Friday, January 08, 2010

2010

I guess I am in an updating mood...

Happy 2010!!!

Its a whole new year and for the 2nd year in a row I am in the same place on the map that I started in last year. That doesnt happen for me all the time. I am still in Doha, Qatar and guess things are going ok. Still feeling like its my big girl life with big job, apartment, car, cable bill and dining room chairs. Its all very very different to me but so far so good. I feel like I am kind of sort of figuring out living here as much as a western female is allowed to figure out. I still dont know if I like it or if after 2 years I am still just confused by the whole place. When living in the islands and people would ask, do you like it....well thats an easy YES, but when people ask me that about living here....I guess I still dont know.

Things I know for sure that I like about living here:
  • working with people from 70 different countries
  • having more of a real job with nice benefits
  • being close to other places...as in not at the bottom of the planet or a remote island

Things that make me crazy and want to move away:
  • driving
  • being constantly stared at and often followed
  • difficulty of the most basic things...getting something fixed or delivered is impossible
  • the sense of "entitlement" that I guess only the super rich have...and this is a country full of the super rich. It definitely bugs!!!
Its has seemed in the past that at New Years times, I was usually getting ready to make a big move of some sorts. This time I am feeling kind of settled and am thinking more about vacations than actually moving continents. Its just different.....

So for 2010, I am hoping to take a couple of trips....possibly a live-aboard dive trip, maybe another swim trek and probably a trip to the US at some point. I know those are not boring things but I guess its the being sort of "settled" thats feeling a bit boring at the moment.

Quick trip home

Got to make a quick 2 week trip home to Oregon
Mt. Bachelor
Happy to be skiing on a real mountain and not in a Dubai mall!

Got my peeps to represent!!!
4 year old Ray Ray showing me how to use my computer!
The family celebrating Christmas Eve at the local Irish bar!

Dad and his annual work of art, the "pole tree"

I used miles to upgade to first class and I was really suprised when I was the ONLY one up there!! I had the whole cabin all to myself!!!
Momma and her 65 balloons!!!

Coconuts, Camels and Cheetahs!

I dont know how it gets to be 2 months later but...here is a brief update!!!

Still in crazy old Doha which I think I have said before is half in 1810 and half in 2010. My good friend Julie came to visit for a couple of weeks and below are some of the things we got into to.
Local man at the old souqs, old men sitting in wheel barrows is a very common sight there!
gold, gold and more gold and then some gold!
We found a Christmas tree!
Got to spend a night in Dubai catching up with Rudy
Me & Julie out in the sand


a cheetah...seriously!!! Just driving by in the locals land cruiser. The guy then decided to actually follow us to my apartment. Then the security guard gets distracted by the cheetah so the crazy man gets to come into the building. Quality!!!
McDonalds....same same in every language!!
Where I work
JoJo & Bits at the Saudia Arabia border
So the Burj Arab is "the worlds first 7 star hotel"....or something like that. We figured out a way to get inside and this is the pool we found.

We are mall skiers!!!
Just curious if Ikea is the same in Dubai as it is everywhere else...it is.



Salalah, Oman

Saturday, October 03, 2009

Swimtrek in Malta!

Just had an awesome trip to Malta with Momma where I got to do a Swimtrek.

Swimtrek is a company that organizes long distances swim and provides all the boat support and guides. We were based on the island of Gozo and then each day would swim to other islands or around the coastline. There were 7 swimmers from all over and over 5 days of swimming we swam 15 miles and crossed and 2 channels.
Mom & I on the ferry back to Malta, covering the same 5 miles I had swam just a couple days earlier!
The uniform
Local fishing boats
One of our swims we swam into "Popeye's" Village. Its the town that was built for the movie, it was fun to swim in and its this whole crazy looking town.
The "Crystal Lagoon"

We had 3 groups based on speed, I was a yellow (slowest)...but no matter to me, I was just happy to be out there swimming!

The islands around Malta have numerous caves that we were able to swim in and some of them we could swim through. Really awesome!!!
This was the end of our first swim and then we would eat lunch on the boat and jump back in to swim another section of the coast.

A nice place to spend my birthday!!!

Our base hotel in Gozo
2 of us had a birthday!
Momma in Malta

Saturday, August 22, 2009

A little comparison



I was just thinking about the difference in the diving conditions in the locations I have been living for the past 10 years. Here is a brief comparison!

Johnston Island
Walk to marina
Take very very short boat ride to dive site
as easy as it gets!!!




Marshall Islands
Ride bike with dive gear to marina
drive nice boat out to a variety of choices...literally hundreds of choices on where to go for GREAT diving!


Antarctica
Drive a "pisten bully" to a little hut
scrape fresh ice off the dive hole
descend down an ice tunnel
see penguins on the way home



When divers done, take extra clothes and jump in ice water just for fun!






Qatar
Drive SUV through sand dunes to dive site
Walk through trash
See wild camels on way home