Emblematic of living in Doha...

Caryl and I walked into a furniture store today and asked where we'd find bookshelves. The furniture store employee looked stumped and said, "Er... maybe in Home Office?" But he was wrong: we found bookshelf there, not bookshelves. How can you have a furniture store without bookshelves? I guess the same way that you can provide university employee housing without bookshelves. Owning books is not exactly de rigeur here.

On the way out of the furniture store we passed a booth set up to sell Valentine's Day gifts. Promimently featured was a display of heart-shaped bathroom scales -- because nothing says lovin' like a thinly veiled demand for weight loss.