Updates

Things are going very well over here.  I love the job and I don't miss the alcohol too much.  Word to the wise: when going to live in a dry country for at least a year, drink every day for at least a month before going.  What surprised me most is how much I miss pork.  I think the fact that I can't have it any time that I want makes me want it more.  Any time the Dining Facility here has it I make sure to get a heaping plate, eat way more then I should and then sit around like Jabba the hut.

It's a little comforting to know how little personal possessions you need to happily exist on a daily basis.  For me, it's my kindle, my computer (with internet), my TV... and my PS3.  I just recently bought some minutes for my phone, mainly because I had a date and needed to be able to call but I existed with only incoming calls for over a month.  We carpool to work and there is always someone going somewhere if I feel the need to get out to somewhere other than the local mall.  I try roam about here and there as much as possible but often find that I am perfectly comfortable just going downstairs to the coffee shop and having a latte while I write.  Oh yeah, I started drinking lattes.  I kind of feel elitist when I say this, like I'm a coffee snob or something but they are the closest thing to my grandmother's Bustelo so I have an affinity for them.

I have not received my civil ID yet, so it has limited my travels on the weekends but there is a lot of strife in the area anyway so travelling would be limited anyway.  There are so many places here that could be travelled to for a weekend or so and I intend to see all them.  Popular places of travel are: Dubai (of course), Bahrain, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, The UK, Italy, Greece, Spain and Amsterdam.  Bahrain seems to be most people's favorite spot but it is definitely not a good idea to go there at the moment.  I did get to go out on a coworker's boat one day and we did some wakeboarding and cruised around the gulf a bit and that was a blast but he has been here awhile and has a whole other set of friends that are way cooler than us I guess.  He normally hangs with them.  That's okay though, a couple of us are thinking of pitching in for one so we can go out a lot more.

It's pretty interesting to watch movies in the theater here.  First, there are different sections.  There is the family section and there is the boys section.  I went to a movie alone once (first time EVER) and had to sit in front even though it was the middle of the day and the theater was empty.  If you go to the theater on a date, however, you get the family section. So I guess the way it works is if you are a single guy or a guy going to the movies with another guy, you sit way up front.  Everyone else gets to sit wherever they please, except in the crappy seats up front where the boys have to sit.

Haircuts are a little bit of a treat over here.  I was a little alarmed my first visit when the barber shoved a nose hair trimmer up my nose and then started scratching my face with this grainy soap before forcefully shoving my head towards the sink for a good rinsing.  Then when I started to get up and he pushed me down and started to rub my neck and pop me on the head with, what I thought was, a piece of wood but was really just his hands pressed together, I felt like I was in another world.  He also massaged my arms, cracked my hands and neck and pulled my arms as back as they could go without tearing anything before letting me get up from his chair.  It was weird that first trip but now I kind of love it.  The face scrub is awesome when you let him shave you and now that I'm ready for that other stuff, I enjoy it.

Those are some of my experiences.  I work a lot out here.  All weeks are over 50 and most are just around 60 hours a week so there isn't a whole lot else that I have been doing but I enjoy it.  I plan to take the CEH very soon and I will probably start to really focus on the CISSP or GCIA/H.  A few of the guys here may be going to Dubai for the GCIH class so I may do that before working on the CISSP, we will see. 

It's nice to be away from the traffic and the chaos that DC/VA can be at times.  In a way it's just nice to have my life simplified to work and exercise.  It is definitely not for everyone but for those that can tolerate the lack of alcohol, the long work hours, the absence of family and starting anew, it's actually a great situation out here.  I hope all is well and I would love to hear back from you.