Monday, November 30, 2009
The Photo
The photo is Khaleef Stadium and Aspire Tower. Khaleef Stadium looks like a roller coaster, but is where many international sporting events are held every year. Jim and I went to a tennis match there when I first arrived. It is beautiful inside, but it is not a closed in stadium, therefore, can only attract events in the cooler season.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
I has to be Thursday if it is Thanksgiving! It's amazing how I have a hard time keeping track of what day it is. When Jim goes to work on Sunday, my brain still says that it is Monday. I understand that other people here have the same problem. I'm glad it's not just me.
A lot of stuff has happened since my last post.
-The inside of the house got painted. Now it does not look like a hospital anymore.
-I finally convinced the maintenance staff to clean the floors, after several attempts. I had to get to the Manager for 9 Pearls. I explained to him that my floors did not look like the office floors. I asked him Why? The floors got done the next day. They did not rinse them very well, so I mopped them with clean water. Then, I applied a polish. I had my maid, Maria do the first coat of polish downstairs, and decided that it would be too much work to explain to her how I wanted it done. Therefore, I dismissed her for the day and did them myself. Maria is convinced that I have the cleanest house in 9 Pearls Compound. She is very sweet and calls me "madam", which is ok, but in about 4 hours she says it about 100 times! It drives me nuts. She is concerned about me because she thinks that I don't have anything to keep me busy. She thinks that I am very lonely. She will learn with time.
-Jim & I can put the house in order now.
-I can find my way to and from Shell without getting lost.
-I'm not sure that it is a good idea to take a Shell defensive driving class, only to walk out to my car and have a parking ticket attached to the window. People park there all the time! I am told that they randomly go around about every 3 months on one day and give parking tickets. How lucky can I get!
-I know how to get to the Sheraton parking lot where it is free to park when I go to Shell. There is a van that drives people back and forth. Now that would be a boring job!
-Driving here is really not so bad. The only difference between Houston and here is that there are roundabouts here and no major roundabouts in Houston. And they even have roundabouts with cameras! OOoooh!
-The locals don't make their children wear seat belts. I saw a woman driving the other day with her child in her lap! I have also seen children sitting on the dashboard. The police only enforce the rules when they feel like it.
-I had my Shell practical driving test yesterday. I gave the instructor only one mild heart attack, as we were in a roundabout and someone in the left lane wanted to exit the roundabout abruptly. In my opinion, he should have moved over a lane before he wanted to exit. Actually, if I had hit him, it would be my fault because the center lane is for going straight through. The inside lane is for making a left turn or U-turn. The outside lane is for turning right. The problem comes in when each driver does not follow the rules. That's why you have to be a very defensive driver, especially in a roundabout. The instructor said that I was a good driver and very comfortable behind the wheel of a car.
-The sunset now lasts about 10 minutes.
-It is quite an adventure to go to the fruit and vegetables market just before Eid al-Adha. I bought a bunch of cilantro and one of mint and it was about $1.
-Eid al-Adha starts today. Therefore, Jim has a week off of work. Yeah!!
-We are having Thanksgiving dinner Friday afternoon with a large group of neighbors.
-My garden is coming along nicely. I purchased a few more rose bushes and another bouganvilla at the flower & plant market.
-I went to a very big imported foods store. Most things I can do without, but it is nice to know that they are there if I want them. They even had Blue Bell ice cream! Most things are pretty pricey.
-I have not decided/bought a car yet. I am still driving Jim's Kia Sportage.
-I have managed to attract some birds to my feeder, but they do not know how to open a sunflower seed. They like the peanuts though!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
-
A lot of stuff has happened since my last post.
-The inside of the house got painted. Now it does not look like a hospital anymore.
-I finally convinced the maintenance staff to clean the floors, after several attempts. I had to get to the Manager for 9 Pearls. I explained to him that my floors did not look like the office floors. I asked him Why? The floors got done the next day. They did not rinse them very well, so I mopped them with clean water. Then, I applied a polish. I had my maid, Maria do the first coat of polish downstairs, and decided that it would be too much work to explain to her how I wanted it done. Therefore, I dismissed her for the day and did them myself. Maria is convinced that I have the cleanest house in 9 Pearls Compound. She is very sweet and calls me "madam", which is ok, but in about 4 hours she says it about 100 times! It drives me nuts. She is concerned about me because she thinks that I don't have anything to keep me busy. She thinks that I am very lonely. She will learn with time.
