Almost time......

Well it’s almost that time, 5 days and counting.

Well today started out with a bang, a major dust storm has blown in and we are all breathing heavy with the powdery stuff hanging in the air. Even when you walk down the halls in the building you can see the haze. It is expected in this part of the world so I guess you have to take the good with the bad, more of the later ;).

I don’t have a lot to report, we are still making progress on our IT projects, we have moved people in both new buildings now, the network is up and running in the new CMT building but the equipment still hasn’t arrived for the 2 Story. I got a call from the vendor yesterday and he told me that it would all be onsite no later than Thursday…. Inshalla. So of course IT is getting blamed for the equipment not being installed and the network not running. Oh well those who really matter know the truth.

So that’s about it for now, my flight departs here on the 16th and I am looking forward to heading home. I always dread the long flight but I will be there soon enough and that is what matters. Oh and a small update to the Cincy trip, Kimber is now going with us and Josh and Cassie are flying up for the weekend to help in all the fun activities. Christopher published a nice LONG list of things for us to do while we are there, looks like instead of 6 days we may be there for 6 months :). Just kidding Christopher I know you had enough of your family while you were growing up, we won’t disturb your adult hood with that much Kayos. Please be in prayer for our wonderful friends Candy and Griff, his mother has been in the hospital and Candy has been juggling the shower for Josh and Cassie while spending many a day and night with Oneita at the hospital. Diane said that they were bringing her home today and will be staying with her at her home while she recovers. These guys are too much they are such giving people and we love and cherish them as friends. Thanks Candy and Griff you are just very special people and very good friends.

Ok that’s all, I will get off and let you get back to whatever you were doing, hope everyone is doing great and that we see as many of you as possible while I am home, check out the new links I added.

Well it's about time......

Hello America this Paul Harvey, stand by for news….

Well it has been awhile since we’ve had a talk so I thought I would fill you in on what’s been happening here in the Sand Box.

About a month ago I decided to leave the quiet yet not so quiet confines of the Rezayat Compound. This was due to both of my rides, literally a vehicle, would be moving to the Western Park Compound. This nice western (as its named) atmosphere has only been open about 6 months. It was built with the Western Expat (Expatriate) in mind. Nice queen size bed, running water, dinning facility, full workout gym, swimming pool….. well you get the idea. Anyway the move was relatively easy, John (my boss) arrived back from his rotation in lovely cold and snowy Montana. He was on the ground two days and said, “if you’re moving we need to do it tomorrow”. Of course I was loathing the idea of packing all the “Stuff” I had brought with me but it was a necessity. So Tuesday night I started packing as much as I could in the three suitcases I had at my disposal.

Well time well spent, I had most of two suitcases packed up and ready to go by 2100 (oh that’s 9:00PM Military time). I neatly crammed them back in my closet so that it was not too apparent to the room boy the next day. Of course if he looked really hard he would see that most of my belongings were gone that had been neatly strewn around the room, doesn’t take a genius to figure out when a chicken is about to fly the coop :). Anyway we had decided that we would leave work the next day exactly at 1700 just to make sure we had plenty of time in case we had to make two trips. Both of us are pack rats and we had brought enough clothes to last us for at least three years and then some.

Well Wednesday came and the day flew by with high expectations of getting everything moved and unpacked before sleep hit. As we loaded up and headed to the Rezayat, we conversed about what to expect from our new abode. John and I were two of the first to check out the facility a few months back, we spent two nights there and ate like kings. Of course you know that always changes, they bait you with classy food, anything you want while you are here, on the house of course, and then it all changes once you really commit. John couldn’t wait for the food again, me I couldn’t wait for a super fast Internet where I could stream my Slingbox and watch my favorite shows….. NOT!!!!!!

We arrived at the Rezayat around 1730’ish and both went to our rooms to finish packing the small stuff loading up and movin’ on out. Well in less than an hour, we had all our stuff in suitcases, Panda (local grocery) bags, water boxes, etc packed, crammed, pushed, squeezed into every nook and cranny of the Trailblazer. I ended up with my hanging clothes and other loose items on my lap for the short 20 KM (12.43 miles) ride. We decided not to stop at the front desk and turn in our keys, mostly because we didn’t want the confrontation that we were leaving their fine facility and we would be missed, plus the fact that if we happened to have left something tucked away we forgot about we could easily go back and get it. We exited the large sliding iron gates, waved our goodbyes to the guards and were off.

The ride was quiet, I’m sure not because we were reminiscing about what we were leaving behind, but that both of us were out of breath, sweating because it was about 35 degrees outside and we were both in jackets. We arrived at our destination about 20 minutes later after we finagled how we were supposed to get there. It had been awhile for both of us and we finally realized where we needed to turn. The facility is off the main Dammam highway about ¼ mile between some old labor camps, truck parking lots, well parking dirt, and more dirt. The ride down what little pavement they had was bumpy, and for one to drive it they needed to be very cautious due to the influx of local India(n) and Filipino folks EVERYWHERE! We arrived safely at the “new” sliding iron gate and waited for them to allow us to enter. Immediately the gates opened and we told them we were there to check in. the Filipino Security Manager remembered us and waived and said “good evening sirs, welcome”. What a nice way to be greeted, we were both pleased with our entrance.

As we walked through the lobby doors, we were greeted again with “good evening sirs” another warm and cozy feeling, we both looked at each other and just grinned. The desk clerk asked how he could help us and John said we were from KBR. His face lit up and said, “oh you must be Mr. Young and Mr. Moorhead, we have been expecting you.” Wow what a welcome, we felt at home with a nice staff to support us as well. We both signed the document handed to us, told them we would bring our Passports back for them to scan later as they were packed away in our garb. He showed us on the map where we would be housed and that we would be met there to help unload our belongings. We piled back in the Trailblazer and drove a short distance to our building. As we got there we were met with smiling faces and open arms. What took John and I an hour to load, took all four of us less than 10 minutes to unload. That night I got mostly everything unpacked and in its place before 2100 and was ready to hit the bed. As I dressed and made my coffee for the next day, I was pleased that I had made the decision to come there, it was going to be a new experience but an enjoyable one. My head hit the pillow and I don’t remember anything until the alarm went off at 3:30 the next morning.

So now you know … the rest of the story.

Ok so my new address if you want to send cards and letters, packages, food, etc....

