1 Week Down - 3 To Go

My first week back in Doha has gone by quickly. Only 3 more weeks until I'm in Houston again with Sheri and preparing for our full mobilization. Today I focused on 2 distinctly opposite tasks: shopping for cars, and relaxing for the week ahead. Luckily I was able to do both, mainly because from 1 to 4pm shops in Doha close down for prayer and a sort of "siesta". I was midway through my car shopping when I discovered this tradition - so disgruntled I headed back to the hotel. After a nice meal and a cold corona (yes they have corona's here), and some time in both the pool, the persian gulf, and the sun I had recharged my batteries. The gulf was extremely salty and probably around 80 degrees. The pool was a refrigerated 72, and will be my primary means of lounging from here on out. Incredibly that 2 hours outside could have been at any resort throughout California or Mexico - perfect weather, sun shining, breeze blowing in from the bay - only downside was the ratio of large, hairy expat guys to lounge chairs, so it took a while to finally snag a chair to lay in.

By 5pm I was back at the car dealerships learning all I could about the different models and more importantly the pricing. I have discovered that not only do they have most cars you can buy in the states here in Qatar, they have MORE models! I'm compiling my data into a nice summary report for Sheri so she can do some test driving in preparation for our decision. I think that second only to touring model homes, car shopping has to be one of the greatest FREE things to do - especially in the no pressure / no help atmosphere in Doha. FREE describing the act of shopping, which not need be connected to the act of purchasing, although in this case it will...

Enjoy your weekends as I head to bed and then to work while you're all enjoying your Saturday evenings. I'm anxious to get home, but I think as crazy as it sounds I might miss Doha when I leave... must still be in the honeymoon stage.

By the way - the more I read back through Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (hence the Clives' Comments section the past few blogs) the more I realized how relevant it continues to be for today's generation some 60 years after it was written. I highly encourage anyone who hasn't read it to pick up a copy... I can nearly guarantee you'll be impacted by one of Clives many topics - Inshala! (for those reading illeriterate you can buy the audio book on iTunes for $20).

Observation of the Day: Housing in Doha is so hard to come by that each resort appears to have it's own dormitories for employees. They live across the street in what looks like an organized summer camp. I couldn't imagine living 500 feet from my office and bunking with my coworkers.

Clives' Comment of the Day: "Love in the second sense - love as dinstinct from 'being in love' is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by will and deliberatly strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both parents ask, and receive, from God."

To encourage more comments I've chosen a seemingly random picture that has deep significance to this blog. Try to be the first one to guess the significance correctly... or just say hey. Any comments would do... seriously leave a comment. If you need help crafting a comment let me know and we can collaborate.

Note: these comments about leaving Comments are not directed at Stanfield - who has been doing a great job of providing his commentary.