A Nation United

"Darts is once again uniting the nation" - declared the British sportscaster for the World Cup of Darts, as the camera panned overhead 5000 standing, swaying, singing Brits cheering with a pint in one hand and their man's flag in the other. Note: in the absence of anything on television, darts can keep one entertained for well over an hour; it really is incredible that:

1. These guys are so good at throwing a dart in what appears to be random motions 6' and have it land in a space not much wider than your pinkie - and they do it enough where you know it's not an accident or luck.

2. 5000 people crowd into a smoky hall to watch these grand masters... well there may be a sizable number of those in attendance who were motivated by the fresh ale than the competition.


Only problem was what I call the "Mighty Duck" syndrome... when I see something exciting on TV (darts in this case) I immediately have a desire to go do whatever activity I've seen. This phenomena first began with the original Mighty Ducks movie - which may explain the origins of my obsession with hockey - isn't Emilio Estevez great in that movie! Darts was no exception to what C.S. Lewis might call this Law of Nature - I suddenly felt like I could throw the perfect "9 dart finish" and take on the likes of Barneveld or Taylor (very famous dartsmen).

I should have much rather been throwing darts this afternoon than sitting at work rereading the assessment of my contribution to the company in the past year that I am writing myself! It's the craziest concept I've heard of... "Brandon why don't you take these 2 sheets of paper and tell us everything you did this past year especially what you did wrong, so that we can very subjectively take these pieces of paper and put them in order from the best to the worst." And although they don't really like to talk about it, that order will determine who gets promoted the fastest, and whoever gets promoted the fastest gets more money - and as Tony Montano said in an earlier post, once you get the money, you get the power; and once you get the power you get the women - well woman in my case!

Life was simpler when I was a lifeguard. The pool manager would call you into the pump room and you'd sit down on one of the broken lounge chairs. They would review 6 key performance areas and tell you what your raise was for next year, which was actually based on your years of experience and had nothing to do with your performance. I miss the days when your manager filled out the form and you got a realistic view of yourself, not just a pat on the back and a muddy indication of where you "fit" in the pack. I also miss the days of wearing board shorts, sunscreen, and flip flops to work...

I realized at dinner tonight that one aspect of my day that I haven't really addressed is lunchtime. Unlike Houston, where we head to lunch around 11:15 (I know - but I did get used to it), Doha eats at noon like everywhere else, and much to my surprise most of the guys I work with go out to eat at lunch (usually not the case with the older guys back home). 80% of the time we go to the City Center Mall foodcourt, complete with Pizza Hut, KFC, Subway, McDonalds, Hardees (aka Carl's Jr.), Burger King, and a few middle eastern shwarma / kebab places... maybe not what you would have guessed? Unfortunately there aren't many healthy options - but then again that never stopped us in Houston. Also, since it's getting hotter that means 2 things: 1) more people at the mall since it's air conditioned & 2) higher body odor per capita makes for an interesting environment for lunch.

Note: the other 20% we usually go to Fuddruckers (reference the gray burger post) or another Kebab place down the street... 100% awesome times in Doha.

Clives Comment: "We must be thankful to all the people who have helped us, we must honour them and love them. But never, never pin your whole faith on any human being: not if he is the best and wisest in the whole world. There are lots of nice things you can do with sand; but do not try building a house on it."

Best Song on Doha Radio: Jimmy Eat World - "Sweetness" *A long way from their roots in AZ - way to 97.5fm the one station in town I can listen to when I forget my iPod.

Movie Quote: "What's happening with them sausages, Charlie? / Five minutes, Turkish. / It was two minutes five minutes ago" - definitely take credit for this quote if you know it, one of my top 2 movies of all time (and it's not Gladiator).