Mr. Stan Young
Western Park Residential & Business Complex
P.O. Box 448 - Room 5016
Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia 31951

So it’s about time for my next rotation, man time fly’s when you‘re having fun! Just 14 days 7 hours and 18 minutes, who me keep a Countdown clock, never ;). Anyway the plan is to fly home on February 16th, one good day to catch up on some sleep, then back in the air headed for Cincinnati to see Christopher and Karen. They have been having some electrical issues in their new place and he wants ole dad to come up and see if I can help him trace and replace some electrical wiring. So Diane and I are going to take a nice little air trip and see if we can help out. Should be a lot of fun and we are both looking forward to it. After that it is back to Texas City for another week and a half in time for Josh and Cassie’s couples shower/dinner at our amazing friends house Candy and Griff Temple. It should be another Grand event. As you well know from my “wedding” blog, Candy was instrumental in helping put Kimber’s wedding together with all the decorations and extravagance. Have I told you how wonderful Candy and Griff are? They are very special people and you are missing it if you don’t know them. So with the plans set and I am sure more Honey Do’s waiting for me, the three weeks will be very quick but hopefully relaxing and very enjoyable.

Around here, ah not too much to tell, pretty much the same ole same, day to day I.T. stuff. I guess one piece of good news is that we are finally making some headway on our new buildings. We should be able to start moving people in tomorrow to one of them and “if” the equipment gets in hopefully the other building next week. So I hope you are all having a great new year and things are moving ahead for you. Pray that this financial crisis will soon be over and we can rest easy. Hope to see you soon, take care and keep the light on for me.

P.S. for those of you that would like to see the new place, login to

Back in the Sand Box……

Well it was an enjoyable three weeks at home, but it came to an end and I am back in Saudi. I will give you a brief overview of how everything went.

After the “snake bit” flight from hell, I was pleasantly welcomed home by my lovely wife. We took off for TC and the drive wasn’t bad. We arrived home and of course I was exhausted but was able to stay awake until bedtime. The “list” was waiting for me and let me tell you it was a doozy! Let’s just say I was not going to be bored while I was home.

Ok let’s do wedding shall we? The bees were buzzing madly with last minute touches and decisions on the great event of the year. Everyone was running last minute errands picking up this and that in anticipation of Sunday. Candy Temple was her usual, excited about the day and wanting to make sure everything went off without a hitch (this is an awesome woman)! Kimber was excited but you could tell she was feeling the pressure as the weatherman was predicting 40% chance of rain on Sunday. Things just kept moving right a long and it looked like it was going to be a grand event as everyone had been working so hard to make everything just perfect. Anyway we trotted right along all week and before we knew it, it was Saturday and the rehearsal. Well things became a little skewed as the place for the practice (League City Park) was inundated with wedding guests for a real live wedding in the Gazebo! What to do, well Kimber was getting a little frustrated and was more than anxious about it, but the Butler’s Courtyard wedding coordinator came through with flying colors! Gazebo, we don’t need no stink’in Gazebo, we will just use the Basketball court instead (LOL). Of course as we started gathering, the entire wedding party was still not there, I won’t mention any names, Christopher and Karen ;), but two of them were late leaving from dinner and Galveston.

It started as a festive event, all of us dressed in our Camouflage t-shirts that the bride was so thoughtful to get made for us, and let me tell you we looked “Great”! We decided to give our two late arrivals a few minutes and then decided we better get started because the sky didn’t look so great. Well we first all joined hands and Brother Grayson Glass (what a wonderful preacher) led us in a prayer. After, we were lined up on how we were supposed to stand, and how I was supposed to give her away, and so on then we did a walk through. About half way through the walk through, the two late arrivals showed up and profusely apologized for being late. No problems we continued on, filled them in on what was what and where were where and it was over. We all hopped in our cars and headed for Estebans’ Fiesta Room for the rehearsal dinner. Well it was a great night, great food, great conversation, just an all around great night and the end to a great day! Yes I can use great that many times so stop worrying about it ;). Everyone decided it was time to depart, the girls were heading to Tina’s for a sleep over so they could get up and get ready together, except for Cassie, she wanted to hang with mom and dad and make sure she got enough sleep. Meanwhile the guys all crashed at Jeremy’s place.

Back at the ranch (the Young Zoo really) we all got dressed for bed and watched a little television. The next day was set, the day would start early, decorating would begin at 10 am sharp, and we all needed to get a really good night sleep. Cassie turned in first, then the cat, then the dogs were all placed in their nice warm kennels, the coffee was prepared for the morning ritual, the doors were locked and the alarm was set. We departed for the bedroom and not more than 5 minutes after our heads hit the pillows were we fast asleep.

Sunday morning the skies were clear, the birds were singing, the dogs were barking and yes it was time to get out of bed and start the day. Usually Diane is out of bed first, but I beat her out and went and turned on the coffee. Eventually she stirred and dragged herself out of bed to also welcome the day. As she prepared to get ready to head to League City, I prepared us a nice breakfast. By the time we had finished, it was time for her to leave and I was on the phone with the bride, asking me to get Cassie over to Tina’s and oh by the way, can you stop at the dollar store and get me a bunch of hair thingy’s and some hair spray, only two or three cans should do it, “love you daddy bye”, click! Well Cassie was not expecting to go so early, she thought Kimber was going to do her hair at Butler’s Courtyard. She had just gotten out of the shower, her hair was still wet and she was still in her comfy clothes. As she hurried upstairs to get ready, Diane walked out the door, and I headed in to get a cup for the road.

Cassie and I loaded up and headed for the dollar store to procure the items Kimber needed. When we got there we found the hair thingy’s, the hair spray and went to pay for it. The lady at the checkout noticed our shirts and of course enquired, enquiring minds want to know, ya know. We thanked her for her blessing on the day and headed to Tina’s. I dropped Cassie off and was just heading to League City to help, when I got a frantic call from Diane. Two of the vases that were holding the table arrangements had broken not enough weight and she wanted me to stop by Wally world to see if I could find some clear marbles and some M&M’s for Candy. I pulled into a parking place and ran in. I was in and out within about 10 minutes which almost never happens, had two bags of different M&M’s and 8 bags of marbles. I was off once again to try and make it to League City before another phone call and another stop.

As I pulled into Butler’s Courtyard, I could see a flurry of family hauling tubs into the banquet room. The place was strewn with assorted flowers, ribbon, boxes, bags, candles, etc. I found Diane and Candy and asked what I could do. Diane started me off by un-wrapping the candles and setting them on plates. They were a big mess but successful in getting it done. By that time she said I needed to go place the order for sandwiches from Jason’s Deli before it got too late. So not more than 15 minutes on the ground and I was headed to Jason’s on Bay Area to get lunch. I arrived and ordered a couple of sandwich trays and he said it would
be about an hour, so I headed back to League City. As I arrived back I saw that the guys had shown up and the girls were on their way. I went to the Bachelor hang out and turned on the 60” big screen to see if the Cowboys were playing yet. They were just finishing up pre-game and it was time to head back to Jason’s and pick up the food. Everything went great food was delivered the girls were getting make-up on and just chillin, the guys were eating and watching the game. It was time for me to head home and get a quick shower and then back in time to walk my “precious” angel down the aisle. My work here was done and I scrambled into the VW and headed back to TC. On my entry into the house I was greeted by the lovely and wonderful Zoo, headed to the shower and was in and out in about 15 minutes. Diane had beaten me home and was just finishing up and ready to head back. I quickly dressed made sure things were in order around the house, locked the door, jumped in the car and headed back! I was just about to the highway when I realized I had forgotten my boots. So I turned around, raced in got my boots and was back on the road.