-Jim & I can put the house in order now.
-I can find my way to and from Shell without getting lost.
-I'm not sure that it is a good idea to take a Shell defensive driving class, only to walk out to my car and have a parking ticket attached to the window. People park there all the time! I am told that they randomly go around about every 3 months on one day and give parking tickets. How lucky can I get!
-I know how to get to the Sheraton parking lot where it is free to park when I go to Shell. There is a van that drives people back and forth. Now that would be a boring job!
-Driving here is really not so bad. The only difference between Houston and here is that there are roundabouts here and no major roundabouts in Houston. And they even have roundabouts with cameras! OOoooh!
-The locals don't make their children wear seat belts. I saw a woman driving the other day with her child in her lap! I have also seen children sitting on the dashboard. The police only enforce the rules when they feel like it.
-I had my Shell practical driving test yesterday. I gave the instructor only one mild heart attack, as we were in a roundabout and someone in the left lane wanted to exit the roundabout abruptly. In my opinion, he should have moved over a lane before he wanted to exit. Actually, if I had hit him, it would be my fault because the center lane is for going straight through. The inside lane is for making a left turn or U-turn. The outside lane is for turning right. The problem comes in when each driver does not follow the rules. That's why you have to be a very defensive driver, especially in a roundabout. The instructor said that I was a good driver and very comfortable behind the wheel of a car.
-The sunset now lasts about 10 minutes.
-It is quite an adventure to go to the fruit and vegetables market just before Eid al-Adha. I bought a bunch of cilantro and one of mint and it was about $1.
-Eid al-Adha starts today. Therefore, Jim has a week off of work. Yeah!!
-We are having Thanksgiving dinner Friday afternoon with a large group of neighbors.
-My garden is coming along nicely. I purchased a few more rose bushes and another bouganvilla at the flower & plant market.
-I went to a very big imported foods store. Most things I can do without, but it is nice to know that they are there if I want them. They even had Blue Bell ice cream! Most things are pretty pricey.
-I have not decided/bought a car yet. I am still driving Jim's Kia Sportage.
-I have managed to attract some birds to my feeder, but they do not know how to open a sunflower seed. They like the peanuts though!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
-
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
18 November 2009, Wednesday
The sun was shining again today! You would think that it does that everyday.....well it does. I am very thankful for that after spending 8 years without it. It is nice to get up every morning and know that the sun will be out shining. I am sure by March when the temperature starts to rise, I will be a little less excited.
Yesterday, the painter showed up after 6 PM, as promised. His English is not very good but he came highly recommended by my neighbor, Shelly. He understands enough to get the paint on the wall and that I want all the crown molding painted white. He is doing this job after his normal job, so he will be working this weekend.
This is the first time every that I have let someone else plant my garden. However, the gardener came to the garden center with me to haggle over the price as I told him what I wanted. So far the garden is looking great. We are not quite finished with all the plantings, so I will take some photos when the gardener has placed everything where I requested. I am sure my neighbors appreciate the fresh smell of cow manure! Best fertilizer in the world.
Screwdriver man found me a Filipino cleaning lady. She started work on Monday. She will start coming 4-5 hours two times a week. That's to keep my house from becoming a sand dune. I don't understand these people that leave their front door open because it is nice outside. The sand is so fine, it just blows around in the air.
Yesterday, I had my first early morning excursion in the traffic. I did pretty well, I only got lost a few times. Thank God for maps! I few people tooted their horns at me, but they are really mistaken me for someone that cares. LOL! I had to go to Shell for them to take us to some government agency to be finger printed. Of course, the women and the men are done in two different buildings. The lady finger printing me did not know what to do about the fact that I am missing about 1/2" of my right ring finger. She asked her co-worker what to do, and the other woman did not tell her what to do, she just pushed her out of the way and finger printed all but the partly missing finger. They want to make sure that they have all the basis covered, so they do all four fingers at one time, and then every finger separately. And finally they take a palm print. They want to make sure that they can make positive identification that is you sitting in jail.
We were transported back to Shell. Now, the challenge to make it back home. I did OK, but had to pull off the side of the road to look at the map. I still got lost a few times. But I did make it home in one piece.
