Asian Games

This entry is long over due but if your regular visitors to our sight then that won’t surprise you much. Doha was host to the 15th annual Asian Games which is basically the Olympics for everyone one on the east side of the globe. We’ve been hearing about these games ever since we arrived in Doha in April. The games were blamed for the awful construction which was to blame for the awful traffic; the delays at customs which meant sea and air shipments took longer then expected; employees were told to stock up on food in case there were shortages; schools were let out the last week of November so families could leave before they started; hotels were completely booked so the city had to bring in 3 cruise ships for the over flow; everyone was told to pack water and food in their vehicles in case they were stuck in traffic for hours – you get the idea, we were prepared to experience a minor apocalypse due to the games.

But it actually turned out to be very well planned and a lot of fun for the few of us who braved the potential chaos. Neither Steve nor I were ever stuck in traffic (that wasn’t already normal) the parking at events was easy and we even got tickets to a few events. The event that became the topic of conversations is called Sepaktrawa (sp?). It’s a cross between playing hackey sack, volleyball, and martial arts. If Bruce Lee had a sport it would be this (subtitles included). Same rules as volleyball, you serve to the other team, each team gets 3 hits to get it over the net but no hands – you can only use your feet, head, and back to volley the ball. It’s a great game to watch and the athletes are amazing – we got a few good pictures but if you ever come across the games I’d highly recommend watching it.

There was quite a bit of window dressing around the city as well. Here is a photo of the Emir's Palace with lights decorating it with the Qatar Flag. Kind of neat.

X-Mass Shopping In UAE

So Mariah had a business trip to Dubai recently followed by a conference in Abu Dhabi. I took a flight over the weekend to join her and make sure that she wasn't spending too much money X-Mas shopping. We had a good time hanging out at the bars with some of Mariah's colleagues. I did find it most intriguing that in a Muslim country, which most Westerners consider to be back woods and in-tolerant, we found more Christmas decorations than you would find in the US. I really got a kick out of the recent fuss in Seattle regarding X-Mas tress at the airport (http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_120906WABxmastreesEL.11b0d0cc.html). We see huge Christmas displays in all of the malls in the Middle East, yet people are constantly sued for such displays in the US. Really makes you think.

Thanksgiving In Doha

Well we had ourselves a Proper Thanksgiving dinner in Doha. We had a big event with about 16 people. I fired up the spit and rotisserie a 14lb bird on it. Let me tell you, grilling with Butane instead of propane is not easy. For those that don't know Butane burns considerably hotter than propane, something that I am sure Mariah could show in a chart or chemical breakdown or something. All I know is it is hot. The grill regularly goes from 350 to 550 in a matter of seconds if the wind happens to shift. In true Connor form after 5 hours of painstaking cooking, my picture perfect bird went from stunning to flambé in the last five minutes. We had a fire ball at least 15 feet high scorching the back of the house. After putting out the flames and pealing off the charcoal skin I was happy to find that the meat was still perfect. I had several comments that it was the best turkey ever, and I will ignore anyone who claims that those were sympathy votes.

We did have a good time none the less. Mariah pointed out that this was a typical Thanksgiving as after dinner all the women where in the kitchen, and all the men were watching the football game (UT vs. Aggies).

Maldives

At the end of October for Eid ul-Fitr (Muslim Religious holiday marking the end of Ramadan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_ul-Fitr) Mariah and I went to the Maldives for a little get away. It was an easy 4 hour direct flight from Doha which made the trip that much easier. Evidently TomKat had there Honeymoon somewhere in the Maldives so that should put the place in perspective.

We spent five nights at a five star island resort. The island, which is one of the larger ones, took about 30 minuites to walk around the shoreline. The snorkeling was amazing, it looked like a National Geographic special. We saw more types of Parrott, Angel, and various tropical reef fish than we could possibly count. Also saw three types of eel including a wolf eel. Next time we go we need to invest in an underwater camera. I definately wish that we had our diving license and gear in a place like this (currently working on this problem).