By this time it was close to three o’clock when the staff at Butler’s would be kicking the guys out of the Bachelor pad. I got there about 5 minutes after 3 and ran in to change into my Tux. Lacy was there taking pictures and helped me finagle the weird buttons, the tie. I finished up combed my hair grabbed my clothes and threw them in the car and was ready to go. I walked over to the Rose Cottage where the girls were just finishing up. Cassie and I started making some string cans for the truck when I realized that I had not charged the camera or the video camera. One thing led to another and it was time to get ready for the grand event. Kimber looked beautiful and the girls did as well. As the last of the guests were seated, we began right on time. I walked Diane down to the arbor, to light her candle and then placed her at her seat. I slowly walked back to the Rose Cottage to get the bride, carefully ascending the stairs as not to trip over my big feet. Once in place at the back of the line, the girls went out one by one until it was time. Kimber had a big surprise for a bride song and I said don’t spoil it I want to be surprised. As we walked out “At Last” started playing and it was very appropriate. As I stood there listening to Grayson talk, I thought about Kimber as she had grown from a child to a beautiful woman. Her day had come and Jeremy was the right guy I knew it in my heart. I lifted her veil, gave her a kiss handed her off to Jeremy and took my seat. The service lasted but a few minutes and it was all over. We took pictures, walked around and greeted the guests, had some great food from Red River Barbecue, danced, laughed and finished up the night blowing bubbles as they departed. As they drove off with cans in tow we all headed in to dismantle the event. With all of us working together we finished in no time, cleaning up all the areas and buttoning everything up. We got in the cars and headed for the house, the end to a great day and grand event.



Well the rest was a flurry we had vehicle problems again, so we drove the VW to Clear Lake and dropped off then headed to Abilene for Thanksgiving. We had a great time helping Cassie, Josh, Candy (Cassie’s mom) move all her furniture into storage. Thanksgiving day Cassie, her mom, and her sister joined the Young’s for lunch, some Uno and of course the Cowboys and Aggies! The trip back Diane and I stopped by San Marcus for a quick trip to the Outlet Mall and picked up some great deals. The rest of the week was getting the rest of the Honey Do’s nothing exciting about honey do lists so I won’t bore you with that, however I will tell you that I completed everyone except for one by the time I had to leave so it can be done, packed and ready to go back to the airport. Saturday was another of those “do you really have to go back” days and yes I told her it was imperative! We got there and I checked in while she parked the car and then I joined her on the roof of the parking garage for a lunch of Taco Bell. Thirty minutes later we were saying good bye at the gate, tears and all and I was on my way back and the snake bit trip wasn’t finished. A couple of days before I left I received a message from Travel that one of my flights had been cancelled and there was a change. When I arrived in Amsterdam I found out that they had changed the flight and no, they didn’t have me on the list. So they worked for what seemed like hours to finally get me and my bags re-routed through Bahrain. To top it all off I had computer problems when I went to check my email and I spent the entire 5 hours trying to diagnose it. At 1:30 Monday morning the adventure was over and I was back in my humble apartment. Sleep came easy but the frustration and experiences lingered for a couple of days. Anyway I am back and safe and working on cleaning up what was and wasn’t done while I was gone. Hope everyone has a great Christmas and I will see you in February.

Journey to Bliss......

Well I should have known that eventually it would be more than an effort to get home, sure enough.....

I left the comforts of the Rezayat compound earlier than expected. I should have known then that the trip would be snake bit. My call out was scheduled for 10:30, I had just gotten out of the shower toweled off and had just put on my jeans. I had been chatting with Diane for a while and told her I had needed to jump in the shower before the car got there. No sooner than i had buttoned and zipped up, and there was a knock at the door. The driver was 30 minutes early, i told him I hadn't expected him he said no problem i will be outside waiting. Well I quickly said bye to Diane and finished getting dressed and was out the door not 15 minutes later. We made a quick stop by the front desk to drop off my key and instructions to let my boss in to retrieve some items left by our new Piping Engineer so he wouldn't have to carry them back when he mobilized.

The trip to the airport was uneventful, I had a hard time keeping my eyes open and eventually faded off. I awoke as we were going through the checkpoint at the airport and couldn't believe it had gone by so quickly. As we pulled up to the terminal, apprehension set in as i loathed the long flight. Well I was really lucky, so I thought, as i walked through the doors the line had already formed for the check in so I thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Unfortunately my luck changed when i reached the counter. As the attendant took my passport, he looked at the screen then turned to the supervisor on duty and all i could make out was Houston from his Arabic tongue. The supervisor came over and explained to me that the flight had been delayed until 6:00AM and it was now just 11:00PM. Great now what are my choices. So he explained that I could be moved to the flight at 10:45 once I got into Amsterdam but If I made it for that one I would have probably made it for my 9:30AM flight as well. Oh well I have had issues before i guess I can deal with this also. I grabbed my bags after I checked in and told them i would take my chances once I got to Amsterdam. I breezed through Security in less than 15 minutes and was walking to the gate. Once I got to the gate, I realized that I know had at least 6 hours before the flight was supposed to be here. I found a nice Hard bench and got comfortable for what seemed to be a long wait. Gradually I drifted off only to be awoken by the ring ring of the loud speaker and the announcement of another flight. This monotony continued on and off for about an hour. The next time I woke was about 1:30AM and the supervisor that had been at the check in was now moving amongst the few who had stretched out to invite them to the pavilion for a snack on KLM. So I scrambled up and got my belongings together and trudged towards Gate 20. Once I arrived I selected a delicious Tuna sandwich and a diet 7-up. after a quick couple of bites and a swallow or two of drink and I had collected myself and my things and headed back to the gate.

I finally drifted off to sleep and was awoken around 5:30 by the increase in conversation all around me. When I aroused, stretched and sat up, i was surrounded by hundreds of pilgrims making their way to Mecca. I stumbled getting up and made my way towards the Mens room to splash water and see if I could wake up. I made my way back to my belongings and once I had removed them from the seats i had occupied, the seats were snatched up and I was left standing literally holding the bags. They all just starred at me blankly as I looked at them in unbelief. Well unbeknown to me, the gate had also changed while I was in a slumber. I grabbed my things and headed to the new gate. Thankfully when i got there only a few were still in the queue for the flight. Around 6:00AM KLM landed and was at the gate, 15 minutes later we were boarding. As I sat there looking for an opportunity to steal a row of empty seats so i could lay down, they closed the door and we were taxiing to the runway. About 10 minutes later we were in the air for the 6 hours and 15 minutes. As I calculated I realized not only would I miss my confirmed flight but i would also miss the alternate as well. Oh well I would just deal with it when i get to Amsterdam. I reached into my bag for my Advil PM and realized that it was n the bag I checked. The next best thing was regular Advil so i popped a few and settled in for the flight. Luckily by the time the beverage cart came around, I was ready to sleep and once again was able to close my eyes and fall fast asleep.

