CheetahhhhhhhBlog Mark III

I’ve flown Gulf Air a few times and unless you’re in 1st class, an airline is an airline these days. However I will tell you why Gulf Air really sucks. They cancelled our Kabul flight 12 hours before we were going to go. We’ve spent a total of about 4 hours, literally, on the phone getting rebooked. It’s absolutely infuriating. Anyway we leave 17th, arrive in Chicago 18th. This is cutting it really close with Vanessa’s visa, which expires the 18th. However you can tell I’m a derivatives trader because I hedge everything. I hedged the 18th by 3 days, originally booking on the 15th. Aside from the irritation about wasting 4 hours of my life on the phone rebooking, we also have no food in the house, which is a problem in Kabul where you can’t just walk to the corner store.

I enjoy Swackett, which is a Mac and iPad app. Might be on Windows but I don’t use Windows any more. Apparently the hottest place on earth is in Mozambique with 121F, and the other end is Siberia with -51F. Here in Kabul, Swackett advises a turtleneck sweater, jeans, and sunglasses. This is actually good advice except for the sunglasses. Swackett is obviously unaware that the Afghanis burn wood to keep warm and there is a smoggy haze which will last until it gets warm again, because we’re in a valley between mountains. Indeed the air quality here in winter is really terrible, and is one of my rationalizations for smoking, because with all the smoke in the air, I might as well at least be enjoying myself.

Despite the fact that we have several boxes of clothes waiting for us in the US at my sister’s house, Van appears to have packed the entire house.

The city does not produce enough electricity in our neighborhood to actually have the heaters produce heat. We have a generator and I may end up telling the guards to just run it continuously this winter. This would irritate the finance department and my ears, because the generator is loud.

I am finished with exams and will spend the day in my office calculating and posting grades. The sole exception is 3 jackasses who did not have their presentations ready. I am teaching “Academic Connections” which is basically public speaking and I am not entirely sure why I’m being a nice guy with these 3, but they have 430-5PM to come to my office.

Bug is off to his last day of school, and Van is busy packing. I have been exhausted and crabby, because I’m working my ass off, what with exam week etc, plus my various committees and the university senate, plus the necessity of attending provost meetings because we all want the provost to like us (and actually I like her, the only point is it is consuming my time), plus I am suffering from a very nasty cold just like everybody else in the department, plus I have small children who need attention, plus I have a business to run. All this boils down to me being exhausted and crabby. Yesterday at 8PM I came home from the office and just collapsed into bed.

The bright side is vacation starts in about 6 hours.

It’s my birthday. 42. Good lord.

It’s 12:49PM Kabul time. That means 4 days and 6 hours before we board Gulf Air bound for Manama-Paris-Chicago. In this time I have to give and correct 4 exams and put in grades. Going to be a bit of a b*tch but I can do it.

After Bug is done with school today, we’re going to go to Chicken Street to buy Christmas presents for people. The family Stateside is getting Afghan handicrafts. Then we’re going to Boccacio, the nicest restaurant in town which also doubles as a Ukrainian whorehouse (biggest open secret in Kabul) for my birthday dinner.

My balcony looks out onto the Hindu Kush, which are the foothills of the Himalayas. It’s a very clear, bright day and the upper ranges rising up past Kabul already have snow on their peaks.

One week to go and we’re off. Gulf Air has been making some problems with our return itinerary but I’m not going to worry about that. I booked through Expedia and have always found Expedia to be good at sorting things out, which is why I use them. We’re very excited. Bug is talking about going to America a lot. Counting the days.

Next week is exam week and I am going to have to really scramble to get grades in. I can do it, but I think I will be spending long hours in the office. I am also going to make my assistant work. He’s probably got the best assistant job on campus, I just have him make photocopies and correct the occasional quiz and get me cigarettes. I’m sure he loves me. This week the boy is going to put some work in though.

Today is St Nick’s Day, and the kids were delighted to find candy in their shoes. They are busy gorging themselves on candy for breakfast. I believe this is a Polish tradition. We’re a rather international family.

It’s also the Muslim holiday of Ashera and so no work today. Ashera is a Shia festival and you never saw it in Dubai or Saudi. Apparently some prominent Shia cleric was killed on this day. The holiday is kind of fun because everybody puts up flags everywhere. There are flags all over town, mostly black, but different colors too. People have been driving around with big flags on their cars too. Makes the whole thing festive although it’s actually a day of mourning.

2 more teaching days, then next week exams, then GO. 10 days and counting.