What the f**k is going on over there?

Financial system down the toilet
Angry mobs at McCain rallies
David Letterman all pissed off

Is it as scary as it looks on tv? Let me know from your perspective.

No sleep 'til November

Why am I awake and posting at 5 am? Why, post-season baseball, of course! Courtesy of mlb.tv I can watch the entire post-season live for the low low price of $20. Even better, there aren't any commercials. Before you say that baseball is too boring to stay up all night watching it, I will give you my standard response - If you think that baseball is boring then you don't understand it. Thanks to the proper upbringing of my father, I love it.

I've also been watching all of the debates on C-Span's website. They start at 5 am here. Ayca even got up and watched the last one with me. They have been studying advertising, persuasion and speech making at school. Her impressions? She thought that McCain's constant use of "my friends" sounded "fake." Then she fell asleep cuz it was boring.

I guess I'll go back to a normal sleep pattern when I get a job or after election night, whichever comes first. Until then, I'll keep watching baseball.

Did you know that kids vomit on the floor?

Sometimes, when I'm sleeping, I forget that I'm a mom now. This morning, however, I had a rude awakening when I came out of my room and almost stepped in a giant pile of child vomit. Ayca was sitting next to the vomit on the sofa and said that she couldn't make it to the bathroom and didn't know how to clean it up. She had loaded and unloaded the dishwasher for me instead. That was almost as cute as her assumption that I knew how to clean up kid vomit.

The Ultimate Potemkin Village

As much as I used to complain about the frustrations of living in Istanbul, at least Istanbul is real. From the cobbled together shanty towns, to the remnants of the past that creep up around every corner, to the shiny new skyscrapers, Istanbul is a living being - always evolving into new forms, but whose heartbeat remains constant and strong.

Dubai is like a schizophrenic Legoland - a mishmash of discordant shiny facades with nothing but emptiness between their plastic walls.

I never thought I'd say it, but I think I miss Istanbul.

I NEED A JOB!!!!

I get bored at home so I usually go have a coffee at the nearby shopping center and read for awhile. I got my coffee, went outside and found a table. Just as I opened my book another woman sat at the table right next to mine. As I started to read, her friend showed up. These women were your typical non-working expat ladies. Skeleton thin, bleached blonde hair and designer clothes for women half their age. In annoyingly loud voices they began to discuss the pros and cons of various brands of hairspray and the best places to buy tiki furniture (did they mean teak?). Why did they have to sit next to me to have their grande non-fat caramel vanilla iced lattes when there were at least 20 other tables? Didn't they see my book?

I Heart Madison

The Capitol Times newspaper reported today that Obama is up 10 points in Wisconsin and 44 points in Madison. I've never even seen a poll result like that.

As they say: Madison - 60 sq miles of fantasy surrounded by reality. It makes the winters worth it. Madison, I love you and I miss you.

The Great Outdoors

It has finally cooled of a bit. Mid-90s during the day and 80s at night. What a difference 10 degrees makes! After weeks of being stuck in air conditioning, I had my coffee outside this morning. It was great.

Maybe double standards aren't so bad......

There is one benefit of the differential treatment of women here: the ladies line.

The population is about 75% men. When you go to get your medical tests for your visa or your driver's license there are hundreds of guys waiting for theirs. If you are a women, however, you don't have to wait. You just go to the ladies line. I waited about 5 minutes for my blood test and got my driver's license in 20. It's not fair, but I'm taking it to make up for the loss of my other rights. Sorry.