One hour to touch down and we were woken with hot steamy towels, and the smell of coffee brewing. That is the hardest part to waking up, trying to keep your eyes open long enough to wake up because you continually want to doze. Once the coffee, tea and juice was served, we had the choice of an Omelet or pancakes. I chose the Omelet and coffee as usual and enjoyed the tasty delights. Also included was a small container of Blueberry Yogurt, and a small dish of fruit. Now it was a matter of getting the dirty dishes cleaned up and prepare the cabin for arrival. 40 minutes later we were making our approach and landed 5 minutes later. The trip to the terminal felt longer than the actual flight, stopping to cross a runway where a flight was landing or taking off, minutes crawled by. Finally at about 10:45 AM we rolled into the gate and departed the plane. First thing was head towards the KLM lounge to see if i could get another flight. Since the last leg of the flight was Continental, they made me walk out to the terminal where Continental was located. Sure enough when I got there they had a flight available about 2 and a half hours later at 1:30 which would put me into Houston approximately at 5:30PM. I confirmed my flight and got on the phone with Diane. She was half asleep so it took a couple of times to get her to understand. Once she had repeated it I was sure she had it down and told her to go back to sleep.

I headed back to the KLM lounge so i could get a glass of Grapefruit juice and a cup of coffee. As I sat there sipping my coffee, I realized that I still had about an hour before i had to be at the gate, so I finished up and headed to the Hotel Mercure for a quick shower. This is well worth the $20 as I could get clean and feel a little more refreshed before getting on the last leg of 8 hours. 30 minutes later I was refreshed and heading back to the Continental terminal. I got in line for the short security briefing, only in Amsterdam, and once through the x-ray I was ready to get on the plane. Well they were still in holding so i stood close to the gate and waited for the call. While I was standing there, I saw what looked to be Shawn Horan walking towards me. I said Shawn, he said Stan, I never know who I am going to see when i am traveling, I just laughed. I relayed my nights events and he just grinned and said yep International travel so much fun. We talked until they called Business and First, he had the luck of flying in Business, I was stuck in the back of the plane with the chickens and the goats. Anyway it wasn't long and they were calling for Priority passengers thankful I was amongst them. I found my seat and settled in for a long 8 hours of movies and music.

The flight was uneventful and I dozed more than usual but I survived the flight and we touched down 30 minutes early. Diane had just gotten in the terminal and Josh and Cassie were looking for a parking spot. We were going to eat after I got my bags so she called them and told them to go find a place to eat and we would meet them. The luggage came quickly and I was out and smiling at my lovely bride about 15 minutes later. We hugged and kissed and headed for the elevator. The rest of the story is pretty boring so i won't bore you with it, we made it to dinner at Chuy's which was pretty good and an uneventful drive home. We made it home before 9 and I was in bed by 10:30 ready for a good nights sleep.

That's about it for now, needless to say I was in for a treat with the upcoming week in preparation of Kimber's wedding. That in itself is another story........

Just another day....

Well it has been a few weeks so I will try and give you an update, probably boring to most, but just the same.

Well it has been a very interesting few weeks things have heated up at the site since we last spoke. We have installed a lot of steel and believe it or not (one of the boring parts) we actually got a piece of pie in a rack and the General contractor cracked a coconut. What you say a coconut? Yes that is correct it seems to be an Indian (India) tradition that once a milestone is reached, they crack a coconut to celebrate. I was not present for this festive tradition but from what I can understand is that they crack it open somehow against one of the beams, the concrete wherever. Also the Client Sabic has a contest ongoing for all the companies working on site, see just how safe they can be. There is a long list of things that you are graded on every month. This includes, tying off with a safety harness when you are more that 6 feet above ground, housekeeping which is keeping your areas clean of clutter and all your materials in neat order, no accidents or near misses, well you get the idea. Anyway KBR has won the coveted Green Flag award three times and we were issued the ever coveted Gold Flag this week. A celebration of raising the flag was performed, again which I didn't get to attend, but was said to be an awesome site. The safety manager was ecstatic and was proud of his safety team and all KBR'ers.

Ok so enough of that boring stuff. My job has been quite stressful for the last few weeks. A Saudi contractor is building a 2-story building down at the Superintendent area at the end of our plot we are building. It is very involved and the contractor made excuses for nearly three months when he was supposed to be on site. Finally they started the job and he is running a 24 hour shift and expects to have it finished around the 27th of November. Well all along I have been waiting for someone to tell me what the I.T. plan looked like and I never got it. Now they are saying I.T. is going to hold them up so guess what, yep you probably guessed I have been running crazy trying to get designs, configurations, material, etc. In the past three days I have been to the building 6 times taking measurements, laying out the plan on the floor and surfing the Internet looking for part numbers etc. Meanwhile my support group out of Dubai has been anything but helpful and has basically said you are on your own, good luck. Hmmm support group what does that mean again, S U P P O R T? Needless to say it has been fast and furious. I have been working long hours, trying to get at least 7 hours sleep a night and in between trying to eat healthy. The later is a joke because there isn't much that’s healthy here so I have just been doing portion control.

So only 9 days left and I will be on that lovely LONG flight back to the US to attend Kimberly's wedding. I think I have some part in it but I am not real sure what it is (grin). Not looking forward to the long wait in the airport in Dammam and the long line to get your passport stamped. Last trip, I might have mentioned this sorry if I did, I waited an hour and a half with 10 people in front of me. Wow if you’re Saudi then you just wave at your bud stamping the passports and he moves you to the front of the line. Hmmm maybe if I could make friends with one of them that would work for me too.......Naaaa. So while you lovely people will be sleeping on the 17th I will be flying to Amsterdam, then to Houston. At least I should be in at a decent hour and knock on wood no IKE's looming in the Gulf! It really is an imposition to fly from here because you basically have to get to the airport about three hours before your flight, sit in a very large room and wait for them to open your flight to check in, then the passport line, then another long wait in the terminal and finally you get to board the plane at 12:00AM if your plane is on time. Too much fun let me tell you because in Saudi there is NOTHING to do but sit and look out the window. Most of the time there is no one going out the same time so you don't even have anyone to talk to.

