like a big fight. Time to go look out the window and see if I can see anything. Hmmmm, couldn't see out the window so went out onto the balcony. There seemed to be a small group of guys harassing a car on the street but I don't know why. Several small groups of men going about with bats and such. The streets are definitely not the safe place to be. All in all lots of activity going on. People in small groups talking, or walking around.
There is a mosque nearby that plays some quran for a while every now and again, which is nice and somewhat comforting, but I'm not sure if they'll do that into the night or what. It's almost 1 a.m. now. I do hear a speaker somewhere broadcasting something but it's not the quran, more like someone speaking? Maybe it's a radio on a speaker or something but I can't tell.
Also, it's rather chilly out tonight! The weather was absolutely perfect for the demonstrations on Friday. It went from being in the mid 50's lately, to what I believe was mid 70's Friday. Couldn't have asked for better weather. Sunny and warm but not hot. Still nice today, though it was cloudy very early in the morning.
1:11 and sounds of another scuffle outside.
Hubby called a bit ago and when I asked him about the earlier commotion and the cars being stopped he said that the groups were stopping cars they didn't recognize and making sure everything was okay. Glad I don't have to be out driving!
1:38 and another scuffle down on the street. Quran has been playing nicely somewhere nearby for a while.
Scuffle going up and down in intensity. Wish I could understand what they were yelling. Though it's possible even if I understood Arabic I wouldn't know what they were yelling. Definitely fighting going on though. Doesn't sound good. Hubby still down there somewhere.
2:13 and time for the next scuffle. Little farther away but I can still hear it, and it's moving closer.
2:24 quran still playing outside somewhere. it's calming.
3:09 and I hear several people whistling and a loud rumbling noise, and I had heard the same things several times in the night but always missed what was going on by the time I went to look, though my suspicion was that the people out on the street were whistling whenever the army was going by on their tanks. This time when I heard the whistling start up and the noise that was there as well, I ran to the window, and sure enough, there's a tank rolling down the street. Dorothy, you aren't in Kansas anymore.
3:31 and I can hear a tank rolling down the street. They're quite loud.
3:41 gun shots in the near distance.
4:06 and quran still going. I wonder if it will stop or just keep playing?
4:15 gun shots in the near distance.
4:17 and a group of guys going by whistling. I really don't understand what the whistling is about? It seems every time a group goes by there are some people who are whistling. Maybe it's some sort of signal.
4:36 finally tired and worn out and want to go to bed, but hubby is still down at the front of the street on guard duty with some other guys. I think he likes it, being involved somehow. I think they all do. Feeling like they have some control over what is happening, at least on our own little turf. I will be happy if I wake up rested tomorrow, to bright sunshine and day life that is somewhat normal compared to what the night life is here now.
I wonder what is in store for this country. Whether or not the demonstrations will have their intended effect remains to be seen, but they have affected this country to it's core, to be sure. I have a feeling that things will be unsettled for a time, though no idea how long. And I have a feeling that some things will change, but I can't get a handle on exactly what. If the current government remains with no change to it, I think things will get worse, and I feel that the people, if they can't maintain the demonstrations at the same level as now, will go underground and things will get somehow uglier and scarier. And even if the government changes and someone new comes to power, things will obviously change, but it is not so easy. Even if the changes are good and moving in a positive direction, it is not so easy.
And, sorry to say it, but Egypt is now going to be on a list of places not to vacation in the coming months and perhaps years. And this is sad, because it is a big part of how the country and its people bring in income. It's a beautiful country, with a simple and lovely people, and there truly are wondrous things to see and explore.
I don't know how I feel about living here, I will have to see how things turn out after all the dust settles. Maybe things will feel at least somewhat normal again at some point. Maybe not. Too early to tell. But I don't think I will feel so carefree about life here for a long while. I'm not sure anyone will.
I had hoped that my son might spend a semester or year in college here, but I'm not sure how I feel about that anymore. If I had him with me now, I would wish that he wasn't experiencing this, that he was back in the States. It's not the worst thing I've ever gone through, (though it's certainly all sorts of surreal), but we never want the ones we love to be in any sort of harms way.