Our pictures realy didn't do the place justice so check out this link of the resort we stayed at: http://www.kurumba.com/overview.html

Prague

We went to Prague for a week in August. Mariah's mom and brother were both in town so we spent some quality family time in the Old Town Bars. Prague is definately a must see, for all the guys out there the "local scenery" can not be matched.




I had the unfortunate joy of working through most of the trip due to a big contract negotiation. I managed to spend more money on my hotel phone bill then I did for the 10 day room charge. This gave Mariah and family plenty of time to tour the city and enjoy some bonding time.



The sweetest thing we saw while there was a Bone Church outside of the city. The story goes that during the Crusades some guy brought dirt from the holy land back with him. He placed this dirt in the local cemetary, which naturally caused every Tom, Dick, and Harry to want to be burried there. After time the bones started to pile up, which naturally led a creative church owner to create artwork with the excess bones. The artwork is meant to represent the assention of man to heaven. Plain old creepy.

Steve at Work

So I thought that I would post a couple of photos of my job site. So my client is getting ready to build a $300 million +/- 30% facility here. Looks like the perfect setting to me, what do you think? Note the current camel herd onsite, these things are mean. They actually came up and tried to scare of my SUV.

Here is a photo of my supervision skills. Yes, that is a survey crew changing my tire for me. They were not impressed with the idea of an Americano trying to change a tire. Evidently that is not acceptable.

"Business Trip"

So Mariah had a last minute "business trip" last week to Barcelona. She received a call on Friday telling her to be at a conference on Tuesday and Wednesday. I went ahead and took two days off an flew out to meet here on Wednesday afternoon. I took this photo of her "working" hard. I am sure that Sangria is an accpetable afternoon drink. We spent three days walking around the city, seeing the sights.

A very different kind of place, very artsy. Great food (mainly pork products), good wine, nice people. It was definitely a nice change in scenery (good looking women in abundance).

Alaska Trip

We took Mariah's parents with us up to Alaska for a two week adventure. We met with Steve's parents and did an extreme tour of the State. Caught up with family, friends, had great weather, and saw lots of bears.

When we started the trip Mariah's dad Peter was scared to death of bears, by the end he was chasing them around with a camera. Good stuff.

We went halibut fishing near out of Ninilchick (near Homer) and had a good run at it.

The best part was seeing rich greenery and wildlife - a far cry from the scenery in Doha!

New Toy

Today Mariah let me buy her a new toy. I am sure that she is going to love it. It is a 25 footer with twin Yamaha 140's on the back. Nothing too fancy, but more than enough to get us out to local islands and fishing holes. We also managed to snag one of the few boat slips in the city, it seems that due to construction there is a serious shortage of slips.

The guy that we bought it from is having some work done to it while we are back in the States, a detailed polishing, some new paint, new leather, and a new shade for the front. I can't wait to get back so we can start playing in the Gulf.

Bidet

So it is customary for bathrooms to have a bidet installed next to a traditional toilet. While Mariah and I have not developed a desire to utilize this feature of our new home, the animals have become quite accustomed to this.

New Ride

Well we managed to purchase one new vehicle. This is Steve's new 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. We managed to get this new from the dealer with only 60 kilometers on it. We saved a lot of money versus a 2006 model, plus we recieved a full warantry.

Driving here is a spectacle in itself. The locals are not concerned with money so they are recless, and there are so many people from Asia driving here that have never driven before. Just to add a little fun in the mix the streets are filled with round-abouts and at least half of the roadway system in the city is currently under construction. Fun Fun Fun.

Villa

Not much new for us, we are still settling in. Currently we are enjoying the weather, the pool, and the new friends. Hanging out at the pool with a couple (figurative) of Coronas seems to be the standard weekend event. Here is a pic of our Villa. The villa is nice, big space downstairs, four bedrooms up.

Connors in Doha

Connors in Doha

We set up this blog to help the transmittal of our updates. This way we won't bog down anyones email with photos or junk.

All is well here. The weather has been good, and we have even seen a couple of rain showers and one serious thunder storm. And we thought we were moving to the desert.