Time well spent

The two week break I took from work was meant to have been spent travelling within the UAE. We had planned to travel by road. It is around 600 Kms to Dubai from Doha but since Qatar and the UAE do not share a common border a part of the distance is through Saudi Arabia. Arranging a transit Visa through SA comes with it's own hassles, not to mention the general discomfort associated with travel with women and children within the kingdom. So this plan got shelved for the time being.
A few days prior to Christmas a friend of mine handed me about a hundred and fifty movies he had collected over the last year and that set us off on an orgy of film watching that carried on well into the New Year. The odd time when I got off the couch we did have a little (Or a lot, being the holiday season) to drink and eat and a few trips to the mall and the Corniche, once to the Doha Zoo (Shall talk about that separately)and the mandatory trips to the Loo. I can, with a clear conscience, say that this holiday was one of my memorable ones.
The popular and highly rated movies like "The Dark Knight" and "No country for old men" were good fun. I shall refrain from talking about those as enough has been said about them. There were some real gems we watched which demand mention. Some of them are truly underrated and certainly deserve a larger audience. One of them was The Visitor A well crafted film that starts innocuously and keeps you engrossed till the sad end. A few others are Grace is Gone, Into the Wild and Waitress
The movie "Into the wild" is all the more touching as it is the remarkable true life story of an idealistic young college graduate who sees the world for what it is and tries to find meaning to his life.I am adding a link Article in "Outsider"- Into The Wild to the essay on his life that started the book and the movie that followed.
There were some serious lemons as well among those we watched. Through all of these we suffered for the greater common good. Just so that you don't spend any money going through the grief that I did avoid "Bangkok dangerous" and "Wanted" unless you are seriously masochistic.
I shall keep adding as I wade (gleefully, no doubt) through the collection.
Went back to the Honda Motorcycle showroom last night. This time with L and children. K and A joyously jumped out of the car and hit the showroom running. L refused to budge. She still is trying to come to grips with my Mid life crisis. The red "Shadow" I had my eyes on was still there. The last time I was there the guy told me that someone had booked it and was trying to arrange the finance. Looks like the economic woes are a lot closer that I had assumed it to be. The salesman said the guy was still trying. In any case that didn't stop me from sitting on the bike and starting it up. It's low muted rumble is more in keeping with my style than the "Screamin Eagle" pipes of the Harley. The kids loved it and kept asking me when we were going to take it home as though they just had a baby brother. The 35000 Riyal tag still looks a little stiff considering that it retails for around 6000 $ in the US. I am now seriously thinking of getting a used one shipped over from the US. With how things are there, I wouldn't be surprised if I am able to get my hands on a 1100 CC Shadow in place of this 750CC that 35000 Riyals fetch you here.