5:00 and I think I hear a tank coming. I had wanted to get video of one going by but honestly I'm too tired to get the camera out and run out to the balcony. If they're going about in the day I'll try to get a picture or some video.
5:05 lots of multiple shot gun fire in the middle (to far?) distance. And our local rooster crowing, who crows at all hours of the day and night. Quite the conversationalist he is!
5:15 hubby finally home. says we can stay at the in-laws tomorrow (night?) if I want to. Not sure that's a fantastic idea. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.
5:16 and now the morning call to prayer is starting up in all the mosques around us.
6:00 and time to lay down in bed and try to sleep.
Weather is also starting to warm up a bit and there are a couple of days forecast at low 80's in the coming week.
I love the Fall and Spring here in Cairo, but the short Winter and the ever lasting Summer really just aren't that pleasant.
We recently bought a kind of small sized emergency light. You charge it by plugging it in, but then the light will last for quite some hours, so it will be useful in the Summer when the power goes out all the time. I do also have the hand crank flashflight, but you have to keep winding it every few minutes or so or the light starts getting dimmer and dimmer.
:::
Finally decided it was okay to post the log/journal that I kept while the internet was down during the recent activities here in Cairo. Looking back it seems that I kept a log for about 5 or 6 days, can't remember exactly.
I'll be posting a couple of entries a week. They're kind of long in one sense and there's no way I want to post it all at once and overwhelm anyone.
So, the first one today and then the next one either Wednesday or maybe Thursday.
Would appreciate any feedback on these posts. I had hubby read over the first day and he thought it was accurate and enjoyed reading it.
Unfortunately, most of what I got regarding images were videos, in which you can kind of clearly tell where we live. I'm not so excited about posting those up and I got very few pictures, so I'm not sure what to do about that. I may post up the videos privately for family or something to see. Will think about it.
So, onto the first day. By the way, this first day is fairly long but by the last log, it was much shorter.
:::
Jan 29, 2011
The sun has set some few hours ago. And now, in the dark, we hear gunshots. I am told that they are signals, from sentries on nearby streets. What they are signaling, I'm not certain.
It's disconcerting to hear them from a few streets away, and more so to hear them right on your own street.
I hope they don't keep at it throughout the night.
It is said that police were letting the prisoners out of the police stations. Which explains all the looting of electronics that has been happening in the last 24 or so hours. And not just thieves hubby says, they are "thugs". Apparently this has been done to keep people too busy guarding their houses to be able to go out and demonstrate.
They have looted many many places, some large, some small, all over Cairo.
I would have to say, not so safe to be walking the streets at night now.
Even the very young boys on the back streets are carrying around weapons, perhaps something like bats.
There is supposedly a curfew, from 6 p.m. til 7 a.m., but I don't know how long that is supposed to stay in effect.
Last night (Friday night), after things settled down on our street, was the quietest night I've ever spent here in Cairo. Hardly a car going by and not much to speak of for foot traffic either. It was eerily quiet.
But we did hear unexplained firing. My first thought was that it was tear gas being fired somewhere not too far away, the sound carrying in the quiet night.
Hubby thinks more along the lines of gunfire of some kind, which may be more accurate, since it was more rapid fire than I think the tear gas cannons shoot.
This went on through the wee hours, every 20 minutes or so from 3 a.m. til maybe 5:30 a.m.
They cut the internet by midnight on Thursday night, and when we woke at noon on Friday, all cell lines were dead as well.
The phone lines came back by 11:30 a.m. today, Saturday, but they still have not turned the internet back on.
With cell phones, communication and information is able to spread more easily, once again.
We hear news that there are buildings that have been set afire in Tahrir square, the area that seems to be the main meeting point for the protesters.
We know someone who knows someone living in Tahrir square, with a direct view. I wonder what it has been like the last few days, and although I'm not sure I'd feel safe living there right now, I wish I had been able to capture some of that on film.
The army was out with tanks on Pyramid Street last night (about 5 or 10 minutes walk from us). Not sure if they are still there or what is going on.
I heard that the army is being sent out to guard the streets because the police are just gone. But, I hear that the army is nicer than the police, that the police are justs corrupt and can't be trusted.
So, presumably we will have an army guy, gun and all, guarding somewhere nearby? Probably quite a few since we live just off the main street.
