March 02, 2010

Oliver! Playdates

A month and a half since the first rehearsal, all the cast's hard work will soon reap its rewards.  I am truly proud that my daughter Xianelle has taken part in this endeavor and I can't wait to be awed in the audience as she and the entire Oliver cast perform and sing the songs that I have memorized and loved to sing myself. All the best to Oliver! production.   The following are Oliver's playdates. I sincerely hope you could come and watch it. 1. Saturday      April 10th at 3pm2. Sunday        April 11th at 3pm3. Monday       April 12th at 4pm4. Tuesday      April 13th at 4pm5. Wednesday April 14th at 4pm 6. Wednesday April 14th at 8pm7. Thursday     April 15th at 7:30 pmTickets for Oliver (50Qrs each) will be on sale from March 18th from the Senior School Reception deskduring the school day (8am-2pm) and from the dedicated Oliver Box Office situated in the QF Recreation Center from 3pm to 6pm...

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November 28, 2009

Celebrating Eid Al-Adha at Souq Waqif

We had some friends come over yesterday and decided that we go to Souq Waqif to see what Qatar has prepared to celebrate Eid Al Adha. We got to Souq Waqif at about 5:30 in the evening. I've heard that they already implemented pay parking but it was the first time for us to go there since they implemented it. Parking is now 3 rials for the first hour plus a rial for each succeeding hour.

Anyway, the plan was to go show the guys around the Souq and have some Shisha after. I read from the newspaper that they'd have entertainers from 4 p.m. till evening. There was a large stage on both ends of the Souq where entertainers performed. Along the main street, you'll find other entertainers roaming and performing their own thing. We saw some clowns, a Robo character, people on stilts, jugglers, and more. Xiane even got a free Fairy Face paint!  There was also an interview being held in one of the Cafes but we don't know who the presenter was but still took a photo of her. Mavis commented that it's the first time that she saw the most number of Qataris in one place. It was jam-packed but the atmosphere was great. The weather helped too as it was cool rather than being hot and humid.

After getting tired walking, it was time for Shisha! We got apple flavored ones, mint and strawberry. After 30 minutes of inhaling the stuff, I felt "drunk". My tolerance to alcohol is close to zero but taking Shisha for 30 minutes made me feel more drunk than having half a glass of wine. I was glad though that the feeling of being "drunk" passed after 15 minutes of staying away from Shisha.

There was traffic when we left. We probably spent 20 minutes to get past 2 stoplights. Still, it was a great night and if you want to get some night out this Eid, Souq Waqif is one of the places we can recommend you visit.

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November 21, 2009

Chowking Opens in Doha

chowking.jpg
 Chowking in Doha

At last, Chowing opens in Doha! After months of speculation and rumors, the Philippine fast food chained opened its doors to Qatari residents on Wednesday. From Facebook friends, we found out that lines to sample the dishes are so long that you have to wait at least 30 minutes to get your food. So much for "fast food". Still, Filipinos are expected to flock the fast food chain located near Ramada on Salwa Road. I'm we'll try it out one of these days when all the hoopla has subsided.
 
Here is more news from Gulf Times:
Former Philippine president Fidel V Ramos and prominent Qatari businessman Hussein Alfardan formally opened the first Doha outlet of Philippine food chain Chowking on Salwa road on Wednesday.

Hundreds of Filipinos, led by the Philippine Ambassador Crescente Relacion attended the opening ceremony which was addressed by Ahmed Hassan Bilal, chairman of the Ahmed Hassan Bilal Enterprise, the local partner of Chowking in Qatar.

Bilal promised the gathering a great dining experience at the newly-opened restaurant which has two function halls which can accommodate up to 144 people. The Doha restaurant is the 427th Chowking outlet worldwide. The restaurant is open from 12noon until 10pm.

Erwin Elechion, president of Chowking Food Corp and Relacion also spoke.

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November 01, 2009

Doha Tribeca Film Festival

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October 28, 2009

Tennis or Films. A Busy Week in Doha

This week is a busy week for events here in Doha. They've already started the WTA Sony Ericsson Year-ending tennis event yesterday at Khalifa Stadium and would last till Sundays' Finals. However, it seems that the organizers of the Doha Tribeca Film Festival also wanted a share of the limelight so they decided that their event should coincide with the WTA event. I don't think that this is a good move on their part as from previous experience, the Khalifa Stadium get filled to the brim when they have these events. Instead of getting more people to watch the films, they tend to get divided. In our case, we've decided to watch Tennis on Thursday instead of attending the Opening of the Doha Tribeca Film Festival.

We actually got our tickets 3 days after they announced that they were already tickets available for the tournament. We were supposed to get the Lower Box Seats but we were told that on the same day that it was announced, the tickets for the lower box were already sold out. Bummer! We were left with the middle section instead. Even if I have a 200mm lens, it would not capture the tennis stars that close. So I've decided, well, forced, to watch and enjoy the game more than taking photos.

We are still going to the Tribeca Film Festival Though. We bought tickets to the documentary "Turtle" for Sunday. I hope Xiane likes the film. But other than that, the films we wanted to watch were playing on the same time as "Turtle" or they were meant to be viewed by adults. I wish they would have scheduled this Film Festival when there were no other major events in Doha. Doha would basically be quiet again next week so why did they not schedule it for next week? I really don't get it.

Anyway, I'm sure you're either going to the WTA event or the Film Festival this week. If you're not going to any, that's one car less on the road!

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