neurotic Iraqi wife

Well, Saturday is here, and surprise surprise the guy who is supposed to give us the answer on the flat said by Monday he will find out!!! MONDAY...I cannot fathom why people cant simply just say NO, the flat is not available!!! I cannot fathom, why even in Kuwait when we were asking for bloody directions, they would give us some bogus instructions then tell us to ask someone there...I mean Hellooooooo...N......O......A 2 letter word that wont take much energy for the brain to exert.... This is exactly why the Middle East is so backwards...Because all we try and do is please people by saying what they wanna hear!!! Double standards all along....

I did become furious mind you, but you will be proud to know that I contained this fury pretty well, and decided to go with what we have already....The green bathtub, pink toilet and white basin flat....I aint gonna waste time no more...But before going ahead, I decided to call HUBBY and tell him of the news....It was 7am his time....Hmm..too early, but what the heck he needs to wake up and share with me some ideas....The phone rang and I waited until a sleepy HUBBY answered...

HUBBY: Hello (with his croaky sleepy voice)
ME: Hey, listen the flat I liked didnt work out...I need you to concentrate with me...shall I go with what we have already???(I totally surpassed the formalities of hello honey, how are you, I simply do not have the time)
HUBBY: Huh...what time is it???
ME: HUBBY WAKE UP, CONCENTRATE OK...its 7 am, about time you wake up anyways...
HUBBY: Youre kidding me right??? You woke me up to ask me whether we should go for the flat....
ME: Yup...it has to be BOTH of our decisions, so you wont blame me when you come here and see the place...
HUBBY: Which flat you talkin about??? The blue one or the new one???
ME: UGHHHHH...WAKE UP PLEASE...CONCENTRATE....The new one DID NOT work out...I repeat, DID NOT work out...Do you wanna wait until you come here, see the old one then make a decision or shall I just go ahead and furnish it???
HUBBY: Its 7 am, you tell me...Hmm, do what you think is right...I need to go back to sleep..
(I hate it when he says that, and when I do take the decision, he will tell me its my fault)
ME: NO,I WONT...Its time you help me out here...I cannot make the decisions anymore...Ive been stressed out ever since I came here...I havent eaten anything until yesterday and I do not want to take a rash decision...You are gonna live in that place too you know...
HUBBY: (Yawning like for the 10th time in a matter of 2 minutes)Hmm, ok, let me ask you this....Will the fridge with icemaker fit???
ME: OMG....is that all you care about???
HUBBY: YUP, fridge and bed...what more do we want!!! (saying it as a matter of factly)
By that time I was literally pulling at my hair...
HUBBY: Heloooooo, you there??? So will the fridge fit???
ME: Ok HUBBY this is a useless conversation...There is no point for us to discuss any further...
HUBBY: (not even feeling a slight guilt)...Ok darling, just do what you think is right (yawn)...I better go back to sleep (yawn)... And I want the best fridge with icemaker (yawn)...Talk to you later honey...
ME: (by now, my fists are clenched so tight that I can see the veins ready to pop out)...You know what...ALL MEN ARE THE SAME....SELFISH BASTARDS....THEY ONLY THINK ABOUT THEMSELVES AND NO ONE ELSE....(there i said it...)
HUBBY: (Laughing hysterically at my outburst) Oh cmon, you dont mean that honey, I know you are stressed out...Ok listen...Go buy the fridge...get the furniture, and believe me, for now, anything is good after the digs we lived in, in the Green Zone... Just relax and enjoy yourself...
ME: Ok if thats what you are saying, fine...I will go ahead, ok???
HUBBY: Go with what??? buying the fridge???
ME: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, taking that darn depressing claustrophobic blue hole in the wall....
HUBBY: Ok, if thats what makes you happy go for it....
GGGGGRRRRRRRRRR..........I had had it by then...whatever...who cares...A hole in the wall...Yeah I guess anything is better than what we had in Baghdad...

I just came back and am knackered...I bought all the necessary stuff...THE ICEMAKING FRIDGE AND THE BED.....The salesmen were so helpful I was shocked...I dunno if they felt sorry for me cuz I looked confused and out of it or they were just doing their job... One guy even chose the sofas with me...Was giving me his opinion on the bed...and tried out the matress too...lol...The oddest thing that happened was I was confused between 2 beds...Both looked nice, but one was more expensive than the other...The salesman said you know miss, youre just gonna sleep in it...Why dont you take the cheaper one...He continued..they are both solid wood...both same size...both excellent quality...Its upto you, but I believe you should go for this one...Hmm...I immediately said, why??? is there something wrong with the cheaper one??? and youre trying to sell it to me???He laughed...answered very shyly..at the end of the day its your choice...but why spend more when you can get same thing, Im only trying to be practical...That impressed me alot...So needless to say I went for it...We infact looked ridiculous checking out the softness of mattress...sitting on it and jumping...

As for the utilities guy...he too was pretty helpful...They kept asking me where I was from...At first I would speak english with them...just a habbit...But then switch to arabic and they get shocked for some reason...Then they try to guess my nationality...They would mention every arab country except Iraq...When I say Iraqi, their eyes bulge out...Wow, they said...would never have guessed...Then they would talk about situation and how bad it is...I just nod and continue with my order...Dont really wanna divulge in a political discussion when I know what they think...Almost all Arabs are against the coalition forces....And to be honest I didnt have he energy to argue or explain to them...I, many times went into such discussions, and all I used to get once I say Im Iraqi is "Saddam was a good leader..." or "Its a shame your country is occupied"... or "This is all part of an Israeli plan..."....And many times I would argue each and every point but wouldnt really get anywhere....A waste of breath and energy...

Im feeling pretty relieved at the moment...Will probably change tomorrow...But for now, Im happy that for the first time ever, HUBBY and I will have a real place together...We dont own the property...we are just renting it out...But this is the beginning of chapter 3...Chapter 1 was spent apart...Him in Iraq, me in la la land worrying my ass off...Chapter 2, was spent together in a small room barely enough for one person in the Green Zone or International Zone...Chapter 3 is an ok place...with the exception of the pink toilet....green bathtub and white basin...oh and ofcourse the kitchen that can either fit me or the fridge...But this time it aint the Green Zone...It aint Iraq...Its a place where people enjoy freedom...enjoy life...Although as much as I try to avoid it...I can see the scenario....HUBBY and I are gonna end up going back....Back to Baghdad...

For now this is the beginning...Beginning of Chapter Three...