After things died down yesterday, hubby went out to buy some supplies, as we weren't sure what would happen.
He got a case of water and food and even some candles. We had heard that they might cut the power and though I have a flashlight that runs by manual power, it's always good to have a backup.
There is still a smell here and there today of tear gas. It got up onto some of the roofs and I suppose with the wind blowing off and on it hasn't all gone yet. I hope it goes soon. I hate to leave the windows open with drying laundry, if there's a the chance of even little bits of tear gas blowing in.
It actually sprinkled about 3 times in the night, but only for about a minute each time. We could hear the splatters on the air conditioner outside our bedroom. And it was very windy as well. There was even dust in the air but thankfully that didn't turn into a dust storm today.
The army has asked everyone to guard their selves and their possessions until they can get to each area to protect us.
well, 10:00 p.m. and it seems they are attacking on our street? I just got out of the shower and hubby got a call while I was showering that the building his business partner lives in was attacked. I believe they were able to take care of the situation, but it seems that things are getting out of hand.
It can't be just prisoners that were let out who are attacking, so I don't really understand this.
The people wanted freedom and a fair government, and how does that jibe with stealing and looting? Are the two factions completely separate, one only taking advantage of the groundwork the other laid? (I figured out the answer to this later on, with the additional information that the police let out the prisoners on purpose, to keep people busy and from demonstrating)
So, things are a bit beyond not safe on the streets right now, and I think I'd even be reluctant to go out in the daytime.
Hubby was telling me about the gun shots in the neighborhood and what they mean. It seems that this is well known, and he knew about it because he was living in Kuwait when the takeover happened there.
So what happens is this, the block or parts of the block get together, and they separate out all those people that have guns. Those people take turns, up on the roofs, guarding the buildings. They fire shots at intervals to let the others know that everything is okay. The first guy starts and it goes down the line. If anyone misses firing a shot, then they know something is wrong.
There are also guys down at the beginning of every street, and you need to get a password before leaving the street, and then when you come back, you need to repeat the password to pass by.
Sounds like a lot of work but perhaps it's effective.
Okay, just heard from hubby, apparently the gun that was going off on our street was just the owner of the building "saying hello". *sigh*
I don't know what will happen in the coming days. I'm excited and nervous and happy and scared.
The banks are still closed and not sure when they will open. I know the stock market has taken a tumble as well.
And I hear that things have erupted in Jordan as well, and other countries. It seems the middle east is having some kind of general revolution!
I have to say, they way the government has handled this whole situation is just disgusting. They obviously care nothing for the people, for rights, for freedoms. For peoples well being and happiness. The things I have seen the government doing in the past few days give me just the tiniest hint of why the people here are so fed up. I don't blame them.
I'm not about to take to the streets and protest. And I feel bad for those who do, getting tear gassed and water cannoned, and even being shot at. Even a rubber bullet can kill you when they shoot in the right place.
But the people have rights, everyone has rights, and after 30 years of being denied the rights, people are simply fed up. They've had enough.
I'm tempted to play some music and chill out a bit, but I don't want anything to interfere with the sounds outside, as it's a very good clue as to what is going on around us. We need to be at least somewhat alert.
I've put a chicken in the oven to roast, so at least we'll have something nice to eat for dinner. Wouldn't mind some home made macaroni and cheese with that, and a nice crisp salad, but no such luck, don't have the right ingredients for either. Maybe just some pasta.
Not sure when it will be "safe" to upload videos of the protesting and attacks that happened here yesterday, Friday, but when I feel it is safe I will. Or I'll send them to someone else to upload and link to them.
I'm not sure how far the government will go in that department. I know that they don't have the same freedoms here in that way that we do in the States, the freedom to post what you want, to state your opinions and thoughts. So I worry about stepping over any lines.
I'm sure the government has bigger fish to fry than an American housewife who mostly talks about how dusty it is, but still.... doesn't hurt to at least be somewhat cautious? People have gone to jail here for posting online. I don't want to be one of those people.
Hubby just said he wants to help guard the building. This raised immediate alarms for me. "What if.., what if... what if...", but he feels that he needs to help, and that more people make a better show at scaring off thugs. Not sure when he will go down. He will sleep for a few hours and then see how things are.