Ok well I think I have bored you enough this time around, I will try and give you some more juicy details when I get a breather from the 2-story. Oh did I mention that I have three other projects waiting for me to basically do the same thing when I get back? No probably not, but I do. Two Fiber cable pulls, termination and testing, a new building we are taking over so we will have to test all over a 100 "unmarked" cables to see where they go, and on, and on. Plus the fact that we still have a very slow satellite network at the warehouse which we commissioned over three weeks ago and it is still unstable. And of course I have the Fab Shop in Dammam that we still have to get up and working before I leave so cram all that into 9 days and what do you get?

Ok that’s it I won't go on anymore, promise! Hope every one is doing good and staying healthy, we'll see you in a couple of weeks.

Just Another Week

Well it has been a few weeks so here is what has been happening. Nothing........
Yep you guessed it there really haven’t been any highlights to share or excitement here in the Kingdom. It is the normal everyday run of the mill. We did hire a new I.T. guy he is a local and he seems to know quite a bit but we are teaching him some things. The Saudi’s tend to embellish their Resume's just a tad if you catch my drift.

Looking forward to getting to come home in November for Kimberly's wedding and enjoy Thanksgiving with the family. We are planning a trip to Abilene and Cassie's mom, sister and aunt were invited as Lee will be away. We are hoping they will accept so we can experience our first family Thanksgiving together, well not all of the family but close. Right now our plans are to do all the cooking so Grammy can relax. Josh of course will cook his delicious Turkey and Diane, Cassie and I will make all the side dishes. As usual I am sure Grammy will make some of her wonderful pies, Mincemeat, Buttermilk, Rhubarb, and of course everyone's favorite Pecan. If Diane is sweet to her she might even make a Cheese Cake (Jeremy you will have to fight her for it).

I guess I can tell you that “my” work has increased quite a bit. We have made some small successes but not a lot. When I first got here I was asked to get communications to the warehouse and Fab Shop which are off site. The warehouse is down the road about 8 kilometers which is about 5 miles, and the Fab Shop is about 72 kilometers or 45 miles. There are no utilities so we have to survive on generator power and cell phones. With this kind of configuration the guys who really take care of checking everything in, log what is missing, check quantities, etc had to sit in our office here because that is where the network is located. The idea was to have them on their own Satellites so they could tie back into our network and access their data. Well after three and a half months we finally got the warehouse up and running. We went back and forth on design and other and I stopped a big expensive no-no from happening. What could have been a disaster turned out ok with just a few problems. The Fab Shop is coming along and we should (cross your fingers and say a prayer) have it up and running before I leave the 17th.

I also was tasked with identifying every single cell phone we have ever bought and issued. We had gone back to our client to get more phones because we had run out. They are paying the bills so we had to get their approval first before we could order them. Well let me tell you, I opened a big can of worms and am paying for it. Now I didn't do this on purpose I was just merely ordering more phones. I took over the phones after I got here and setup my system that I used in Kuwait and Iraq which worked great. I had no clue that what was ordered and issued before hand, was not signed for so no one knew who had what unless it just happened to be in their phone. So I set out to correct it and let me tell you........

Anyway we are accomplishing and moving forward daily with small baby steps. By the time we finish the project we should have issued approximately three or four hundred computers and probably close to 150 cell phones. Doesn't sound like a lot but let me tell you, in the Kingdom and this project that is a lot. Hope everyone is doing great and looking forward to the holidays, I still can’t believe it is almost here already. I will be spending Christmas in Saudi this year so you can all just send me my presents ahead of time so I will have them for Thanksgiving (grin)! Anyway keep us in your prayers and especially Diane and Kimberly as they make the final preparations for the wedding. It has been fun I can tell you because I get coming and going. Stay safe and don’t let the goblins in the end of the month, oh and tell Kimber Happy Birthday when you see her, she turns the big 20 this year. Love to all…….

About time....

Well I guess it is about time I gave you another update. It has been a month or so and I have not been very faithful but I will try to do better......promise.

My first rotation couldn't have come at a worst time, the day after Ike hit I flew from Dammam to Amsterdam and then re-routed through Dallas. After a short layover in Dallas and a quick trip to Love Field, Josh and Diane met me at Intercontinental airport. I retrieved my bags and my lovely wife gave me a nice welcome home kiss and hug, we were loaded into Josh's truck headed to find some food. Luckily for me, the Saltgrass on 59 North was open and serving a full menu. We had a nice quick meal and then headed to Josh's apartment where Diane, Kimberly, nine dogs, and one cat took up residency during the storm.

News, news, and more news as I caught up on the happenings around Houston and the Galveston area. Unbelievable the destruction that storm did, taking out the Historic Balinese Room and other eating establishments along the seawall. As I sat and watch Channel 2 news I was amazed at what I was seeing as Frank Billingsley gave us tours from air, car and on foot. After a very restful sleep on my air mattress, and taking all the dogs for their morning walk,we all showered and got dressed. We loaded up the car with supplies and food to endure a day in the sun in TC. Josh and Diane had gone there on Sunday to check out any damage and fortunately we were spared. In all I think Texas City was probably spared the most thanks to our 22 foot levee system that surrounds the city. The storm water pumps did what they were designed to do and Moses Lake gate held back the storm surge. Eye witness encounters during the storm, have the water lapping over the gate and levee's but no flooding occurred. So off we went with no problems in traveling the short 45 minutes. Many billboards were blown down, massive amounts of glass rained down on Houston's downtown, and the number of trees, power lines, phone and cable lines could be seen hanging in threads was astronomical.

When we arrived the power was still off and I assessed the damage myself. Both fridge's were definitely going to need to be cleaned out but not bad, the freezer was in the worst shape as it was completely thawed and had begun to smell just a little. Lost a lot of limbs on the Arizona Ash in the back yard and the big Pecan tree, could see shingles missing here and there and part of the fence down between us and the Horan's. All in all not a lot but plenty to clean up. We donned our mosquito spray, gloves, safety glasses and old tennis shoes and started to work. Kimberly and a few of her church friends had started clearing some of the tree debris on Monday and had quite a bit already on the curb. I fired up the chainsaw and started whittling away at the pile of branches. As I cut Diane, Josh and Kimberly dragged it to the front yard making the stack grow by the minute. It took about an hour and a half to cut through the piles of Ash and Pecan but when I got finished I had a nice pile of firewood that needed to be cut in smaller pieces.

Kimberly and I took a break to go deliver some items and check on some friends houses as well as pick up some lunch at Wendy's. We checked out Mom and Pop's house, the church, Griff Temple's moms house, Sue and Ed's house and then the Texas City Dike. It was an unbelievable site, nothing was there but pier posts and power line poles leaned over. What was once a hot spot of bait camps, and some small restaurants, a lighted fishing pier at the very end was now gone completely washed or blown away. As we stood there and looked at the solitude I was in fear of what laid ahead for Texas City to rebuild or not. As many others were also there to see what was left, we each took our turn to turn around and head away from the destruction.

