Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Dear Betsy, What should I do with my room-mate to get her to do her share of keeping our flat clean and tidy?
I have lost count of the times I have left everything neat and then arrived home from work or with guests to find it looked like a tornado had hit in my absence. I don't want to upset her, she is a sweet girl, but I can't live in a mess.
Miss Mopp.
Dear Miss Mopp,
Yes I can identify with this scenario. I also hate mess and untidiness, in fact it has been known to make me hyperventilate in extreme cases, so you have my sympathy.
Let me ask you, did you guys set up some 'house rules' when you decided to be room mates?
Agreeing beforehand to things like cleaning, tidying, paying the utility bills, dividing up the fridge, buying shared necessities such as water, tea, coffee, milk, toilet tissue etc is always a good idea. If you haven't done this, then I suggest you start by making a draft of these things and sitting down together and discussing it honestly.
If you have already done this, then clearly it is not working. You need to discuss this with your room-mate. She may be totally oblivious to your plight, as not everyone shares the same standards of cleanliness or tidiness and what to her is a liveably tidy flat may seem like living in a dog's dinner to you.
Be polite but firm about it and tell her honestly how distressing you find it all.
Of course it might be simpler to employ some domestic help and split the cost.
IT depends how much you value your relationship and if you want to continue living together.
If not, then forget all of the above and find yourself a fabulous new apartment and a room-mate who suffers from a mild case of obsessive compulsive disorder
Note I said a mild case, otherwise you may end up living out those scenes from the Odd Couple.
Dear Betsy,
I just want to thank you for your letter to US_President Barack Obama.
You really touched my heart with your honest words and feelings. I am a Bahraini and I am honoured to have you in my beloved country.
God bless you in every step you make and in every breath you take and in every word you write.
Sincerely Yours,
Dr Tarik Abdulghaffar.
Dear Dr Tarik,
When I received this email, it really made me feel happy and appreciated and motivated me to work harder and strive to be a better writer. Thank you Dr Tarik.
We all need encouragement to make us work better, be better sons, daughters, husbands wives, brothers and sisters and to inspire us to reach for our goals.
This week let me ask you this: 'When was the last time you offered some words of encouragement?'
The simplest words can have the most powerful and far reaching positive effects on others. So, today I want to ask you to sit down and write a text or email or make a phone call or simply speak a few words of thanks and encouragement to someone in your world.
I try hard to do this to one person in my world every single day and yesterday it was the turn of the hard working newspaper vendor who, come rain or shine, scorching heat or dust storm, greets me and countless others every morning with a huge toothless smile as he struts his stuff in his little poached patch of a Juffair street corner as he brandishes the Gulf Daily News and the latest magazine offerings with pride.
Underneath his layers of tattered mismatched clothing, he is painfully thin and it is obvious to anyone who cares to notice that he is not a man of means.
At least not in the manically materialistic sense that most of us would understand, but he has an infectious smile that would light up half of Manama as he passes on much more than the morning news to his customers, but how many of them notice or appreciate it?
You have someone in your life like this, it could be the young boy who packs your groceries at the supermarket, the car wash boy who magically guides you to that impossible to find parking space in anticipation of winning your car-wash custom, that exhausted, overworked sales assistant with the sad eyes in the shopping mall, the waiter who serves you patiently and diligently as he watches you blithely spend his whole month's salary on one extravagant lunch.
It could also be someone much closer to home. When was the last time you thanked the maid who cleans up after you every day, who makes your bed and keeps your secrets?
What about your devoted wife who takes care of your kids and makes your home life comfortable or your hardworking husband who provides so well for his family, your mother, father, brother sister, colleague at work, or yes, even your boss, they need encouragement too.
So this weekend, offer some simple encouragement to another human being, as the month of March begins, a traditional time of renewal and new beginnings.
This is something that we will talk about next week, as a letter of encouragement from another reader has motivated and inspired me in another direction.
BETSY SAYS RELAX
Stress depletes the body of many vital minerals and vitamins. A fast nutritious way to beat this is to munch on a handful of unsalted mixed nuts. Brazil nuts will supply zinc and selenium, walnuts are a rich source of the B vitamins, essential for our nerves, and almonds are packed with vitamin E which will help fight stress related cellular damage.
IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING THIS WEEK
Drive safely and thoughtfully. We had 23,000 road traffic accidents in Bahrain during January 2009. This equates to approximately 800 accidents a day. Unfortunately, statistically, it's only a matter of time until an RTA touches the life of someone you know.
Wear your seat belt, strap kids in safely in the back seat and don't use your mobile phone when driving, watch TV, read the newspaper or let your two-year-old sit on your lap and drive for you. Road safety is as easy as ABC ... Always Be Careful.