I have a feeling this will be a long night, and like many nights recently, I may not sleep til the sky is light.
10:45 p.m. Just heard from my folks. They used my calling card I left them to call my cell phone. Nice to hear from family and back home and feel connected to something outside the mess here.
Midnight and eating dinner when a gun goes off four times in rapid succession. I'm not sure gunfire makes for good digestion.
12:41 and shooting and a scuffle on the street. Not sure what's going on. Hubby is down at the cafe on the corner......and now the scuffle seems to have moved a street over or a little further up but it's still going on. Some yelling and shouting and now it sounds like a big fight. Time to go look out the window and see if I can see anything. Hmmmm, couldn't see out the window so went out onto the balcony. There seemed to be a small group of guys harassing a car on the street but I don't know why. Several small groups of men going about with bats and such. The streets are definitely not the safe place to be. All in all lots of activity going on. People in small groups talking, or walking around.
There is a mosque nearby that plays some quran for a while every now and again, which is nice and somewhat comforting, but I'm not sure if they'll do that into the night or what. It's almost 1 a.m. now. I do hear a speaker somewhere broadcasting something but it's not the quran, more like someone speaking? Maybe it's a radio on a speaker or something but I can't tell.
Also, it's rather chilly out tonight! The weather was absolutely perfect for the demonstrations on Friday. It went from being in the mid 50's lately, to what I believe was mid 70's Friday. Couldn't have asked for better weather. Sunny and warm but not hot. Still nice today, though it was cloudy very early in the morning.
1:11 and sounds of another scuffle outside.
Hubby called a bit ago and when I asked him about the earlier commotion and the cars being stopped he said that the groups were stopping cars they didn't recognize and making sure everything was okay. Glad I don't have to be out driving!
1:38 and another scuffle down on the street. Quran has been playing nicely somewhere nearby for a while.
Scuffle going up and down in intensity. Wish I could understand what they were yelling. Though it's possible even if I understood Arabic I wouldn't know what they were yelling. Definitely fighting going on though. Doesn't sound good. Hubby still down there somewhere.
2:13 and time for the next scuffle. Little farther away but I can still hear it, and it's moving closer.
2:24 quran still playing outside somewhere. it's calming.
3:09 and I hear several people whistling and a loud rumbling noise, and I had heard the same things several times in the night but always missed what was going on by the time I went to look, though my suspicion was that the people out on the street were whistling whenever the army was going by on their tanks. This time when I heard the whistling start up and the noise that was there as well, I ran to the window, and sure enough, there's a tank rolling down the street. Dorothy, you aren't in Kansas anymore.
3:31 and I can hear a tank rolling down the street. They're quite loud.
3:41 gun shots in the near distance.
4:06 and quran still going. I wonder if it will stop or just keep playing?
4:15 gun shots in the near distance.
4:17 and a group of guys going by whistling. I really don't understand what the whistling is about? It seems every time a group goes by there are some people who are whistling. Maybe it's some sort of signal.
4:36 finally tired and worn out and want to go to bed, but hubby is still down at the front of the street on guard duty with some other guys. I think he likes it, being involved somehow. I think they all do. Feeling like they have some control over what is happening, at least on our own little turf. I will be happy if I wake up rested tomorrow, to bright sunshine and day life that is somewhat normal compared to what the night life is here now.
I wonder what is in store for this country. Whether or not the demonstrations will have their intended effect remains to be seen, but they have affected this country to it's core, to be sure. I have a feeling that things will be unsettled for a time, though no idea how long. And I have a feeling that some things will change, but I can't get a handle on exactly what. If the current government remains with no change to it, I think things will get worse, and I feel that the people, if they can't maintain the demonstrations at the same level as now, will go underground and things will get somehow uglier and scarier. And even if the government changes and someone new comes to power, things will obviously change, but it is not so easy. Even if the changes are good and moving in a positive direction, it is not so easy.
And, sorry to say it, but Egypt is now going to be on a list of places not to vacation in the coming months and perhaps years. And this is sad, because it is a big part of how the country and its people bring in income. It's a beautiful country, with a simple and lovely people, and there truly are wondrous things to see and explore.