I drove around for about an hour looking for this paint store that was recommended by the painter. Finally, I found it and picked out colors for the different rooms.
Yesterday, the painter showed up after 6 PM, as promised. His English is not very good but he came highly recommended by my neighbor, Shelly. He understands enough to get the paint on the wall and that I want all the crown molding painted white. He is doing this job after his normal job, so he will be working this weekend.
This is the first time every that I have let someone else plant my garden. However, the gardener came to the garden center with me to haggle over the price as I told him what I wanted. So far the garden is looking great. We are not quite finished with all the plantings, so I will take some photos when the gardener has placed everything where I requested. I am sure my neighbors appreciate the fresh smell of cow manure! Best fertilizer in the world.
Screwdriver man found me a Filipino cleaning lady. She started work on Monday. She will start coming 4-5 hours two times a week. That's to keep my house from becoming a sand dune. I don't understand these people that leave their front door open because it is nice outside. The sand is so fine, it just blows around in the air.
Yesterday, I had my first early morning excursion in the traffic. I did pretty well, I only got lost a few times. Thank God for maps! I few people tooted their horns at me, but they are really mistaken me for someone that cares. LOL! I had to go to Shell for them to take us to some government agency to be finger printed. Of course, the women and the men are done in two different buildings. The lady finger printing me did not know what to do about the fact that I am missing about 1/2" of my right ring finger. She asked her co-worker what to do, and the other woman did not tell her what to do, she just pushed her out of the way and finger printed all but the partly missing finger. They want to make sure that they have all the basis covered, so they do all four fingers at one time, and then every finger separately. And finally they take a palm print. They want to make sure that they can make positive identification that is you sitting in jail.
We were transported back to Shell. Now, the challenge to make it back home. I did OK, but had to pull off the side of the road to look at the map. I still got lost a few times. But I did make it home in one piece.
I drove around for about an hour looking for this paint store that was recommended by the painter. Finally, I found it and picked out colors for the different rooms.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
11 November 2009 **Veterans Day**
Unfortunately, "Veterans Day" is not recognized here, but I do appreciate that there is a place in the world that the Veterans of the USA are recognized and appreciated. I am thankful for all the men and women that have served and fought for America. God Bless You!
We continue to unpack boxes and having spurts of entertainment provided by the locals. On the Compound there is a man in charge of maintenance, and I decided that I will refer to him as the "screwdriver man". LOL! When I call him to come to the Villa for various reasons, mostly because the Villa was not cleaned before we moved in and his maintenance crew (worker bees) need to clean it. Screwdriver man makes an initial visit to see what I want done. There was something on the entry floor and he whips out his little screw driver and scrapes on the stuff on the floor and decides whether his crew can clean it or not. Screwdriver man does this for everything, stuff on the dishwasher, baked on food in the oven, grease on the back splash, etc. Then, he makes an appointment for him to come back with his worker bees. I think that all of them are Philippians. They are all very nice and polite.
I braved the crazy drivers yesterday to go to the garden center, which is an outside place with a tarp for cover. This one guy was helping me pick our some hibiscus plants as tall as me, and all of a sudden he turned and walked away. The reason for this was because a male Arab appeared. It's always nice to understand where you are located on the Totem Pole! The poor little guy was doing the best that he could to please the Arab, and not lose me as a customer. He would go back and forth between the Arab and I. Finally I picked up two of the hibiscus plants and headed to the front of the shop, and he ran up to the front and said "oh Madam, sorry. Where is your car." We had a discussion before because I was concerned that all four of them would not fit. I went out and showed him the car and he said Madam, no problem. I will fit them. I picked up a tray of coleus and paid him. I had already got to haggle with him over the price of the hibiscus, which was fun. It was just like I was in Nigeria again. I asked the price and he said 50 Riyals. I said that was too much. He went and asked his boss for a better price. His boss stuck he head around the corner and said "Madam 40, last price."
Driving here provides constant entertainment. They will drive wherever they can put their vehicle. They not only cut you off, but they will honk their horn just because you are in front of them. I'm not sure where they are going in such a hurry. The 3 lane roundabouts are absolutely the worst. They ignore the lane dividers. From the inside lane of the the roundabouts they will exit, making a right turn right in front of you. Or the reverse they will be on the outside lane that is suppose to exit the roundabout, therefore instead of turning right they will just keep going in the roundabout and cutting right in front of you. You have to be an extremely defensive driver. The joys of learning to drive in a different country.
