Focus on the Candy

Christmas at the Ritz..the gourmet shoppe was a gingerbread house. The entire gourmet shoppe was edible...MMMmmmmmm Candy...

French Fried What????

I was at a Thai restaurant next to a massage parlor and they had an entry for "French Fried"...French Fried what???? Next trip is to try out the massage parlor.

Dahl al Misfir Cave

Visited an interesting cave formation with the Qatar Natural History Group. Plenty of fiberous gypsum crystals at the bottom. Some flourescence...not sure from what.

My NEW Pet Camel...BOB

My new pet camel...Bob!

Bob, he is so funny, spits at me all the time

Bob, my pet camel, causes me to rhyme

Bob runs in the desert

Bob runs in the road

Riding on Bob, you hop like a toad

USB Massage Ball

I went to the computer souq (souk) which is where you can buy all sorts of computer products. Most of the computer products are NOT brand names most people in the US would recognize. There are several products from Taiwan, India, and Singapore instead of Japan, China, and Korean.

One thing I found from Taiwan was the USB Massage Ball. The ball works great on my back. I am actually getting a massage as I type this.

But what is fun about the ball is the wording on the packaging. For example, "The product can be working out by hand and more efficiency to install between your body and seating." "Massage occur into a properly human body for following positions: 1. The Temples 2. The Shoulder 3. On the Back side 4. A Waist 5. A thigh 6. The Back of the Feet 7. The Hands." The important thing is also to look at the word "Volitage"...volitage...there is an extra "i" that I don't remember being in voltage. But then again, be dumb enough to stick your finger in a light socket and there will definitely be an "I" in voltage...but remember, it's not the volts that kill you, it's the amps.

AL KOUSAR

A great place to go when you've got the munchies or after walking home from the hotel bars at the Ramada is our neighborhood juice stall.

Here is a picture of John enjoying the Al Kousar Special...a lovely mix of mango, apple, pear, and ice cream. At 12 Riyals = 3.50 for a large...it is hangover-tastic.

Double click on images for a close-up of the menu...dig some of the names for drinks...Titanic, Rolex, Computer...my goal is to try every drink on the menu. Total outlay of cash should only be $100 for this feat.

UMMMM...chocolate...PRIZE INSIDE!!!!!!!!

One of the best things about living in other coutries is that when you go to the grocery store, you find things that you would never find in the United States, either because they are dangerous, from a company that is obscure or unknown in the US, or a product line from a US known company (such as Nestle) that is distributed outside the US. Here is a recent find from the Carrefour Supermarket at City Center Doha.
Kinder Surprise candies are hollow chocolate eggs with a prize inside. The prize is in a pill shaped plastic container inside the egg. So you bite into the egg and...PRIZE INSIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stuck in traffic

[Stuck in traffic] Samir: Mother... shitter... Son of an... ass. I just... [punches steering wheel]

Sorry for another Office Space reference, but if the shoe fits...

NOT ME on a motorcycle

There is a high end race track outside the city of Doha. They have had international races there. One alternate weekends, they open up the track to locals and expats to race their motorcycles.

Here is a picture of a rider who is NOT me...YET.

Fog in the Desert

This morning I was getting driven to work and there was fog on the road. Fog in the desert???

Sitting on Chairs is Hoped

Sometimes the translations don't come out so well.

In the Police department eye exam room there is a sign the reads:

"Sitting on Chairs is Hoped"

What the sign means to say is "Please be seated." (which is written in pen below the printed sign. But then again, "Please be seated" is a confusing English phase. What would be more clear? Please have a seat (This could mean take a seat and go home with it.) Please take your seat (Same ownership of seat idea as previous example). Please sit down (Where is this "down" of which you speak? Is it near Cleveland? ) Please sit in a chair. (You don't really sit "in" a chair, do you?) Please sit on a chair. (Too vague.) So if you think about it, "Sitting on chairs is hoped" isn't any less vague that a "more correct" response and is probably more accurate to the original sign in Arabic.

Men (only, women are in another room) are packed in this room like sardines and have to share chairs. When men first walk into the room they don't see the sign so they stand and are promptly told by people sitting to sit. The reason people need to sit is that the fully covered woman who is the eye exam supervisor sticks her had out of a small window and you have to have direct line of sight to that window in order to see your form with two passport sized photos attached to it or they start yelling your name.

So if you go to the Eye Exam Room of the Police Department in Doha Qatar, read the sign AND SIT DOWN!!!!!!!

Bob Porter: Looks like you've been missing a lot of work lately.

Bob Porter: Looks like you've been missing a lot of work lately.
Peter Gibbons: Well, I wouldn't exactly say I've been *missing* it, Bob.

I am having one of my Office Space Days.

No one better say..."Uh-oh. Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays. "

I came into work and had to go to the cafeteria right away for some coffee.

CLOUDNINE...NYN

I found my home away from home. There is a club in Doha frequented by airline staff (read stewardesses) called CLOUDNYN. The night I went, I danced until 2:30am when the club closed. Beer is a bit expensive, see receipt. 3.64 Riyals = $1 so you do the math. Also, this club offered a "beer tower." The beer tower is a 3000ml tower of beer with a nozzle at the bottom. For those of you un-metric folks that is like 1 billion gallons of beer. No, not really, 3000 milliliters = 101.4420677 ounces [US, liquid] of beer. It is 169 Riyals for the tower, which is $46 dollars. Is it worth it? I don't know I was drinking too many Fosters to get a tower. Not to worry, I don't have a license which means I don't have a car so I didn't drink and drive. That is what cabs are for. Anyways, the club is two blocks from my place so it will be a frequent haunt. Maybe I'll meet up with Carina and Astrid again.

All I want for Christmas

This is the kind of vehicle I want to be riding around in Qatar. Sometimes I am amazed at what OIL MONEY can bring into this country. And at only 65,000 Riylas a steal. Ok, 65,000 Riyals is $17,857.14, so maybe it isn't a steal. The exhaust system is killer.

WEINER DOG

Here is a picture of Professor Sonbol's dog.

She still barks at me on walks around the villa compound.

Two guys from Al Jazerra

Two English guys from Al Jazerra came to the library to videotape Madeleine Albright.

I was checking out their equipement. They had a Sony HD DVCAM. Cherry.

I asked if they broadcast in High Definition. They have plans to.

They were also telling me stories about how they have to keep their gear light and small because when they are in Iraq, if they have to jump onto a Balck Hawk helicopter with some Marines they aren't given much space. But they said that because the gear is so small now they don't have as many problems with weight and size as before.

Me and Madeleine Albright

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited the library at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service at Qatar.