I don't know how I feel about living here, I will have to see how things turn out after all the dust settles. Maybe things will feel at least somewhat normal again at some point. Maybe not. Too early to tell. But I don't think I will feel so carefree about life here for a long while. I'm not sure anyone will.
I had hoped that my son might spend a semester or year in college here, but I'm not sure how I feel about that anymore. If I had him with me now, I would wish that he wasn't experiencing this, that he was back in the States. It's not the worst thing I've ever gone through, (though it's certainly all sorts of surreal), but we never want the ones we love to be in any sort of harms way.
5:00 and I think I hear a tank coming. I had wanted to get video of one going by but honestly I'm too tired to get the camera out and run out to the balcony. If they're going about in the day I'll try to get a picture or some video.
5:05 lots of multiple shot gun fire in the middle (to far?) distance. And our local rooster crowing, who crows at all hours of the day and night. Quite the conversationalist he is!
5:15 hubby finally home. says we can stay at the in-laws tomorrow (night?) if I want to. Not sure that's a fantastic idea. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.
5:16 and now the morning call to prayer is starting up in all the mosques around us.
6:00 and time to lay down in bed and try to sleep.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The blaaaaaaahs
I wanted to post on Monday, to get back on track with regular Monday postings, but it seems I've got a serious case of the blahs.
This is extending to pretty much everything. Dishes, laundry, other housework. Even baking and cooking.
It's like my life got put on hold for 3 weeks and coming off that I just haven't quite figured out how to get back to whatever normal passed for around here.
But, today I've made some good progress. Got a load of dishes done and just baked some lemon biscuits. Hopefully this will be the start of shaking the blahs off.
:::
You know, many people have told me that I was lucky to be living here, to be able to witness history in the making.
I feel a couple (or more) of different ways about this.
For sure, it's been monumental. It's been scary and exciting and sad and wonderful. It's brought tears to myself and countless others.
And I'm not entirely ungrateful about being here during this time. But... I didn't do anything physically to support what was going on, and not even anything non-physical, unless thoughts count. I didn't voice my thoughts and opinions openly, not openly online anyways, and so as well as not contributing to things, I could only watch like the rest of the world on the television (for me the computer).
So... I'm not sure how that constitutes lucky in the witnessing history department.
The last couple of days before things ended, I actually went online to look up prices for flights back to the States, because I had reached a point where I really wasn't happy about staying here. At all.
But, I decided that I didn't have the money to spend and didn't want to ask anyone else for it, and that I would just try to tough it out.
What is lucky about hearing gun shots ring out on your street frequently during the night, or hearing tanks go down the street once an hour all night long?
What's lucky about hearing and seeing groups of men roving the streets, albeit in the name of protecting the neighborhood, holding guns and large sticks, knives and swords?
If I had been in the States and my husband had been here I would have been worried sick. So in that respect I'm happy to have been here.
And I wish that I could claim some kind of victory but I wasn't fighting with anything but thoughts.
I don't think there is any luck or honor in that.
I'm sincerely and completely happy for the Egyptian people. I was on the verge of tears off and on for 24 hours after the final news came. I hope, with all my heart, that they get the freedoms, all of the freedoms, that they truly desire.
I also hope they use it wisely and well. There is a beauty to this country that I would hate to see spoiled by it becoming too "Western". That doesn't mean they shouldn't have freedom, just that some people waste freedom in ways that don't further themselves or anyone else.
I hope all that makes some sense.
I'm excited now, now that things are moving forward, to see where this country will go.
What shape will it take? What will come forward? What will change for the better?
There are so many areas that could use SO much help. And people, I think for the most part, are willing to try and help and "fix" the stuff that needs fixing. Even if they are unskilled or don't know what to do, I think they will be there asking to lend a hand.
Peace to all the people of Egypt. Peace to the families who have lost a family member in the fighting that went on. Peace to us all.
:::
Hope to be back to regular Monday posting. Hope to post some video and diary soon of the three weeks.
This is extending to pretty much everything. Dishes, laundry, other housework. Even baking and cooking.
It's like my life got put on hold for 3 weeks and coming off that I just haven't quite figured out how to get back to whatever normal passed for around here.
