Paintball Fun

I was at Paintball City last night with some friends from work. I had only done it once before and the last time was outdoors. That was back in the autumn of 2002 when I went to Wasaga Beach Paintball with the TACF Young Adults.

Although I had fun last night, I prefer playing outdoors. Wasaga Beach had lots of fields with plenty of variety whereas the Paintball City only had one venue.

That said, I really liked the attack/defend scenario. One team occupied a building and was not allowed to leave it until part-way through the game. The other team had to attack the building and eliminate the people inside. When we were attacking, I managed to get into the building and shoot a few people. Unfortunately I was then shot in the back, through a window by a teammate who was sniping from another building. He later told me that he saw movement and couldn't tell what colour the person was wearing. Of all the shots I took last night, that's the one that left a welt on my back.

All in all, though, it was great fun with everyone coming away with plenty of exciting stories to tell.

Combo without a drink?

I've found a really easy way to confuse the cashier at fast food restaurants. I wasn't even trying either. I'm not the sort to deliberately confuse these poor individuals, really I'm not.

No, I simply don't buy drinks any more. Since I got my nice, translucent-green Nalgene bottle (500ml capacity) I no longer have need of nasty fizzy teeth-destroying beverages. Instead, I fill up my bottle with the old-school option of water. (Pause for gasps of amazement.)

The problem is that most people don't know what to do if someone wants a combo without a drink. It's so easy to confuse them. When they say "What drink do you want with that?" just say "No drink, thanks." It's seriously that easy.

I've even been told that the items separately without the drink would cost the same as the combo with the drink so I usually don't save money. I need to start bartering for a free potato or something.

I just don't want to drink crappy stuff that kills you, even if it's dirt cheap.

I saw Osama!

At the weekend I bought the DVD of Osama, which I mentioned in an earlier post. I watched it on Saturday night with some friends. It was really interesting to see the country of Afghanistan and to hear their languages. I couldn't distinguish the words at all, it's really difficult for me to understand. That said, with time I'll be able to.

The film was good, although not as cheerful as I had hoped. I've watched too much Hollywood, I think.

New Work Permit! Woot!

Man, what a relief this is. I just got my new Work Permit yesterday. I'm now valid to stay here until July 11, 2005! My current permit was due to expire on July 11 this year. It's always interesting to see what's going to happen with something like that. I'd started to get a bit established here with an apartment and some furniture. It would be a bit tricky to just pack that all up and head home. Not to mention the relationships and everything that I've built up here.

Of course, I've only delayed it for another year. Maybe I should try to immigrate as a skilled worker. Then there's the whole thing about "landed" status. Hmm, must investigage.

Osama

I really want to see the movie Osama. It looks very interesting. I'm especially excited that all the language in the film is in Dari and Pashtu. That said, it remains to be seen if I'll be able to tell the difference between them. I want to buy this and watch it a million times so I can pick up some language from it.

It's also really encouraging to see films being made in Afghanistan now that people have a bit more freedom. I was reading an article that said when Siddiq Barmak, the director was looking for the girl to play the main part, he met Marina Golbahari (who plays Osama) begging in the street. He asked her "Do you want to be in my film?" and she answered, "What is this word 'film'?" She had never heard of a film.

Since the movie, she has been able to buy her parents a four-bedroom, mud home in the poorer part of Kabul, according to the Internet Movie Database.