Week of Wonder!

I apologize for being lazy with the posting, the mood hasn't struck me lately, but now I'm back...and sadly, now there's more of a gap between us, readers, as you are beginning your winter hibernation with "fall back" daylight savings time. We are 8 hours apart! Boooo! Skypin' just got a little harder. Fall Back doesn't happen here, so close to the equator, though H., one of my morning class students, showed up at 9 this morning fully believing it was 8 am. Her phone is European; it duped her.

This last week of October brings big-time excitement to sleepy Doha. It's a week of starpower! Here's the lineup:

*Though it's in the past now, Jimmy Carter visited the Emir at the Diwan last week. I think he got me in a traffic jam. But he's everyone's favorite ex-pres, right? So, it's forgiven.

*I've never been a big tennis fan, but I'm going to see a qualifying round of the Sony Ericsson Championships on Wednesday. The stadium is pretty close to my apartment, and I'm going with a group from Education City. Maybe I'll see those Williams' sisters. Mostly, I'm hoping for delicious stadium snacks. I also like watching those speedy ball boys/girls. Always ready they are!

* Thursday...a hush-hush event...in fact, I don't know that the word's even been broken to campus at large, but Donna Karan's scheduled to speak in our Atrium. By invitation only. I'm so VIP.

* This weekend! Doha Tribeca Film Festival--I will probably go to see Donna Karan on Thursday rather than going to opening night at the Museum of Islamic Arts, but I'm torn. The red carpet's rolling out! Robert DeNiro, Mira Nair, Danny Boyle, SIR Ben Kingsley, this guy from Kingdom of Heaven, and this guy from a Turkish soap opera (who all of my students love) will be there. They are playing Amelia on a huge outdoor screen. Other films I'd like to see: Bright Star, No One Knows About The Persian Cats, About Elly, Coco Before Chanel, A Serious Man. I haven't gotten my tickets yet, and I'm supposed to be chaperoning the students' Halloween party on Friday, but hopefully I'll see at least one or two movies. Will give you a full report of the action at the end of the week.

*I'm not VIP enough for this on Friday night, but some of my friends are. Anyway, Hartnett's a has-been. Brosnan wasn't the best of the Bonds. It would be really really nice to see George Clooney, Snoop Dogg, and Mr. Samuel "Ah HELL NO" Jackson though...

_________________________________________________

*In family celebrity news, sweet Cousin Kelly has bagged Brick Memorial's Homecoming Queen title. Long Live the Queen!

*In family news, Mom still refuses to believe there is not a "harvest time" in Qatar, prompting my further research in gulf area crops.

*In weird creature news, I saw a sting ray at the beach yesterday and screamed like a little girl. I guess Steve Irwin's passing hit me harder than I realized.

*****Fill in the blank and establish my lifelong love and respect for you: "Arabians learn Arabian at the speed of_____________. The Hebrews learn it backwards which is absolutely frightening."*****