But, today I've made some good progress. Got a load of dishes done and just baked some lemon biscuits. Hopefully this will be the start of shaking the blahs off.
:::
You know, many people have told me that I was lucky to be living here, to be able to witness history in the making.
I feel a couple (or more) of different ways about this.
For sure, it's been monumental. It's been scary and exciting and sad and wonderful. It's brought tears to myself and countless others.
And I'm not entirely ungrateful about being here during this time. But... I didn't do anything physically to support what was going on, and not even anything non-physical, unless thoughts count. I didn't voice my thoughts and opinions openly, not openly online anyways, and so as well as not contributing to things, I could only watch like the rest of the world on the television (for me the computer).
So... I'm not sure how that constitutes lucky in the witnessing history department.
The last couple of days before things ended, I actually went online to look up prices for flights back to the States, because I had reached a point where I really wasn't happy about staying here. At all.
But, I decided that I didn't have the money to spend and didn't want to ask anyone else for it, and that I would just try to tough it out.
What is lucky about hearing gun shots ring out on your street frequently during the night, or hearing tanks go down the street once an hour all night long?
What's lucky about hearing and seeing groups of men roving the streets, albeit in the name of protecting the neighborhood, holding guns and large sticks, knives and swords?
If I had been in the States and my husband had been here I would have been worried sick. So in that respect I'm happy to have been here.
And I wish that I could claim some kind of victory but I wasn't fighting with anything but thoughts.
I don't think there is any luck or honor in that.
I'm sincerely and completely happy for the Egyptian people. I was on the verge of tears off and on for 24 hours after the final news came. I hope, with all my heart, that they get the freedoms, all of the freedoms, that they truly desire.
I also hope they use it wisely and well. There is a beauty to this country that I would hate to see spoiled by it becoming too "Western". That doesn't mean they shouldn't have freedom, just that some people waste freedom in ways that don't further themselves or anyone else.
I hope all that makes some sense.
I'm excited now, now that things are moving forward, to see where this country will go.
What shape will it take? What will come forward? What will change for the better?
There are so many areas that could use SO much help. And people, I think for the most part, are willing to try and help and "fix" the stuff that needs fixing. Even if they are unskilled or don't know what to do, I think they will be there asking to lend a hand.
Peace to all the people of Egypt. Peace to the families who have lost a family member in the fighting that went on. Peace to us all.
:::
Hope to be back to regular Monday posting. Hope to post some video and diary soon of the three weeks.
Friday, February 4, 2011
To echo the Whos of Whoville
We are here, we are here, we are here!
We are relatively safe here in our area of Cairo. Watching the news like everyone else.
Wondering what will happen in the coming days.
Not really much else happening. I read a lot to get through the internet down time, which was almost 6 days.
The weather has been nicer, but I guess that's to be expected as we're in February now and by April it will start get fairly warm. I'm not saying it's balmy right now, just not as freezing. lol
Will update more when there's something to update.
We are relatively safe here in our area of Cairo. Watching the news like everyone else.
Wondering what will happen in the coming days.
Not really much else happening. I read a lot to get through the internet down time, which was almost 6 days.
The weather has been nicer, but I guess that's to be expected as we're in February now and by April it will start get fairly warm. I'm not saying it's balmy right now, just not as freezing. lol
Will update more when there's something to update.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Two, solved
Had a nice long post written out and the computer ate it. Kind of irritated about that.
The big news today is the protests going on all over Cairo.
It's turned ugly and violent and people on both sides getting hurt.
Not sure how much media coverage it's getting in the States, but most of the major news stations here are avoiding it.
However there is a huge amount of media online from ordinary people, so it's still possible to get lots of live coverage.
Scary stuff I tell you, and I'm glad that I'm inside and not out there in the thick of it!
:::
Well it's been over an hour since I wrote that above. Still trying to follow coverage online. The protest is still going strong in places and it's now 6:30 p.m.!
*edit - 10:45 now and still going!
:::
In a previous post I had talked about the different sounds that I hear throughout the day, and that there were a couple that I weren't sure the source of.
Hubby was able to discover both, though one of them he knew already and just hadn't heard when I was hearing it since he is generally at work when I hear it.
