I'm a Barbie Girl

My iPod died at 11:15 today, 6.5 hours before I would leave work - the LONGEST 6.5 hours of my life. I didn't realize how terribly quiet my office was until my earbuds fell silent. Even with the air conditioners on full thrust I could almost understand my coworker's emails by listening to the clicking of their keyboards. I knew my iPod had been a nice accessory to my workday; I now know that it is actually a necessity to maintaining a productive environment... especially since I've been asked to create a Project Controls Plan... a.k.a. a 50 page detailed account of what processes our project controls staff will follow to ensure a successful outcome (cost forecasting, schedule progress, change management, the usual stuff). Most of the 50 pages will be plagiarized from another document, but my job is to make sure that I borrow ONLY the pieces that apply to this specific venture. More specifically I am generating a plan for an onshore LNG facility using a plan from an offshore gas production platform, very different operations with very different contracting strategies = absolute headache. Note: upon completing this document, however, I will have earned another scout badge towards full cost engineer status (not just "trainee") so there is some motivation to complete this task before my annual performance review in 2 weeks.

But enough about work... you'll be happy to know my iPod is back up and operational - some type of glitch associated with pulling it out of my portable speakers without turning it off first. I will be more careful in the future. It was by pleasant coincidence at 2:00pm, when the iPod withdrawals were at their worst that I had an important appointment to keep.

After much anticipation I was finally taken on a tour of our most likely housing community (a.k.a. our "compound"), which is actually very close to the expat mall that contains many western European designer clothing stores and Mega Mart, which is as close to an H.E.B. or Safeway as you'll find in Doha. Tostitos and Cheerios are to expats as cigarettes are to inmates, so our community's location has already given us a distinct advantage being closer to the most important store in town...

You may be wondering what an expat community looks like, well I chose to show you the best element in the header photo - the pool... but the community itself is a small collection of two story duplexes surrounded by a very unnecessary wall to the heavens, which does an equally wonderful job keeping the dangerous guys out as it does keeping us expats in. Our community that for security reasons we'll call Al-Most Amazeen, is 42 villas in all, built in the last 5 years, each villa coming with 2 covered parking stalls, access to the club house/pool (isn't it nice), and a beautiful view of dessert dunes slowly being converted into large villas and other expat communities - if you're lucky you might even have a clear view of the Landmark Mall - the one mentioned earlier in this post.

Upon entering the villa you are standing in the middle of a large open area containing a living room, complete with 27" Panasonic 1995 CRT television, a large sofa set; a dining room with the world's largest dining table & 8 chairs; stairs to the bedrooms and study; and an opening to the kitchen. Beyond the kitchen, which contains appliances almost as old as I am, are the maid's quarters - yes the MAID's quarters, because you need to have a respectable place for your maid to fix meals, fold your laundry, use her own restroom, and potentially spend the night if the kids are feeling ill... this is still soaking in for me that you can have a full time maid for almost as much as you pay for cable service in the states!

Upstairs are 3 bedrooms (Master with King, Guest with Queen, and Guest with 2 Twins) plus a study and 3 bathrooms... so with a week's notice I think we can host half of our friends on any given weekend - still accepting reservations for Ramadan in late September - a very popular time to come visit and lose some weight, since no shops or restaurants are open during daylight. It's also about this time that temperatures start to descend from 130 degrees, so all around an awesome time.

Two observations about the villa not already mentioned:

1. Each room has it's own wall / window mounted electric air conditioner - many have multiple air conditioners. Electricity is free and wall mounted units, while horribly inefficient, are much cheaper than central air. Good news is that electricity is included in our monthly rent so we'll have those suckers cranked up to the max, and everyone I've talked to says even in the dead of summer you can keep the house comfortable with the 18 or so units throughout the house.

2. The entire "backyard" is bricked in save a small patch of garden, nice for lawncare, but poor 'Zona (our puppy) will have to handle all of her business in a 4foot square area I'm calling the "Jungle" which consists of overgrown dessert bushes and weeds... hopefully by the time we move in the landscapers will have carved a small path, else we may be having to potty train her.

All in all, the villa is much bigger than I would have thought, and despite feeling like the interior of a genie's lamp, we do have a bathroom for every day of the work week, and a free pool/gym right across the street. If you're ever in the neighborhood (Al Bustan north of TV Roundabout) drop by and we can have the maid put the kettle on.

I felt ambitious tonight, even after my experience last night, so I stopped by the City Center mall to grab some Starbucks, a delicious Vanilla Frap, and walk through some of the home stores... gathering Intel on what items we should buy before coming over and what items are readily available in country. After seeing the furnishings provided with the villa I think we have some work ahead of us... The 2nd store I walked into, called the Home Center, was incredible... it looked like a Michael's crossed with the RoomStore and dash of Dollar General. I immediately identified the song overhead as Aqua's "Barbie Girl"... as if the very act of walking into a home store by yourself isn't emasculating enough! The furniture made IKEA look posh, but they had plenty of those odds and ends that make a house a home (candles, linens, beanbag chairs)... I have a feeling we'll be making quite a few trips to Home Center in the years ahead.

I'm going to save the other experiences of the day for posts ahead, since writer's block has threatened me a few nights already... but I would like to clarify that my comment about Brent being such a wonderful commenter was based on both # of responses and volume of each response, and should in no way indicate that I love Brent more than my wife. Also, the Hyundai Sante Fe (the only Hyundai currently being considered) is #7 on a list of SUVs for Doha, and unless the Jeep, Toyota, and Nissan dealerships close in the next 5 weeks we should avoid having to buy something economically or environmentally friendly.

Clive's Comment of the Day: "Good and Evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make each day are of such infinite importance"... those that remember Clive's comment from yesterday should get an added bonus smile out of this one!

Michael's Mannerisms: "Yes. It is true. I, Michael Scott, am signing up with an online dating service. Thousands of people have done it, and I am going to do it. I need a username, and... I have a great one. "Little Kid Lover". That way people will know exactly where my priorities are at."