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Published: July 31st 2006
Well, this is a first. I’m sitting down to write this blog at 5:30 a.m.. Why, you ask? As many of you are aware, I’m a committed movie freak and I’m watching the Oscars live, which started at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. Qatar time. I have to work in a few hours, which will make for an interesting day, but, until then, I’m thoroughly enjoying watching Jon Stewart and checking out the fashions. I tried to lure others in to watch it with me, but I guess my crazy (okay, fine, sane) co-workers decided sleep was a better option so I’m all by my lonesome.
I wasn’t all by my lonesome last Tuesday, though, when I decided to share my family’s tradition of Shrove Tuesday with the rest of the staff by cooking pancakes for approximately 15 - 20 co-workers. And not just regular pancakes—I cooked up chocolate chip, butterscotch chip, peanut butter chip, and banana pancakes along with eggs, bacon (turkey bacon, of course), and fruit to ensure we all had a very well-balanced dinner 😉
Okay, I guess I should get to the subject of today’s blog. I now love tennis (the pun was fully
intended in case you doubt my commitment to cheese). Before this weekend, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you the rules of tennis, nor how it’s scored, to save my life. (I still don’t get why it goes from Love, 15, 30, 40…why not 45? WHY!?) Well, thanks to the Qataris total apathy towards world renowned athletes who come to Doha, I was able to watch the Qatar Total Open, featuring some of the world’s top tennis players, for free. Although occasionally testing my ADD, as well as my neck muscles, the tennis was great. I went to the final on Saturday night and the game was intense. With the #2 ranked player from France, Amelie Mauresmo, down a set and fighting for survival, the second set came down to a final serve. The serve was made and returned, when all of a sudden, the announcer stopped the game. Confusion ensued. What happened? A cat happened. Oh, yes, that’s right. As pervasive as marble, mosques, and misspelled signs, cats can be found in every garbage can, alley, and, apparently, tennis court in Doha. A cat had walked onto the court, forcing the announcer to stop the game. Only in
Suntanning
I can't believe I'm putting a photo up of me in a bikini, but I guess I had to show that not all girls have to wear head to toe black.Qatar. Just so you know, this preceding phrase is used at least once a day by me or one of my co-workers. Shaking our heads has become second nature in this environment.
Aside from the tennis, the weekend was not too exciting. I finally had a chance to enjoy the sun out at Palm Tree Island. Palm Tree Island is a manmade island off the Corniche that takes about 10 minutes to get to by boat. It has, well, palm trees, obviously, but it also has a nice beach, swimming pool, restaurant, etc. I included some photos below.
Anyway, that’s all I really have to report for now. I’m heading to Bahrain on Sunday to go to the F1 race, so I’ll hopefully have some good photos next week. For some reason, it’s taken me moving across the world to try out some new activities such as poker, tennis, golf, and car racing. Hmm, I wonder if my interest in these traditionally male dominated sports has anything to do with the oversaturated testosterone in this country. Next I’ll be playing video games and scratching myself inappropriately 😉
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