I used to complain that I missed out on the "real" University experience because I lived at home or on my own during University and never lived in a dorm. Be careful what you wish for! Fast forward almost 10 years, and I live in a dorm. It's a dorm filled with those in their mid- to late-twenties, mind you, but do not be mistaken, it's a dorm. (I also finally included some more photos of the "dorm--yeah, it's kinda blah, but I'm doing my best to spruce it up without going broke!). There are definite positive and negatives of living [View Full Entry]

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I thought I would do a quick update after the weekend. Actually, I’m already on day 2 of the workweek, even though it’s only Monday. I think I’m going to like it. It’s kinda like the workweek ends early every week and it wasn’t that bad coming in on Sunday. Anyway, the update. After the photo extravaganza day on Friday, I made my way up one flight of stairs to the Doha Poker Tour Tournament. Although I’ve only played poker once or twice (and not for money), I thought it would be fun to play. I grudgingly handed over my 100 [View Full Entry]

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Okay, many of you have been bugging me to upload photos. Well, I finally left the compound today (there are definite disadvantages to living and working in the same building). As I mentioned before, Fridays are like Canada's Saturdays, so I had a chance to get out and see the city. I went with Bailey, one of the owner's daughters, who was an excellent navigator. See, it was my first time driving here. I had to learn how to conquer the Qatari road system. They are crazy here. There is basically no speed limit and two lanes can very quickly become [View Full Entry]

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It’s no secret that Qatar is a very, very rich country. I think I heard that it’s the richest country in the world per capita. This is evidenced by the lack of coinage. Seriously. There is no change. Rather than give change, grocery stores, for instance, will give you back single packages of chicklets. Can you believe that? Although the locals here are beyond rich, there is still a very large disparity between the classes. The classes being locals and non-western ex-pats, namely Indians and Philipinos. Again, it’s only what I’ve heard, but supposedly it’s [View Full Entry]

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Hello from the land of the rooster and marble! Oh yes, that's right, I said rooster and marble. An odd combination, yes, but these are the two points of highlight thus far in my new home. Let's back it up a bit and start with the trip over. The flight was a wee bit long, but I slept most of the way, so it was all good. However, I experienced the "Susan Syndrome" (sorry, cuz!) and had the puffiest feet in the world getting off the 9 1/2 hour flight from Calgary to Frankfurt. It was a struggle to put my [View Full Entry]

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I can't believe that I'll be heading to Doha, Qatar a month tomorrow! Throw a birthday, Christmas, New Year's, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and Vegas in there and the time is going to fly by! Currently, I'm desperately trying to get everything packed up, so I can hand over my place to my new tenant on January 1st. I really do despise moving, although I love adventure, so I'm conflicted since adventure usually means packing and moving. Poor me, huh? This is my 7th move in 5 years though, so that's why I complain. I try to go on a big purgefest [View Full Entry]

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