“Contentment is a kind of moral laziness; if there weren’t anything but contentment in his world, man wouldn't be any more of a success than an angleworm.” -Josh Billings. At work these days we’ve been told to keep food and drink out of sight of the Muslim students and employees as it makes their fast more difficult. Today a nice young student wearing an abaya with pink trim brought everyone in our office chocolates. She’s fasting for Ramadan, but it’s her 21st birthday so she wanted to share the celebration with all of the faculty and staff. Isn’t that about the sweetest thing you ever heard of? Ok, it’s just sort of sweet, but I’m easily amused by women in abayas. The other day a student came in (wearing an abaya) and my Philipina colleague, in her slightly broken English, stumbled over a question pertaining to insurance and asked the young woman if she was Arab. The student replied, with perfect deadpan sarcasm, “No, I’m Christian. I just dress like this for fun.” I just about died laughing.
As Ramadan continues throughout Arabia, Salazmeyer proceeds with its steady mysterious expat existence, but with no headbanging with Metal bands or cab rides to the bar or late nights of drinking on weekdays visible on the horizon until I head to Thailand. Life is slow and pleasant and work is a mellow grind. The rush of Fall registration is over and the finance office is only visited by an occasional student needing to pay for their visa. When my shift ends my commute home has been cut in half as Dubai's Muslim population shifts its schedule and leaves work early to break-fast. When I get home the liquor shelf is stocked, the new furniture is comfortable, and football is streaming in from Yahoo Gamepass at my convenience. Contentment, in its creepy subtle way, is settling in. A lack of self-discipline (or perhaps a low threshold for contentment) has always been my greatest personal failing, and while I should have been working out and learning Arabic I’ve been drinking martinis and watching movies. I’ve gotta get this slow train back on track before it gets to its inevitable end. Right after MNF tonight…
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2 comments:
I really like the way you put that..."a low threshold for contentment." I think I have that tendency too. I seem to be able to counteract with concern for others, but not so easily for my own ambitions.
Awwww.... Stanley...
You're as cute as a bug in a rug. You remind me of one of those chinese pork buns. You know, delicious pork (or something that passes for it), wrapped in white yeasty deliciousness.
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