The Key

It must be the coldest time in Qtar at the moment. It was 7C at 7 in the morning when I sent the kids to school yesterday. It was biting cold. I heard some part of Saudi is snowing. Tehran which has not seen snow for a long time snowed as well. Tehran is in Iran.

From last weekend it has been raining, adding to the cold.

I love rain. i really do.

For a desert country like Qtar, rain is a real blessing. It comes only for a week or two every year. And it only comes when the weather is at its coldest.

I love rain. I really do.

But like I have mentioned before HERE, there is no drain in this country. So water just stay there and floods the road. Every year the same thing happen. The city crawls. Some cars break down. But Qtar has a solution for the trapped water. A cheap solution, but not necessarily efficient. They use small lorries with tank at the back to pump up the water. Its definitely cheaper then digging for a drainage system. Especially when rain comes down only for a few weeks in a year. The problem is the rain comes down continously for a few weeks (or days) raising up water everywhere.

I love rain. I really do.

They are still digging the road in front of my house. I live smack on a paddy field now. And because they are still digging, I have to wade myself across the paddy field to my car, get my mud laden shoes in the car. Despite the papers on the car floor, the kids still manage to smear mud everywhere.

My car looks like an excavator now. Its dirty and you could hardly see the plate number.

I love rain. I really do.

My front wall is made of gypsum board. The rain has soaked it up. Now my waiting area is flooded. Ya Allah seksanya rasa.

I love the cold too.

For some scientific reasons, I always find it hard to lock/ unlock my front door during the cold season. Sometimes I couldn't even unlock it from inside. I had to use the back door, and unlock the door from outside. And when I manage to lock/ unlock, I can't take the goddamn keys out of its lock. This is so frustrating. Especially when you are carrying so many umbrellas and things outside trying to get in, freezing in the rain and the kids want to pee so bad.

I can get so pissed with this and many times felt like kicking the door. Kengkadang nak nangis aku duduk rumah ni. Macam duduk setinggan tau. Jeles aje tengok orang duduk compund. Kaki tak kotor. Kasut berkilat aje. Tak berpalit lumpur pun. Rumah tak berair!

I love the rain. I love the cold.

Oh oh oh. One time I wanted to get in the house. I can't. Because I had been using the back door so much, I must have left the main keys inside. So I can't open the gate. Cursing and cursing in the car, i waited for my neighbor to come home and open the gate. (we share gate. another thing I hate.) Thank god, it was only half an hour wait. Got in the house, take off jacket and heard jiggling from the pocket. Cit! The keys are in the jacket. Jarang pakai jacketlah katakan.

Sometimes when I couldn't find my car keys, I remembered..oh the jacket. But sometime it's not there either. ohh now it's in the jeans. Sometimes its not there either! Ohh in the handbag.

But one day it's not anywhere. Not in the jacket. Not in the jeans. Not in the handbag. Checked three times. Not there! Not there!

Not on the dining table. Not on the TV. Not in the drawer. Not anywhere in the house.

Perhaps its in the car?

Went out. Wade through the paddy field. The car is locked.

God its cold!

Went back to the house. Searched everywhere again.

Went out again! Wade through the paddy field.

God its cold!!

Then I saw it. Buried in the mud. Right next to the car.

My life would be lonely without all these drama.