The rest of the day Kimberly and I began digging up the fence post that was broken during the storm. We replaced and poured concrete in that one and went to the other side of the yard and dug two more for new posts. The rest of the day was making lists for Lowe's of items that were required for the continuing clean up, fence materials, cleaning supplies, etc. After reviewing what we had accomplished that day, we were all exhausted and headed back to Josh's apartment. The welcome of the dogs was heard way before Josh stuck his key in the door, as they were ready to be let out for their well needed walk. On our way home we had stopped and picked up some Chinese so we had a quick dinner and then hit the showers. It felt good to get all of the grunge off our bodies and climb into a nice comfortable bed. Sleep came quickly as we lay there watching more news about the storm and the aftermath.

On Wednesday we loaded up all the dogs and headed for Texas City. Today they would all be bathed and groomed. Stephanie our groomer was back in operation and was willing to help us with the cause. Normally the dogs get groomed once a month with exception of a couple, but all were at least going for a bath and they needed them. After dropping them off, we headed back to the house and then to Lowe's. We stood in line for about 30 minutes as they were only letting about 5 people at a time go in. Once we got in, we got the much needed supplies, which included an Ike Extension ladder, an Ike Dewalt circular saw, and an Ike Power Tree Trimmer. We loaded up the truck with everything and headed back to the house to begin another days workload.

After putting together the new wood pile holder, Kimberly and I began putting fence together. It went pretty smooth and we were just adding the last new fence boards when Carl showed up with his crew. Carl is an interesting fella, he had four, well three men and a boy and wanted to know if I wanted the trees topped in the back yard. I told him that Diane had wanted someone to top them and he gave me a price. We discussed it and he said they would get started. Well let me tell you they were cutting branches left and right, cutting up pieces for Diane's new wood stack and then hauling the rest to the street. He also gave me a price on replacing shingles and I said he could do that the next day. All in all I came out ahead as my deductible was around $3200 and there was no way that we had that much damage. Kimberly was a great help and as we were starting to work on the fence on the other side of the yard, the power came back on. Unbelievable that it had only been off 5 days and we were back in business, the rest of Houston and surrounding area was still in the dark, thanks Texas New Mexico!

Well to make a long story short, we left Josh's apartment the next morning after Diane had woken up with the dogs thinking it was around 6 and it was really around 3:30. We all loaded up the vehicles thanked Josh for his hospitality (since we were being evicted by his apartment management anyway) and headed back to TC. We cleaned as much up as possible and then we had company for a week. Anne and Allan Brasier, Christopher's in-laws moved in with Tucker their dog and two cats. Kimberly and I helped them clean up their mess in Galveston as they got nearly 12 feet of water in their house which annihilated the bottom floor including Anne's car. After cleaning up as much debris as possible, we installed new Sheetrock, hung a new front door and two interior doors so the house could be secure. After a week they moved back in with gas and water but no electricity. Their power is now on and they are getting back to some sense of normalcy. We enjoyed being able to get to know them and Kimberly and I had a great time working with them to restore their lives. Galveston is just unbelievable, the destruction is nothing like what they showed on TV it is much worse. The debris on every street corner, the destruction of the Strand and its shops, and the brown vegetation and the smell will not be forgotten for a very long time.

Now I am back in Saudi doing my day to day necessities and planning for the long awaited marriage of my lovely daughter in November. It is said that it will be the event of the season as Candy Temple, well known designer and extraordinaire is helping her with getting all the pretties made and ready. Hope everyone else survived the storm as well as we did and that it is the last for a very long time. Take care to all and I hope to see you around or at the big event!

Whats been going on

Well hello to all it has been awhile since I posted so I thought I would try and catch you up. The project is moving right along, we are behind schedule but with all the issues we have had to deal with it is amazing that we are this far along. Anyway enough about the project.

Well as you well know by now I didn't make it back home to see Josh graduate. I had a long father son talk and he assured me that he was grown up and it was ok he understood that things happen out of our control. He had a great day and really a great weekend. First he walked and got his Diploma, congratulations Josh for earning your degree in Construction Science I am very proud of you! Next it was also his birthday that weekend so while Cassie's parents were up they celebrated with Josh and the rest.

Now for the big surprise! For months Josh and Diane have been growing a pleather of plants, some of which are Cassie's favorites and some she wants in her future wedding with Joshua Stanley Young (giggle) that's another story. So on Saturday while Cassie was out shopping with her folks, Josh, Diane, Kimberly, Lacy (the photographer), and Cassie's sister Melinda and Cassie's best friend, were on the campus of Texas A&M, Whoop, decorating the Century Tree. It went off without a hitch, Cassie had no idea what lay in store for her when her and Josh went to the campus to take some pictures for her graduation announcement. After scrimping and saving for months, and finally coercing her to take a few pictures by someones decorated area, Josh proposed to Cassie under the Century Tree. I will now have a fantastic new daughter in-law to go with my other fantastic daughter in-law in Cincinnati and of course my favorite daughter ;). Check out the continuing wedding plans being made and their Blogs at http://joshandcassie.com/.



















Well I have been here now going on two months. I have endured well considering the long days and long nights. I get to come home two weeks early leaving this Monday early morning because I will be coming back for Kimberly's wedding in November. We have been able to take a couple of trips over to Bahrain and check it out, it is about an hour and a half there but getting there is another story in itself. The customs lines in and out are a nightmare and the first time we went it took us nearly 3 hours just to get across the causeway which is only about 8 miles. Below are a couple of photos from my hotel room.


This is the bay looking out my window towards the North West. The hotel is one that has been re-done in the past two years and it is called The Pars International. It is relatively nice but very loud in the evening so it was a little difficult to get some sleep do to all of the partying that goes on in the two night clubs located a couple of floors below me. Bahrain has been tagged a smaller version of Dubai, which has been extremely westernized. The Muslim faith is still practiced but not in the extreme way that it is in other parts of the Middle East and Southeastern Asia area.





This is the same view at night which you can see it is sill hazy. This is the way it is nearly everyday sometimes even thicker. We survive since most of the time we are in a car or in side the office building which keeps us out of the elements. What I didn't get a picture of was the Grand Mosque which from the outside is a really awe in itself. The grounds are immaculate and the building looks like it is maintained quite well. I will try and get pictures of it next time we decide to take a trip that way.






Of course right now we are in the middle of Ramadan which is the month long holiday. Things change around here and sometimes it is hard to get things you need because the stores are closed. During the day it doesn't seem to be a big problem however in the evening which is the only time we get to shop, the stores are closed. They usually close around 4 to 5 and then open back up and stay open to wee early in the morning. If you don't know much about this holiday, you should really go on Wikipedia and read up on it. http://wikipedia.com/.

