Very bad internet connection the last 2 days, the local servers ping but no pages load, then suddenly for 10 minutes all is super fine but I can barely check my emails let alone read any news before it goes again. Writing this just because it became a bit of a habit, we’ll see if I post it.

Remember the time just before the Gulf War when everybody was rushing around and people were doing their perfunctory “well, we tried but…….blah blah blah” speeches. This is what it looks like now. This is “the re-run of a bad movie” bush was talking about in one of his speeches; believe me I don’t want to sit thru it either, watching the world get in line after yet another bush and his magical flute.

[unrelated funfact: you know the band BUSH ? DJs on the English language radio station in Baghdad (voice of youth) are not allowed to say the name of the band, they have to spell it. “Bee yu ess etch have yet another single out”. I bet all the DJs there thank god there isn’t a band called schwartzkopf, imagine having to spell that everytime you play a song.]
[another unrelated funfact: do you remember this childish joke, in case you don’t know what this is: this is a mosaic of Bush senior on the entrance to al-rasheed hotel, all visitors have to step on it if they want to get in, al-rasheed is where all international state visitors are accommodated, I have seen funny ministry-of-silly-walks like attempts to not step on it, its silly really. Well you can’t see it anymore. They have put a huge rug on it.]

The Adha eid is tomorrow, Haj is over and time will be ticking out. The streets are full of people buying Eid treats for kids and preparing for the Eid feast. My parents, because they are from two different environments, have separate traditions for eid I get to choose where to go for the big lunch, which should be after the Eid prayer in the mosque but since I don’t do that I get a couple of extra hours of sleep.
I will most probably spend the first day with my mother’s family. Tastier food, our favorite caterer Abu-Karam is making the stuffed lamb and he will, as always, drop by to see how well his lamb has been received and have a drink with my uncles, besides, around 30 people and 4 generations make a good party. Big family gathering food fest. Yay.
The war will just have to wait.

Thanks for all the advice on how to get my well-water treated, now I don’t need to worry about that anymore. What still worries me is the air-tight room business, as much I try not to think about it Alan (who started the issue in the comments link) is right. So I guess I have to thank you for offering all the information. It’s just not that easy getting the family to listen, it took me a week to convince them that we need a well. There is one place where I got even more information from, Imshin has posted something a while ago about that issue so I went back to check only to find an even more informative post with a very useful link. (OK, so I am not sure how the proprietors of that site will react if they know an Iraqi is finding their information very useful).
Imshin I hope you and your family will be safe. These days I keep thinking of the lines anya has sent me earlier:

We are playthings in the hands of time
Dancing to music that is not our own.

I have so little control over my life these days let alone understanding where the world is heading to. I hope we all be spared any unnecessary grief.

Saddam has a new photo taken with his sons on the 4th of this month. notice the friendly looking pistol in Uday's belt. a perfect family photo.