Jokingly say to people that I am going to loose all of my readers unless I lighten up. Believe, me, no idea why so many people read me but convinced that my humor is the big attraction. The last three blogs have been almost entirely devoid of humor, barely a hint,as there is not much to laugh about, particularly if you live in Palestine. So not finished yet, but perhaps this blog will be slightly light hearted – do not bet on it, but perhaps.
My Computer Guru agreed with my characterization of Netanyahu.
Sent my blog to the UK as usual, with this greeting.
Me: I am going to get funny again soon. Enough of this serious stuff – I will loose all of my following! Hahaha
He: And yes, I agree, Netanyahu really is quite the asshole x
He: Lose not loose. X
Well, I misinterpreted this response thinking Computer Guru was speaking of Netanyahu stating he should lose not continue to be allowed to turn loose. Only this morning did the realization strike. I had responded initially saying:
Me: How funny!! New slogan! Definitely will blog it! Alexis
Much contemplation this morning, faced the sodden fact that I lead an interesting and most multi-faceted life at this moment. Do keep in mind that this was not the case before hopping over to London, and therein beginning a blog. The meaning of dull could be found in my life style – working for the County of Marin for thirty-one years and showing abjectly poor taste in men. Do let us look up dull, you will love all of the synonyms: uninteresting, boring, tedious, tiresome, wearisome, dry, dry as dust, flat, bland, characterless, featureless, colorless, monotonous, unexciting, uninspiring, unstimulating, lacking variety, lacking variation, lacking excitement, lacking interest, unimaginative, uneventful, lifeless, soulless, insipid; unoriginal, derivative, commonplace, prosaic, run-of-the-mill, humdrum, unremarkable, banal, lame, plodding, ponderous, pedestrian, dull as dishwater, deadly, no great shakes, not up to much.That was Alexis McBride: dull as dishwasher, plodding, insipid and dry as dust. To be utterly truthful, my beginning days in London were rather colorless, monotonous and unexciting. London City University’s program of Creative Non Fiction Writing was unoriginal, banal, tedious and lame. Moreover, my taste in men did not improve and my London Lover was quite unremarkable and rather prosaic. But things changed, after the advent of the blog, it does seem. Poof – almost immediate fame and then multibillionaires, men of foreign extraction and much money interested in me, but mostly the blog. Joo Kim Tiah, the first multibillionaire of my acquaintance ‘used’ my blog in an attempt to popularize both him and the Trump International Hotel which was most unpopular when it first opened in Vancouver (when the construction was finally finished). He asked to feature a puff piece , a video centering on his fine character on the blog to get this numbers up. I did and the number rolled in. That relationship was doomed and thank goodness, since he has subsequently become bankrupt – not only him but his parent’s company TA Global. Alix Residences, in Malaysia, most certainly named for me, will never be completed. Returned to the USA in 2019 , still faithfully blog writing, had right knee replacement and off to London for recovery. There, in a rather ordinary hotel made my first Arab, immediately informing the man wearing a dress and a scarf (as I described on the blog) of alexismcbride.com. Spoke of him as a Sultan, as he had a name tag that said Sultan around his neck. Discovered from Google, that Sultan was Royalty and that he could have more than one wife and proposed to him. Two days later he approached me in the lobby saying he was the Sultan and I read him the blog and blushed and we had a great conversation that ended with a fist bang.
That not possible without blog, millions of women drool all over him. I will never be sure of what happened between the two of us but he is positively addicted to attention – hires vast crews of cameras and people – is all over Instagram and YouTube and alexismcbride.com. Just to be perfectly clear, do not respect that about him as most of his self enhancement is devoid of content or purpose. One can never tell if he is around (or not around) as he has all of thee imitators who say they are him but are not. He seldom responds to anyone who responds to his hundreds and hundreds of Instagram entries. He craves adoration without responsibility – he is good-looking but he was born that way and he, like Joo Kim, inherited their wealth. Then at the same usual hotel in London along came my second bout of Arab Royalty – the Royal Family of Qatar. Why they were staying there?I shall never know. Some members of that Royal Family in my life as we correspond, largely through Instagram. More than one member of that Royal Family are multibillionaires. My ‘Arab Connection’ was the incentive to learn about the Middle East, any fool who reads the blog can see that I know a great deal.
