chocolates aren't sweets ...

After meeting with our new landlord on Thursday evening, Gideon was cornered by the delinquent Shams while walking back to his car. The following conversation ensues:

Shams - Mr. Gideon happy with Shams?
Mr. Gideon - Yes, Shams, Mr, Gideon happy with Shams.
Shams - Mr. Gideon bring Shams sweets on Saturday?
Mr. Gideon - Yes Shams, I'll bring you some sweets

The sweetie thing isn't unusual here, everybody always brings, wants or gives sweets. On any occasion from birthdays, obtaining a drivers license to the rising of the full moon, really anything is a good enough excuse. So keeping this in mind, Gideon really didn't think twice about the sweets request from Shams. However, he did, for a moment forget how conniving and sneaky the dude is ... I don't call him a delinquent for nothing.

Thinking nothing more of it, Mr. Gideon postpones the sweetie-meeting till this afternoon and just before he leaves the office, casually mentions to the guys that he now has to do this, before he can go home. One of them asked Gideon if he knows what Shams meant, Gideon, genuinely surprised said, no, what? It appears that sweets are the slang word for money. Right, enter vindictive Gideon. He goes to the co-op society close to work, which is like a supermarket, but caters much more to the locals, with delicacies such as goat steak on offer, but I digress. He buys a nice big fantastically grotesque basket of sweets and drives to the meeting place with Shams. Pretending to be really, really, really stupid, he then gives the sweets to Shams, who was appropriately gob-smacked at this basket with actual chocolates. Noticing his horror and disappointment, Gideon asked him what's the matter, he says no, he meant money. Well, that was Gideon, threw his toys out the car and the cot and over the quad bike and shat all over Shams, telling him exactly what he can do with his money and his chocolates.

And that's why chocolates aren't sweets.

No worries that this will affect the next chapter in this very long story though, the one where we wait for the cheque to be issued. We're hoping for a minimum of 10 days. There are SEVEN (7) people that have to sign just the requisition ... And then Mr. Al Jaber himself signs the actual cheque ... We're the eternal optimists.

It looks like the process has been streamlined somewhat, as it now only takes approximately six days to get the cheque, as per some people at Gids's office who reported this most fortunate news! Ah, inshalla ...