I think that God prepared me for this place many years ago, when we lived in Nigeria. It is kind of scary every time something happens and Nigeria automatically pops into my head. I just thank the Lord that He prepared me for this place because it is so much easier living here, and now I can understanding why it was in His plan so many years ago.
Today, was a very different excursion day. I went to a modern mall with 4 floors, which includes an ice skating rink. There is a Starbucks there, but it was the afternoon and I did not feel the need for a Starbucks. The grocery store is in this mall also. It's a Carrefour, which is a lot like a Super Wal-Mart. The Mall has just about anything you would need. I have not found the hardware store yet, but that will be another adventure.
If you would like to leave comments on this blog, you must sign in with a Google, or a Yahoo account. You can also click on "Followers" and every time I post something, you will get a notice that I have added something to this blog.
Have a Great Day!
We continue to unpack boxes and having spurts of entertainment provided by the locals. On the Compound there is a man in charge of maintenance, and I decided that I will refer to him as the "screwdriver man". LOL! When I call him to come to the Villa for various reasons, mostly because the Villa was not cleaned before we moved in and his maintenance crew (worker bees) need to clean it. Screwdriver man makes an initial visit to see what I want done. There was something on the entry floor and he whips out his little screw driver and scrapes on the stuff on the floor and decides whether his crew can clean it or not. Screwdriver man does this for everything, stuff on the dishwasher, baked on food in the oven, grease on the back splash, etc. Then, he makes an appointment for him to come back with his worker bees. I think that all of them are Philippians. They are all very nice and polite.
I braved the crazy drivers yesterday to go to the garden center, which is an outside place with a tarp for cover. This one guy was helping me pick our some hibiscus plants as tall as me, and all of a sudden he turned and walked away. The reason for this was because a male Arab appeared. It's always nice to understand where you are located on the Totem Pole! The poor little guy was doing the best that he could to please the Arab, and not lose me as a customer. He would go back and forth between the Arab and I. Finally I picked up two of the hibiscus plants and headed to the front of the shop, and he ran up to the front and said "oh Madam, sorry. Where is your car." We had a discussion before because I was concerned that all four of them would not fit. I went out and showed him the car and he said Madam, no problem. I will fit them. I picked up a tray of coleus and paid him. I had already got to haggle with him over the price of the hibiscus, which was fun. It was just like I was in Nigeria again. I asked the price and he said 50 Riyals. I said that was too much. He went and asked his boss for a better price. His boss stuck he head around the corner and said "Madam 40, last price."
Driving here provides constant entertainment. They will drive wherever they can put their vehicle. They not only cut you off, but they will honk their horn just because you are in front of them. I'm not sure where they are going in such a hurry. The 3 lane roundabouts are absolutely the worst. They ignore the lane dividers. From the inside lane of the the roundabouts they will exit, making a right turn right in front of you. Or the reverse they will be on the outside lane that is suppose to exit the roundabout, therefore instead of turning right they will just keep going in the roundabout and cutting right in front of you. You have to be an extremely defensive driver. The joys of learning to drive in a different country.
I think that God prepared me for this place many years ago, when we lived in Nigeria. It is kind of scary every time something happens and Nigeria automatically pops into my head. I just thank the Lord that He prepared me for this place because it is so much easier living here, and now I can understanding why it was in His plan so many years ago.
Today, was a very different excursion day. I went to a modern mall with 4 floors, which includes an ice skating rink. There is a Starbucks there, but it was the afternoon and I did not feel the need for a Starbucks. The grocery store is in this mall also. It's a Carrefour, which is a lot like a Super Wal-Mart. The Mall has just about anything you would need. I have not found the hardware store yet, but that will be another adventure.
If you would like to leave comments on this blog, you must sign in with a Google, or a Yahoo account. You can also click on "Followers" and every time I post something, you will get a notice that I have added something to this blog.
Have a Great Day!
7 November 2009
7 November 2009, Saturday
I have been a bit busy! The moving company delivered our shipment on Monday, 2nd of November. Everything went very well. There were six people unloading the container. The front feet on one of my Dutch antiques was broken, but Jim is fixing it himself. I'm not sure how well the worker bees would do with it. The worker bees are mostly from China, Philippines, and Pakistan. The unpacked all the furniture, set up the beds, place the 50" TV on it base and unpacked all the kitchen glassware.