However, many characteristics of my present life have nothing whatsoever to do with the blog. My conversion to the Islamic faith, is totally unrelated to any blog activity or blog connections. My Instagram ‘personality’ is a fun loving old lady who now wears face masks. This morning did a video of me eating breakfast on the patio in my pajamas. I have a new family, they are neither rich nor Arab nor Muslim and do not, as far as I know, read the blog. They are too busy working and going to school etc. etc.
I laugh and joke with people when meeting, telling them of my blog and give them a blog card. It was SO funny yesterday going to get my MRI, escorted by AAA. Of course there were endless forms to be completed and one form kept asking questions about possible metal in your body. I laughed and said to a charming woman in the waiting room.
Me: I am going to check yes to the question about penal implants.
She: I would not if I were you! They might ask you to see it.
Me: Yes, that would be a bit embarrassing.
We just laughed and OF COURSE I gave her a blog card. So lots of people at the gracious MRI office got blog cards as well as many at Quest Labs. My Primary Care Physician wants to be sure that my exhaustion following Ramadan Fasting is just temporary.
So, in many ways an ordinary life, a small apartment back in Marin without a car but with an Uber App. A modest Instagram following (513 I believe). Becoming a Muslim at the ripe old age of 77 is a bit unusual but do not wear the hijab, made that choice aster weighing the alternatives. I have never been in a mosque and am Solitary Mystic Muslim, that is how I would describe myself. Women in the Muslim faith have a very different role from men who are required to pray in a mosque five times a day. Women are encouraged to have a personal relationship with Allah, and I do. Many Muslims believe that I was Chosen by Allah – who am I to disagree??? Hahaha.
My fascination with the Arab world has been fostered by reading the May 31, 1943 LIFE magazine about King Saud – things in Saudi Arabia have drastically changed. This from page 80 – the sub heading His Marital Affairs Are Complex. Are they ever, as you shall read! “While obeying the Koran’s restrictions as to marriage, the King has also obeyed its rather more generous provisions for divorce. Thus. While he has never had more than four wives a given time, and usually only three to leave room for additions, the King has had between 100 and 200 wives in the course of his adult lifetime. Furthermore, still in accord with Moslem law and Arab convention, he has always maintained a capacious harem of non-Moslem concubines, mainly populated by Sudanese, Georgian, Russian and Armenian, many of whom filtered down to Arabia as refugees after the last war. Most of the King’s divorced wives, their social standing improved by association with royalty, have made advantageous second marriages. A good number of the rest still live in women’s quarters at the palace, which adjoin the King’s courtroom. Each of the King’s participating wives and some of the concubines and divorcees have ten-room apartments with 15 or more slaves apiece. Associating chiefly with each other and equipped with a common interest in His Majesty, the wives, divorcees and concubines get along well together.” The article continues in fascinating fashion with more to follow in subsequent blogs. Now, the question everyone is probably asking is this: Alexis, would you go to either Dubai or Qatar and become a wife or a concubine? First of all, do let us be clear about this, I have never met the Ruler of Dubai, the Crown Prince’s Father, who is 71, so my age. I have never met either the Emir of Qatar (40) or his father, who abdicated in his favor in 2013. I have been invited to live in a palace in Qatar, but not by the Emir nor his father. The third wife of the abdicated Emir (as I call him) conveyed the invitation by video chat. I have no plans to visit the Middle East in the near future but am companionable with younger members of the Royal Family of Qatar.
What am I going to do today after sending the blog off to the UK? Not sure, have lunch perhaps, perhaps watch Schitt’s Creek on Netflix, maybe call and find out about an annuity that I did not think I possessed. Just ordinary tasks. Plan for my birthday party next Saturday on the roof of my apartment, perhaps do a flower arrangement. I do prefer a simple life but it would be fun to be driven around Qatar, do serious shopping and laugh with some of My Princess’ 42 brothers and sisters. ‘My Princess’ met in London is the daughter of the abdicated Emir – he seems to be a good father. But until the situation with my left knee is resolved, I am not going anywhere or doing hardly anything. It is a good thing I can write from bed.
Tomorrow may be serious again but who knows? Not me.
Photographs from LIFE showing the palace with the harem. Another with King Saud and some of his sons. The captions read: “A handful of his sons pose with the King. The two tallest are Nasir and Mansour, Emir of Muraba Palace, where the picture was taken. The resemblances of all to Ibn Saud, is notable, but most had different mothers. There are some 25 other children.”
Then: “The Palace Courtyard at Riad shows at the left the barred women’s quarters of Ibn Saud’s harem, shaded by black blinds. To the right on the second floor are the throne room and receptions had where Busch had his three interviews with the King.”
