What's Up This Week?

There were attempts, but there were only a few successes.

~ My dog, Pepe, is a survivor. He has this rare neuro disease that afflicted him when he was young. The vet says if FARGO has a 75 to 100 rate of survival, this neuro (I forgot what they call it) disease's rate is 50/50. And he made it. But he has to live with that for all his life. It's like Parkinson's (but it's not Parkinsons) because his body moves involuntarily. All of them who saw him when he was just about three weeks old said that he won't make it until the next day. But he's now five years old and a very smart, good dog. As an example, I give him bread every morning and had to give it to him in small bites to make it easier for him to chew on it. Unlike humans, he takes care not to bite the hands that feed him. (Does this ring a bell?) He carefully bites on the small piece on my hand, taking care not to touch even a small part of his teeth anywhere on my fingers. Isn't he smart?

~ I don't want to call it a habit because it never was. When I was in Dubai, I rarely get hold of a newspaper, spreadsheet or tabloid. I once tried to buy a newspaper but only lasted a few days. I didn't like the way the contents were discussed. It almost always feels like there is something else on the news. But now that I'm back home, I keep track of the news through the free tabloid paper called 7days.ae. And one of the news today carried a shot of Tom Cruise doing his stunt as he supposedly swings from the height of the Burj Dubai. The thing is, the shot was said to have been taken from one of the view decks of the Burj. Therefore, you don't see him alongside the Burj. If I were to take a picture and have the access, I would have taken it anywhere near the Burj and not from the Burj, with a telephoto lens or whatever, showing Cruise hanging from a rope and the background is the Burj. Sigh.

~ Funny how people want to advertise their business without having to spend anything.

~ "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt is truly a revelation for me. The fact that Frank was able to write a story about how some people of Ireland is poor makes me see that this is not happening only here in my country. It's not like it is a celebration to know that we both have this situation. This just helps us to realize that everything that happens in our country does not happen in our country alone.

~ Smokers nabbed as Saudi implements airport cigarette ban. Ever since I got operated, I have this thing for cigarette smoke. My opinion is, you can do it in the open air, that's fine with me. But pag nasa jeep, I actually call their attention and tell them to throw their cigs, please. I really hate people smoking while inside the jeep, especially if the trapal is down because it's raining.