I have been passing by the Lulu Hypermarket in Shuweikh for years now and never thought of going in. Then one time on the way to the shalaih I needed to pick up a few items so I decided to stop by Lulu Hypermarket in Al Qurain instead of Sultan Center in Fahaheel. It took me about 5 minutes to get there since it was 5 minutes off of Malik Fahad (40) located in Asawaq Al Qurain, I think it was exit 208. Aswaq Al Qurain is a shopping Complex and its big but it still doesn’t have any permits and has been the case for years so it looks like its a deserted place.

When I walked in I was shocked to see the size of this market and selection of items. I wasn’t too impressed with the bakery but it was very organized. The other items were very diverse with so many kinds, like you can find every kind of cheese in mind, so many kinds of Ketchup, every type of meat in mind. I was pleasantly surprised to find they had Oscar Mayer hotdogs and they tasted amazing on the grill. So many lovely choices and I really did love the selection of items and size of the place. If you haven’t been there its really worth a visit.

Now this is a match made in heaven, I have been using my American Express card for all Amazon Purchases and other purchases as well. Now American Express & Amazon have teamed up so that you can use your American Express Points towards Amazon Purcahses and the best part is that it automatically gives you the option to purchase with your points.

All you have to do is associate your American Express Card with your account and in my case I have two cards even though they combine for one set of points. Surprisingly this has been around for a few months but only recently have I had a chance to look at the details and associate my account. After going through the process I had about $1700 worth of points that I can redeem so I just piled up on the Amazon Cart and purchased a lot of things that I want and don’t need, and ended up only paying $400. Its just all the things that have piled up from adding items from my Amazon App on the iPad and a few things that I have saved for later.

The last month of insane snow and cold in Europe and the US has shutdown airports and turned shipping into a logistical nightmare. I hear people complaining about not getting their items on time or not getting them at all. In my case its a mix of both, everyone from UPS to FedEX and the smaller shipping companies are facing issues in this weather and losing packages in the process. In my case one screen mount has been lost since it was delivered about two weeks ago to Aramex, I gave them the tracking number and hopefully it will reference something inside their system and they find it. Its been an annoying process but Christmas and New Years coming up means that there a lot less employees working meaning that they won’t find what they are looking for right away. I’m just hoping they find it soon as I would really like to mount my computer screens to the wall.

Currently Missing:

• Screen Mount
• Streetfighter Animation Book

I’m just hoping I get my things soon.

I tend to buy a lot of things online, and recently I have purchased items which aren’t readily available on Amazon or Ebay and the website has issues with a billing address which is different then a shipping address. When that is the case I have reverted to MyUS Personal Shopping Service a few times now. Sometimes they have been the best option and the best service to go with it.

I have done several orders with them, some normal value and some very high value and they have been excellent in handling complex orders such as custom computer gaming machines to ordering furniture. I wanted to get some items and I wasn’t able to personally order them so they were able to do order it for me.

Keep in mind that they charge a flat 6% fee on the final amount be it large or small. I think it is an acceptable fee because of the quality of their service when going through the process and their feedback.

Before The Order:

• They send you an email verifying your order before making it
• They clearly show you all the details and all the different options you have to ordering the product
• You can write all the customizations you want in the note box

After The Order:

• You get notification that you have been charged for the amount once the order goes through
• They get back to you with details of the order, and they reply quickly to your questions
• Once the order is received in your mailbox you are notified like always and they take multiple pictures which is fantastic
• They quickly ship it out and you get your order

Overall a very smooth service and highly recommend if you are looking for highquality service, and its worth since sometimes I order heavy items and turns out to be cheaper to get it from the US then it is to buy it locally.

Link: MyUS

People work for different reasons, and some people save to buy things and some for other reasons. Now in the article linked below from Luxist they are saying spending patterns of the rich and affluent have changed the last few years. From spending money on tangible goods such as cars, jewelry, art, homes, large yachts, and private jets. Now they are moving to more experience type items such as:

• Taking exotic vacations
• Vacation home in the mountains or at the beach
• Extended time off work
• Freedom to work from home

“The human need to seek approval through visible displays of our status is as primordial as ever. What may be changing, however, is how and what we choose to display. The top-rated goods and experiences are reflective of primarily private pleasures and point to a strong aspiration for leisure time, which can also be conspicuous. The shift away from conspicuous consumption from goods to services and experiences can also make luxury more exclusive,”

Personally I have an obsession with electronics and items I enjoy, its not always a necessity but something I enjoy. Working these days isn’t too much of an issue but I know later on I would want more time off. Truth be told we all want a hell of a lot of time off but as long as I am busy, I’m enjoying my work currently even if takes up a lot of time, its satisfying and I work with good people. We all have goals, and its true that sometimes you want to have these special experiences, some are closer then others.