So, the most irritating of the two sounds turns out to be a guy walking around selling cotton candy from clear plastic bags hung on a tall pole.
He's got some kind of horn or something he blows, and it sounds like someone ran over the horn while it was playing a scale, and badly out of tune at that.
When I was finally able to "point" the sound out to hubby, he knew exactly what it was, as it seems to be the default here for the cotton candy guys, much like we know it in the States when we hear the ice cream truck go by. I guess this sound has been irritating people for many years. lol
Well, maybe the kids don't mind it but it really drives me up a wall. You can hear it so clearly for blocks around and when he passes by right on our street? Aaarrgggh!!!! lol
The second sound, slightly less annoying but not by much, turns out to be from a guy riding around on a bicycle selling fresh milk out of metal tanks.
I'm not sure if the sound is a hand held horn or something he blows on, but it's kind of circus-y sounding and reminds me of clowns, and not in a good way!
I hear this guy go by at least twice a day, (assuming it's the same guy and not two different guys) and the second time he goes by is generally after midnight.
Who buys milk after midnight? Weird!
Anyways, happy to have those two sounds identified, even if there's nothing I can do about the noise pollution they make.
:::
Mostly keeping up with my picture project. Have only missed two days since I started. I don't always post the picture right when I take them, but I will never put a picture up for a day when I didn't take one. They might just come every other day or so at times.
And as predicted, still mostly focused on food.
There's such a great lot to look at in this world, and not just in old places like Cairo, but really, in any place. This earth is just full of wonders, from the mighty to the minuscule.
That's all for now.... maybe I'll post tomorrow any updates about what's happening today in Cairo.
If you have me on facebook, I have a few links posted on my status update that you can take a look at.
The big news today is the protests going on all over Cairo.
It's turned ugly and violent and people on both sides getting hurt.
Not sure how much media coverage it's getting in the States, but most of the major news stations here are avoiding it.
However there is a huge amount of media online from ordinary people, so it's still possible to get lots of live coverage.
Scary stuff I tell you, and I'm glad that I'm inside and not out there in the thick of it!
:::
Well it's been over an hour since I wrote that above. Still trying to follow coverage online. The protest is still going strong in places and it's now 6:30 p.m.!
*edit - 10:45 now and still going!
:::
In a previous post I had talked about the different sounds that I hear throughout the day, and that there were a couple that I weren't sure the source of.
Hubby was able to discover both, though one of them he knew already and just hadn't heard when I was hearing it since he is generally at work when I hear it.
So, the most irritating of the two sounds turns out to be a guy walking around selling cotton candy from clear plastic bags hung on a tall pole.
He's got some kind of horn or something he blows, and it sounds like someone ran over the horn while it was playing a scale, and badly out of tune at that.
When I was finally able to "point" the sound out to hubby, he knew exactly what it was, as it seems to be the default here for the cotton candy guys, much like we know it in the States when we hear the ice cream truck go by. I guess this sound has been irritating people for many years. lol
Well, maybe the kids don't mind it but it really drives me up a wall. You can hear it so clearly for blocks around and when he passes by right on our street? Aaarrgggh!!!! lol
The second sound, slightly less annoying but not by much, turns out to be from a guy riding around on a bicycle selling fresh milk out of metal tanks.
I'm not sure if the sound is a hand held horn or something he blows on, but it's kind of circus-y sounding and reminds me of clowns, and not in a good way!
I hear this guy go by at least twice a day, (assuming it's the same guy and not two different guys) and the second time he goes by is generally after midnight.
Who buys milk after midnight? Weird!
Anyways, happy to have those two sounds identified, even if there's nothing I can do about the noise pollution they make.
:::
Mostly keeping up with my picture project. Have only missed two days since I started. I don't always post the picture right when I take them, but I will never put a picture up for a day when I didn't take one. They might just come every other day or so at times.
And as predicted, still mostly focused on food.
There's such a great lot to look at in this world, and not just in old places like Cairo, but really, in any place. This earth is just full of wonders, from the mighty to the minuscule.
That's all for now.... maybe I'll post tomorrow any updates about what's happening today in Cairo.
If you have me on facebook, I have a few links posted on my status update that you can take a look at.
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