Last week I made a trip to Dubai to meet with our KBR staff in the Service Delivery Center there. It was a very productive week and we will see if it actually changes anything. We have been experiencing a lot of Network issues that are beyond my control, so I was making my case for some help and only time will tell now.

This was the first time I had flown out of Bahrain so that was an interesting trip. It seems that even when you fly in the Middle East you must show up to the airport at least and hour and a half before your flight. Unfortunately the trip was quick with no lines at the border so I arrived
4 hours early. Needless to say I sat for what seemed like a lifetime. When the gate finally opened up there was more to see and do once through security. I walked around for quite awhile browsing through the local culture and keepsakes finding none that tickled my fancy. Bored I went to the gate and sat down to log in and check mail. Still time crawled by, the flight was late and I just endured as required. We finally boarded the plane about 30 minutes late and before we knew it we were in the air. The flight was less than an hour so service was quick, in a box snack and then we were on the ground again. If you have never been overseas you can't understand what a nightmare of lines you must endure to get through customs. This time my time in line was somewhat shorter and i was at baggage withing about 30 minutes. They appeared to have issues with the baggage track so we waited nearly an hour for our bags. When they did come out, they were being pushed on airport push carts stacked haphazardly. at least it was over and chalk up another stamp in the old Passport.


I know that all of you are more than likely on the road as I type this, making your escape from the danger from Ike. I hope that each of you were safe in your travels and your houses are ok. I will see as many as I can while I am home, if I have a home to go back to.

Another Adventure of Flat Stan

On Friday, August 8, 2008, Flat Stan's young son, Flat Josh, graduated from Texas A&M University WHOOOP! Flat Stan was unable to attend due to a minor HR glitch (hmm) preventing his travel - however he was lucky enough to receive a special gift from his friend Kathy Dvorak who DID attend in person for her daughter's graduation!

Here in the picture is Flat Stan reviewing the A&M graduation ceremony program, congratulations to all the graduates!!!

Week Three

Well it will have been three weeks this Sunday when I left the United States. So far we have had pretty decent weather here a couple of days of really bad sand storms but tolerable. Mostly we just have a haze which is the sand kicked up in the lower atmosphere. Imagine powder, like talcum powder, that is pretty much what the sand is like here. As in Kuwait they can't build with it so it is pretty worthless for anything.

Had a couple of more trips out into the city of Al Jubail, and to Al Khobar which is about an hour and a half trip. John was going to be late one night and said I should try and catch a ride. I went into the HR office and asked Robert the HR manager if I could catch a ride. He said sure but he had to stop at the book store for a few videos if that was ok. Well of course I am not going to turn down a trip to the store so we planned on 5 sharp.

As I packed up to get ready, Robert came by and asked if I was ready, I told him I was shutting down my computer and would meet him at the front door. I finished up, stowed my Laptop in my Piper Gear Bugout bag and was off. We hopped into the SUV and were off. As we exited the refinery gate, we turned left onto the road narrowly missing a sideswipe by a 16 wheeler, whew that was close. As we tooled down the road, he said he wasn't sure if he remembered how to get there. I had been there once, well close anyway and I said, "I think you turn right, then left, then right, then left, then right again". He said, " hmmm I don't remember that but we'll find it, no worries". Robert is married to an Iraqi that he met when he was working in Iraq with Parson's. She is an Engineer who graduated from the University of Baghdad. Once they got married she moved t0 the US and now works for us.

We made the first two turns ok and then we were in trouble. As we went straight instead of turning again, we drove for about 5 minutes until we saw the highway ahead. I said I didn't think this was right because we should see an overpass ahead. He said I was right and turned around. We made our way back to the road we turned on and turned right and went to the next light. He took another right and we were back on another road that was not the correct one. It was becoming comical and so he turned in a residential area to try and cut across. Well in this part of the world, there is usually only one way in and one way out. Yep you guessed it we had to turn around again. Back on the main highway, we went back to the light turned right and finally ended up where we were supposed to be.

We made it to the Book store and went in. He was looking for a few new release video's. They really didn't have anything new since he had been there before so we just browsed. This was like walking into a Best Buy with books, electronics everywhere. Some had pretty good prices but mostly just about the same or a little more than home. We milled around for about 20 minutes and he finally said lets go. I told him I needed to pick up a couple of things at the grocery store since we were right there and he said I do too. So we walked around the inside of the "mall", not like a real mall, and went into the Panda. It is like walking into a Kroger or a Randall's. Wow what a difference compared to the Giant. Anyway we shopped for about 20 minutes and had to check out because it was prayer time again. We took our things to the checkout and we were on the move again in less than 10 minutes.

Back at camp it was just enough time to get a bite to eat and settle in for the night. Since I have been getting up at 3:30 every morning to go to work, I need to be in bed as close to 8 as I can. So it was get ready for bed, chat with Diane for a few minutes and then head off. More to come on the trip to Khobar tomorrow.......

After a week

Well it has been just a little over a week now. I have managed to sleep the whole time I have been here so that is good. International travel can be a killer so I just try and manage the best I can usually, so you might imagine I am elated!

The week started out in Saturday, with an early wake up at 3:30. I decided that since my boss can get up and go in, so could I. I just adjusted my schedule, what else did I have to do. Out of bed and into the shower, a semi cold shower, shaved, dressed, and heading out the door just a tad before 4am. Just a short walk across the street and wait for the dinning hall to open at 4:15. About 5 or 6 of sit there and wait, mostly KBR Management a few stragglers from other companies. Finally the door opens, we file in and get in the line. At this time of morning it is pretty much help yourself. A quick grab for a piece of hot wheat or white toast, maybe some scrambled eggs, beef sausage or beef bacon, French toast, or an omelet to order or pancakes, some baked beans, potatoes, Yogurt, oatmeal, assorted cereals, jellies, peanut butter, assorted juices and coffee.

The guys don't take long to eat, amazes me that they aren't getting indigestion (might be) from eating so fast. Once they hit the table they are back up in less than 10 minutes headed out the door. I am just finishing spreading butter and jam on my bread and peppering my taters and eggs. John is a patient boss, he tries his hardest to eat slow and wait on me, I do like to enjoy my food. I try to enjoy and eat fast enough, but no sooner than I drink my last swallow of Grapefruit juice he is saying you ready to go? So we get up, I stop by the coffee Urn for a quick warm up, grab our bagged lunch we signed up for the night before and we are piling in the SUV.

The drive takes us about 30 to 45 minutes everyday, one day a huge wreck happened in front of us, absolutely obliterated the front end of a dump truck who had slammed in to the back of a crane. Like Kuwait the wrecks are unbelievable, total destruction of man and metal. Once off the main highway, we meander through the well paved side roads towards the refinery. There are three cross roads between the main highway and the entrance, two have traffic lights one a stop sign. Arabs are pretty respectful of the traffic lights, but not so much the stop signs. We are good up to the stop sign and we have to be very cautious, not that we aren't at every intersection, but especially at that one. We make it through daily without incident which is a relief to both of us. No one wants to be a traffic statistic especially over seas.