We are still unpacking and trying to put away our winter clothes. I am still hanging up my summer clothes. That means that I probably have too many summer cloths. However, when I leave the compound I "should" have my arms and knees covered. Most of the time I do, but occasionally we go to the mall and for some reason I did not know we were going. Most of the time it is because I am wearing shorts above my knees. I usually get a few smiles from the men, so not such a bad thing.
On Wednesday, November 4th, I had to go to the Shell office for an appointment at the Hospital. They told us the appointment was at 9 AM, but we did not leave the office until 9 AM. It is very interesting that the women and the men have different sides to enter the hospital. Men are NOT allowed at all on the women side. I think that it may be one of the few times that they can go out someplace without the men. I was there to have another blood test and chest x-ray. There are no appointment times! It is somewhat organized, but I cannot understand why they did not split up this huge group of people, having one group doing x-rays and the other group doing blood tests. No, that would have made too much sense. The x-ray room was rather comical, as there were only two changing rooms and all these women in burqas. This group of french women talked me into changing out in the open (everyone was wearing a t-shirt anyway) and I definitely received a few dirty looks from the nuns (at least that is what the women in burqas remind me of), but I was not showing any inappropriate flesh.
We arrived back at the Shell office around 11:30 AM. I had an eye sight appointment at 1:30 PM, so I got to hang around the office for 2 hours. Jim came over to the Shell office to see if we could go next door to get my bank card, but they needed a letter from Shell stating his salary. We did manage to get the letter we needed, but by the time we got back with the letter the bank had closed only 30 seconds before. They close at 1 PM. Now that is pretty good hours!
I went back to Shell and got in an elevator with two Arab women (their faces were showing) and an Arab man. The elevator arrived at the Arab man's floor first and it was more than a few moments before the guy knew it was his floor. Once the elevator door closed the two women started laughing and of course, I knew what they were laughing about, so laughed with them. One of the women said, "he wasn't sure how to act being in the midst of three beautiful women at once". It's little things like this that catch you by surprise a little.
When I was getting my eye test an Arab woman came in, escorted by her man. He face was fully covered, however, once she realized that there were only women in the room, she completely unveiled herself. I was asked to read two lines, that's it! She was required to read several lines both in Arabic and English.
The next day I went back to Shell to get my temporary license. I will get my permanent license after my residence card.
Friday, Jim got me to follow him from the transient flat to our villa at 9 Pearls. Driving on Friday is not as bad as other days of the week. Friday is like Sunday for them, and major prayer time is 11 AM til Noon. Jim thought I did very well. Driving is definitely the big challenge here. Most of the time they don't even yield when entering a round about. If you hit them, then it is your fault. So, why should they care.
I am sure my friend, Sue and I could get into a lot of driving trouble here. We sure did in Holland, and it is easy to drive there. Sue, there are some cameras here that we have not yet had go off for us. Getting caught by a camera here works a little different here. They don't mail you a ticket, mainly because there is no mail home delivery. It is your responsibility to check the website to see if your account is clear. After you get so many "marks", they suspend your license. If you have a ticket on your record when you go to leave the country, they won't let you leave. You have to go to the police station to settle your fine. Then, reschedule your flight. If you have a non-refundable ticket, too bad ....you lose.
Last night was our first night to sleep at the Villa. As I was filling up the bathtub, the water got darker and darker (rust in the water). I must say it reminded me of our time in Nigeria. The hot water heaters need to be replaced. Jim spoke with the maintenance men today, and they will replace one tomorrow morning at 9 AM and another one at 3 PM. Then they will have three more to do, but they are in the process of replacing all of the hot water heaters for all of the compound. The villas have 4 bathrooms and a maids quarter bathroom shower. Some have 3 bathroom, also with a maids bathroom shower. That is a lot of hot water heaters!
The maintenance men here physically go around and turn on peoples sprinkler systems everyday! Actually it turns out that they visit each persons yard three times a day! They turn on the back on the first round and the front sprinklers on the second time around. Then, they have to make another round to turn off the front ones. Wouldn't it be easier to have them on timers?
I am really enjoying the nice warm temperatures. The humidity gets to be a bit much in the middle of the day, but in the evening it is very pleasant outside. It's fun to be able to see the sunset and the moon rise everyday!
