yes, I've been here for more than a month! It's crazy huh? Tonight as I was sitting in the hot tub of my posh hotel, I wondered what the next few months will be like. If and when I go to Qatar, will I be staying in another hotel? A nice apartment? A crappy apartment? Roommates? Or will I get an apartment here before I leave? Will Jamie and I be roomies? Will I have to wait to buy a car? And if I wait too long, should I just lease instead of buy? So many questions popping around in my head, but even though there are still so many things up the air, I still have accomplished a lot. I feel comfortable going out and about. I have found food places that I like, though ... read more

Last night was hard for me to sleep as I felt so nauseous the whole night. I don't know why but it made me mad! I woke in the morning and didn't feel any better. I didn't feel any better the rest of the day. And I still feel icky. I know why - we won't get into it. I can only hope tomorrow is back to normal. So, I spent much of my day watching the few english speaking stations on TV - movie after movie - and I wanted to relate the way movies are portrayed here. Swearing - ok. Sometimes. Most movies I watch have the entire range of swear words up for fun, but every now and then, it is deemed offensive. For instance, I watched "How to lose a guy in ... read more

Mostly today was just work work work, so I will recap the highlights of my favorite week so far with a list of the many things I did for the first time this week. 1. First time in the Indian Ocean - Maybe I am a total dork for wanting to make sure that I got that experience, but it felt fantastic, even if I only got to dip my feet in for a few minutes and got my pants so wet, they were still wet the next morning. They dried out pretty fast at the dusty, dry job site. 2. First time ordering a drink at a swim up pool bar - I have always wanted to do this and never have. I never seem to get the opportunity in Vegas. I guess it doesn't ... read more

For the first time in weeks, I am posting from a different spot. Woot woot! Today was a lot of first for me. This is going to be fairly long (I think), so I will try to organize. You know me! Part 1 - Desert Dunes and Mountain Work Eric and I left the office a little after 8:30 this morning. He had managed to snag a fugro truck which I will provide a picture of tomorrow. Apparently, no one can buy a truck here unless they are a business or a native with a farm. Pretty cool! Very few souped up ghetto trucks or redneck vehicles here! I had noticed that before and also that all the work trucks tend to look alike, so this explained a lot. We stopped at a gas station too, ... read more

Last evening, I was a little restless, so I took a stroll around the neighborhood, wanting to get an idea of what was here. I only have one week left, and probably will be gone two nights of this week as well, but I was bored and the weather felt nice. Nothing like a dip in the pool to wake you up! I decided to grab some take away menus from various restaurants and found two that I immediately want to try: Chalet Grill Plus, which specializes in Arabai, Chinese, Indian, and Turkish cuisine, and a place called Green Chillies, which is Indian and Arabic, and well... I just love green chilies! As Silpa had told me, there were a lot of restaurants nearby; my hotel just is not facing any of the major streets, so ... read more