CheetahhhhhhhBlog Mark III

We’re back in Yanbu and thank God. Whatever complaints we may have about Yanbu, we’re always glad to be back.

We went to the US embassy in Riyadh a second time with all the necessary documents to get Little Bug an American passport and a social security card. Unfortunately there are bureaucratic problems with this, viz, I have to personally pick them up so they can watch me sign it. So we’re going to have to make another trip to Jeddah next week. Thankfully this can be taken care of in Jeddah, unlike Vanessa’s visa to the States, which can only be done in Riyadh.

I see on the news that the Peanut Farmer (President Jimmy Carter) has condemned the Bush administration for allowing torture. This is no news to anyone paying attention, however, Jimmy is such a good and noble man that Bush can no longer make his feeble denials.

We had a small pregnancy scare. I shouldn’t say “scare” because we were happy about it, except for the minor detail that it would interrupt our much-anticipated July trip to Thailand. We had settled on the name Claire Alexandra. Anyway little Claire will have to wait a few more months.

I really wish I had put all my investment money into Far East mutual funds, because they are just skyrocketing. I didn’t put it all there, in fact I hesitated for months and months, for the simple reason that I don’t understand the Far Eastern market. Don’t buy something you don’t understand. However I do understand that China is heading nowhere but up. Naturally I anticipate this won’t last forever. Indeed the smart money says it will stop after the Beijing olympics, because right now, in prep for the olympics, the Chinese money is flowing freely. You have to anticipate a bubble bursting. Nevertheless my SAMBA Far Eastern mutual fund has returned 11.8% in 3 weeks, which is outrageously good.

First of all, we bought a DVD of Blood Diamond, and I really liked the movie. The Cheetahhhhhhh loves Africa as everybody knows. Leonardo Decaprio did a really good Rhodesian accent, indeed, I must say, he’s a really good actor. I held that Titanic movie against him for a long time and refused to take him seriously. However he was great in The Aviator and again now in Blood Diamond. The only thing I didn’t like about the movie was the end, which I found unconvincing. Why would the Rhodie suddenly give up? It didn’t seem to be his nature to give up where diamonds were concerned. And also the very end. Why does the panel of people give the guy a standing ovation? He didn’t do anything except follow others around. I think that standing ovation is a typical post-colonial whiplash kind of “OK, this guy is black, let’s act coddling with him” kind of response. Anyway if you simply stop watching the movie right when the RHodie gives up, you have a great movie.

We went out in Riyadh last night. We sat around until late at night waiting for the city to get moving. We got a little crazy waiting. Bug got bored in the hotel room. He can walk now, incidentally. Anyway for one thing, there is a hell of a lot of money in Riyadh. More than Jeddah. Also the traffic is just terrible, as bad as Manila. Also there is all this talk that Riyadh is very conservative. Vanessa brought a head scarf in case the religious police hassle her. However we have seen no evidence of Riyadh being conservative. Indeed in a department store, a Saudi girl actually came and spoke to the Bug and Cheetahhhhhhh. She said, “You have a cute son.” Bug and I were shocked. It was the first time in 3 years a Saudi girl spoke to me. We were at The Kingdom Mall and there were lots of Saudi girls walking around unveiled. Indeed I saw a couple with the new-fangled open abayas. So if Riyadh is conservative, it isn’t in the rich-n-fancy neighborhood anyway.

So we are in Riyadh. It’s really a lot of work to travel with an infant, I might note. Bug can’t sit still for very long and 2 hours on an airplane is an eternity for him.

This is our first time in Riyadh, and it’s also Ramadan, so all the Saudis are sleeping all day. However I must say, Riyadh seems kind of like a ghost town. It’s a huge city, bigger than Jeddah, but there is nobody in the streets, and no cars on the roads. It’s a little weird.

Bug has a cold and has trouble sleeping. This is making him cranky. We got only a couple hours of sleep last night and then had to wake up early and head off to the US embassy for Vanessa’s appointment. After waiting for several hours, we finally spoke with a consular officer. She simply fingerprinted Vanessa and told us we’d get her visa in a week. I think this easiness was because she’s married to an American; I watched other people having long and discouraging interviews. We inquired about getting Vanessa naturalized so she can get a fancy blue passport.  We will have to live in the USA for 5 years for that. So that will have to wait until I retire I guess, though who knows. We are going to go back on Monday or Tuesday for getting The Bug an American passport and a social security number.

Because of all the hassle of Ramadan, and because the Bug is sick, we aren’t feeling too ambitious about exploring Riyadh. I think what may get us out tomorrow is that the Holiday Inn room-service food isn’t that great.

My Asian stocks mutual fund made $400 last week, and I’m pleased as punch about it.

Poor Little Bug has a cold, and is rather miserable. you can tell he’s sick because he’s not moving so quickly and doesn’t have much to say. Normally he’s crawling everywhere and yapping from dawn to dusk.

We’re in Jeddah. It’s still Ramadan and the whole town is closed until 930PM. We stayed up last night and did some shopping and went to a Swiss restaurant for fondue. That was fun. However it’s really strange to be eating dinner at midnight and the Bug was suffering a bit. Also in public places they continually blare religious things. I almost wish I didn’t speak Arabic so I didn’t know what I was being forced to listen to. The Cheetahhhhhhhh is not much of one for religious enthusiasm in any form, and continuous religious enthusiasm is rather grating on my nerves. I will be very thankful when Ramadan is finished next week. I find it extremely irritating. Also we’re on vacation but all we can do is sit in our hotel until 930PM. It will be the same in Riyadh.

Yes indeed, we fly to Riyadh tomorrow.

The Cheetahhhhhh is pleased as punch today and I’ll tell you why. For one thing, it’s 2 days before the Ramadan holiday, and this is enough in itself. However, my students stopped coming today, as is typical, and so I’ve been spending the day sitting in my office listening to my iPod. Can’t complain. Also today the Cheetahhhhhhh got paid, and he got his first paycheck with a year #3 raise. It’s a lot bigger than I thought it would be, this raise, and it has me in an incredibly good mood.

I spent my time profitably here in my office by filling out Vanessa’s US visa application.

I think we will go to Jeddah on Thursday, and then on Saturday we fly to Riyadh, and Sunday we have her appointment at the US embassy.