Sunday is the first day of the work week. Jim goes to Dukhan on the other side of Qatar in the morning. It's a great road with speed cameras. That's a good thing in an Arab Country.
I hope everyone is well! Send me an email if you have time. Email is hrhholland@gmail.com
If you want to be notified every time I post you must become a friend (by clicking Become a Friend). You can also leave a comment at the end of each post.
I have been a bit busy! The moving company delivered our shipment on Monday, 2nd of November. Everything went very well. There were six people unloading the container. The front feet on one of my Dutch antiques was broken, but Jim is fixing it himself. I'm not sure how well the worker bees would do with it. The worker bees are mostly from China, Philippines, and Pakistan. The unpacked all the furniture, set up the beds, place the 50" TV on it base and unpacked all the kitchen glassware.
We are still unpacking and trying to put away our winter clothes. I am still hanging up my summer clothes. That means that I probably have too many summer cloths. However, when I leave the compound I "should" have my arms and knees covered. Most of the time I do, but occasionally we go to the mall and for some reason I did not know we were going. Most of the time it is because I am wearing shorts above my knees. I usually get a few smiles from the men, so not such a bad thing.
On Wednesday, November 4th, I had to go to the Shell office for an appointment at the Hospital. They told us the appointment was at 9 AM, but we did not leave the office until 9 AM. It is very interesting that the women and the men have different sides to enter the hospital. Men are NOT allowed at all on the women side. I think that it may be one of the few times that they can go out someplace without the men. I was there to have another blood test and chest x-ray. There are no appointment times! It is somewhat organized, but I cannot understand why they did not split up this huge group of people, having one group doing x-rays and the other group doing blood tests. No, that would have made too much sense. The x-ray room was rather comical, as there were only two changing rooms and all these women in burqas. This group of french women talked me into changing out in the open (everyone was wearing a t-shirt anyway) and I definitely received a few dirty looks from the nuns (at least that is what the women in burqas remind me of), but I was not showing any inappropriate flesh.
We arrived back at the Shell office around 11:30 AM. I had an eye sight appointment at 1:30 PM, so I got to hang around the office for 2 hours. Jim came over to the Shell office to see if we could go next door to get my bank card, but they needed a letter from Shell stating his salary. We did manage to get the letter we needed, but by the time we got back with the letter the bank had closed only 30 seconds before. They close at 1 PM. Now that is pretty good hours!
I went back to Shell and got in an elevator with two Arab women (their faces were showing) and an Arab man. The elevator arrived at the Arab man's floor first and it was more than a few moments before the guy knew it was his floor. Once the elevator door closed the two women started laughing and of course, I knew what they were laughing about, so laughed with them. One of the women said, "he wasn't sure how to act being in the midst of three beautiful women at once". It's little things like this that catch you by surprise a little.
When I was getting my eye test an Arab woman came in, escorted by her man. He face was fully covered, however, once she realized that there were only women in the room, she completely unveiled herself. I was asked to read two lines, that's it! She was required to read several lines both in Arabic and English.
The next day I went back to Shell to get my temporary license. I will get my permanent license after my residence card.
Friday, Jim got me to follow him from the transient flat to our villa at 9 Pearls. Driving on Friday is not as bad as other days of the week. Friday is like Sunday for them, and major prayer time is 11 AM til Noon. Jim thought I did very well. Driving is definitely the big challenge here. Most of the time they don't even yield when entering a round about. If you hit them, then it is your fault. So, why should they care.
I am sure my friend, Sue and I could get into a lot of driving trouble here. We sure did in Holland, and it is easy to drive there. Sue, there are some cameras here that we have not yet had go off for us. Getting caught by a camera here works a little different here. They don't mail you a ticket, mainly because there is no mail home delivery. It is your responsibility to check the website to see if your account is clear. After you get so many "marks", they suspend your license. If you have a ticket on your record when you go to leave the country, they won't let you leave. You have to go to the police station to settle your fine. Then, reschedule your flight. If you have a non-refundable ticket, too bad ....you lose.