Link: Luxist

Usually when you go on trips with friends there was always someone covering someone, and at the end of the trip we figure out the balance. My friend, lets call him BAFI, was my room mate on a previous trip. So after all the details were discussed it amount to around 135 KD for the whole trip that he owed me, so I said he can pay me when we get back to Kuwait. He then proceeded to suggest that can pay me with a Amazon gift card instead if I was ok with that, I thought that was GENIUS! I’m always buying from Amazon, and I had another purchase in mind and that would drastically lessen the damage. I know that it is only in my head that I’m not spending more money on Amazon, but the travel expenses were already spent so to me this was a plus and made me get my purchase earlier then expected. Thank you Bafi!

(The Gift Card has already been used! lol)

Every once in a while there are amazing events such as these in Kuwait, I for one love going to art displays in Kuwait and I usually don’t have a chance. Last night I had the chance to see the work of a local artist Aziz Al Mudhaf at the new 4 Store Gallery in Shuweikh opposite BMW and I was impressed, it looks like something from the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His work seemed very interesting, somethings I really liked and somethings weren’t of my taste but overall I think the whole thing was amazing. When I was inside the 4 Store gallery I felt that I was somewhere in Europe or the US, I saw some people that I haven’t seen in a long time and it was a very fun and nice atmostphere. I’m going to try to go to more events such as this when I have more time.

(All pictures were stolen from Ansam518 lol)

Link: Ansam518

While walking around in the Dubai Mall I saw the Cinema 1 shop which sells cool movie memorabilia, right next to the movie theater. They have a lot of Star Wars items, G I Joe, Predators, and other cool movie items. Then I see the War Machine Bust above, I have the Iron Man Bust so I thought to complete the team. I asked for the price and they told its 1500 Dirhams which is insane, it costs $80-$90 with shipping to Kuwait probably around $150 but they were asking $410 for the same product. I always thought that certain items they have over priced in Dubai, it might be the same in Kuwait, but in Kuwait it wouldn’t sell. Because of the way the customs operate in Kuwait they make it difficult to import items for companies to sell so we get annoyed and that created the market for forwarding companies such as UShopWeShip and Aramex, I’m not sure if that service is available in the UAE but for us who live off ordering online its an amazing service. So ridiculously priced items in Kuwait or any other country for that matter isn’t accepted, we try to find the best deal we can.

This is just one simple example, when the iPad and iPhone 4 came out we got it the same time if not earlier then Dubai. We had insane pricing when it first came out but prices dropped quickly as competition grew, at first they were more then double or triple the price and it drops like a rock within a few weeks. Dubai usually hovers a little above us when it comes to Apple products for some reason, when the first wave came in they were about 20% more then the prices in Kuwait and they were selling like crazy. Overall Apple products are more expensive in Dubai but other consumer electronics such as TVs are cheaper in Dubai. I think in this matter people in Kuwait are always looking for a better deal.

Recently I have gone on a little online shopping spree getting a variety of items, from electronics to books. I sent some to Aramex and some to MyUS account, and even from MyUS I shipped some items through FedEx and some through DHL. I basically broke down the shipments to see what would get caught and who would get through.

It seems that people aren’t working in Customs currently because its too hot, so they are leaving the containers outside and still fully packed. All my items arrived in Kuwait but nothing was being delivered, I spoke to Aramex, DHL, and FedEX and they all gave me the same reason, currently nobody is looking at the containers and we have to wait for them to clear it. A day later a few items were cleared such as toys, video games, and print work.

Now what got caught was based on these details:

• Anything heavier then 10 KG – (Netgear Server)
• Electronics – (A Shaver)
• Books – (Comic Book Art & Halo Art)

In Kuwait they are unpredictable and lazy, we have become even worse then Saudi. All the shipping people say its a nightmare to ship to Kuwait when even Saudi is getting more organized then us.

I was driving in Shuweikh and I was hoping that Abyat would be open early Friday morning, but that wasn’t the case so I was hoping to see if Platform was open only to find it gone, its no longer there. At the front of the lot is the rebranded bathroom selling store, and in the place of Platform is a store called Home & Garden. I’m assuming that it sells more Garden furniture and Gardening Items then most stores, and it seems that hardware stores such as Platform can’t survive on its own. There are specialized stores which sells tools Shuweikh but I’m not totally aware of their locations, as it seems the local contractors don’t buy from places such as Platform which was their target. Abyat took a different route and opted to provide home and office materials and interiors as well as some tools, concentrating more on the materials then the tools which has led to its success in this aspect. I was hoping that platform would continue but it just didn’t survive in Kuwait, lets see what Home & Garden will have in store for us.