Last night was our first night to sleep at the Villa. As I was filling up the bathtub, the water got darker and darker (rust in the water). I must say it reminded me of our time in Nigeria. The hot water heaters need to be replaced. Jim spoke with the maintenance men today, and they will replace one tomorrow morning at 9 AM and another one at 3 PM. Then they will have three more to do, but they are in the process of replacing all of the hot water heaters for all of the compound. The villas have 4 bathrooms and a maids quarter bathroom shower. Some have 3 bathroom, also with a maids bathroom shower. That is a lot of hot water heaters!
The maintenance men here physically go around and turn on peoples sprinkler systems everyday! Actually it turns out that they visit each persons yard three times a day! They turn on the back on the first round and the front sprinklers on the second time around. Then, they have to make another round to turn off the front ones. Wouldn't it be easier to have them on timers?
I am really enjoying the nice warm temperatures. The humidity gets to be a bit much in the middle of the day, but in the evening it is very pleasant outside. It's fun to be able to see the sunset and the moon rise everyday!
Sunday is the first day of the work week. Jim goes to Dukhan on the other side of Qatar in the morning. It's a great road with speed cameras. That's a good thing in an Arab Country.
I hope everyone is well! Send me an email if you have time. Email is hrhholland@gmail.com
If you want to be notified every time I post you must become a friend (by clicking Become a Friend). You can also leave a comment at the end of each post.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
1 November 2009, Sunday
Sunday is the first day of the work week. Jim drove to Dukhan for meetings and such. Dukhan is on the west coast of Qatar.
I overslept by 1 hour. Fortunately, there is a bus to take me to the Shell office every hour. I was kind of silly anyway because some of the people that I was suppose to meet with, were not there. What a surprise! The main person I met with was Enos and she is suppose to set up for me to have yet another blood test and x-ray. Shell did those in The Hague before we left Holland. They want to make sure I don't have Aides.
I came back to Golf Gardens, our temporary flat and took a nap until Jim came home, which was about 12:45. And then, I could not stay awake, so I went for another nap until about 15:00.
This evening we went to the World Final Tennis match between Venus & Serena Williams. Serena won, but Venus did her best to beat her sister. It was held in an outdoor stadium. It was warm, but not unpleasant. It was great to see this live, as TV does this kind of game no justice. There was also a doubles match following the singles match, which we stay for some, but not all. We took a few photos, which I will have to post another time.
Tomorrow is move in day. So, I am not sure I will have time to post.
I overslept by 1 hour. Fortunately, there is a bus to take me to the Shell office every hour. I was kind of silly anyway because some of the people that I was suppose to meet with, were not there. What a surprise! The main person I met with was Enos and she is suppose to set up for me to have yet another blood test and x-ray. Shell did those in The Hague before we left Holland. They want to make sure I don't have Aides.
I came back to Golf Gardens, our temporary flat and took a nap until Jim came home, which was about 12:45. And then, I could not stay awake, so I went for another nap until about 15:00.
This evening we went to the World Final Tennis match between Venus & Serena Williams. Serena won, but Venus did her best to beat her sister. It was held in an outdoor stadium. It was warm, but not unpleasant. It was great to see this live, as TV does this kind of game no justice. There was also a doubles match following the singles match, which we stay for some, but not all. We took a few photos, which I will have to post another time.
Tomorrow is move in day. So, I am not sure I will have time to post.
31 October 2009, Saturday
Jet lag is getting harder and harder to deal with. Since the rest of the world has changed daylight savings time to standard that make Doha 9 hours ahead of CST.
We got up on Saturday morning, but I had to go back to bed by noon. I slept for 3 hours. Maybe in future years to come, there will be time travel with no jet lag. That will be one happy day!
Jim woke me up around 3PM. We went to 9 Pearls, which is where our permanent villa is located, to check up on things and see if they were making the necessary changes or not, which they were.
We went and had dinner and then we went for a walk along the Corniche. We sat along the wall and enjoyed the view of the water, and an almost full moon. Jim pointed out the different buildings, etc.
We got up on Saturday morning, but I had to go back to bed by noon. I slept for 3 hours. Maybe in future years to come, there will be time travel with no jet lag. That will be one happy day!
Jim woke me up around 3PM. We went to 9 Pearls, which is where our permanent villa is located, to check up on things and see if they were making the necessary changes or not, which they were.
We went and had dinner and then we went for a walk along the Corniche. We sat along the wall and enjoyed the view of the water, and an almost full moon. Jim pointed out the different buildings, etc.
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