As we approach the gate, we get out our credentials just in case we are asked for them. Most of the guards recognize you after a few days so it is just a habit. A couple of short turns and we are driving up to the complex. Once in the day begins. I start up my computer and while it is booting, I go to the kitchen and wash out my MiGO, a wonderful desk coffee mug my son and my new daughter in-law got me for Father's Day. I throw in a couple of teaspoons full of Nescafe Gold and some hot water out of the water cooler. Back in my office, which I share with Ardie my right hand, and log in to the server. For the first two days, it was quite a chore waiting for my computer to log into Houston but since we had my account moved here it is very quick. Check email and look at the To Do list and my day starts.

Not a lot of excitement I know but that is my day at work. We usually eat between 11 and 12 depending on what you are working on, and most of the time it is at your desk while you continue to work. Now and then I can catch a quick 15 minute nap of watch a few minutes of TIVO from my Sling connection, but most of the time it is continue with my huge list.

The drive home is about the same unless we need to stop of at the store or somewhere else. Once we are past the security check point and in the gate, we park and go in for some dinner. Usually John will get his food to take back to his room but I like to hang out and chat with some of the guys because I know the only thing I have left is go back to the room, change and chat with Diane for a few minutes and them back under the sheets around 8:30. There are a few things to do here, they have a small gym, a swimming pool, billiards and snooker. The library is lacking, mostly Korean and other novels that only English ones I saw were romance, go figure! That's about it, I will try and make life more interesting for you once I get in the swing. I hope you are all well and enjoying the well needed rain. I also hope you are enjoying the Adventures of Flat Stan. All for now.....

Another Flat Stan adventure

After drinking some coffee

Flat Stan was a little anxious today as some major events were planned (i.e. getting a badge, and free food). Awaiting the arrival of Security, early bird Flat Stan paced the counter in the lobby of Bldg. 3. After dancing around, Flat Stan realized he had yet to get any breakfast. He saw Lance headed to get breakfast and hitched a ride. Upon arrival at the cafeteria, Flat Stan wanted something from the breakfast bar.

After touring the bar and nearly falling in the pot of oatmeal, Flat Stan lost his appetite. Lance continued to get something from the grill while Flat Stan gabbed with Robert.

Finally, Flat Stan finished wrapping with the cashier and we headed back.



Upon entering Bldg. 3, Security spotted Flat Stan without a badge and it almost got ugly. Flat Stan jumped on the counter and requested a visitor’s badge, and I reluctantly agreed to sponsor him. After Security verified some information, they took several photos (per his request,

something about the lighting).

Flat Stan started growing impatient while waiting on his badge to print and he tried to expedite (aka escalate) the process, and he had no luck with that. In the interim, Flat Stan slipped out his flatberry and started reading some flatmail. Finally, the badge was printed and back upstairs we went.

For lunch, Flat Stan had a team luncheon to attend for the 20th anniversary of Barbara Chisholm where fajitas were served. Flat Stan perched in the front of the room,

while the team lost weight waiting on the delivery of Aramark’s famous fajitas. The team shared stories of Barbara while Flat Stan continued to sit, smile, and be quite! Before ending the luncheon, Flat Stan requested a photo with Barbara and her big prize. As both prepped their hair, the cameras were getting ready and snap.

Barbara finally opened her gift and what happened next was caught as well.

She was overwhelmed with excitement (I think thats what they call that).


Until next time……….

A funny from my old group

Many of you may of heard about a project that a professor created in 1995 called Flat Stanley. The project was created to improve literacy and develop community and has been a great success. Anyway you can read all about it as it is becoming a sad story for the professor. Well my former colleagues at KBR developed Flat Stan. To me it was a real honor first because I knew nothing about the Flat Stanley project, I just thought they missed me, and also becuase it was just a neat idea. Well I shared the email with Diane and she got a kick out of it and I told her I should share it with you. So here it is, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Out to Jax Grill – Flat Stan accompanies some team members for an offsite lunch at Jax Grill.
While enjoying the adventurous drive with Barbara,
Flat Stan questions…Where are her shoes? Of course, we made it there safely. While eating our lunch, Flat Stan was in the middle of every conversation, tried grab Ed’s buffalo burger, tried to get some of Barbara’s salsa,
and eventually just kept his eyes on the crowd. Watching the team leave the table, Flat Stan wanted to yell, but was relieved when Lance quickly returned and saved Flat Stan from dish duty. Upon returning to KBR, Flat Stan stayed out of view of Security, as he has no employee badge for site entry. Barbara kindly dropped everyone off at the building so Flat Stan did not get too hot from a long walk.

Until next time…….

A Day of Rest

Well Friday came and I didn't budge an inch when my body clock went off. I was comfy and I was not about to get up so I just drifted back off to sleep. The good thing about here as opposed to Iraq is that we actually get a day to sleep in. I lay in bed most of the time asleep, until almost 11:00 when lunch was supposed to be served. I finally drug out of bed and got dressed and wandered across the street. The dinning hall was supposed to open at 11:00, but it wasn’t so I sat down outside the door and waited. Many nationalities are here, Korean, Japanese, Nepal, and Philippines, British, Aussie, US, so it was fun to watch and listen to the different cultures talking to each other. I caught myself dosing off about the time I saw the Manager walking to unlock the door.

Once inside the dimly lit room, the line had begun to grow already. They always have a soup, two or three entrees and a couple of vegetables, freedom fries of course, a couple of sauces and then 3 or 4 different salads. They do have a Korean dish they serve also and they seem to enjoy it everyday. I haven’t gotten up the nerve to try the Kemchee because I was spoiled in Korea and I don’t want to be disappointed. I selected the barbecue chicken some freedom fries and a salad with French dressing. I topped it off with a couple of glasses of iced tea, not as good as I make, but it will do. I took my time and listened to all the sounds in the room, the Korean slurping their soup and noodles, the Brits enjoying a good laugh with their meal. The chicken wasn’t half bad and I pretty much finished it all.

Back to the room and log in for a good chat wit the little woman. I beat her to it because she was still asleep. It was about 12:45 my time which was 4:45am for her. I worked on my Blog some and found myself dosing again. I left her a message in case she got up before I was back and told her to buzz me. Well I had no more lay down and closed my eyes when the A/C and half of my lights went off. I got up and called the front desk and they said they would call maintenance. Satisfied it would be handled I laid back down and closed my eyes again. I had dozed about half an hour when I was wakened by the phone. My boss had just come back from the site and wanted to know if I wanted to go to the grocery store. Well of course I wasn’t going to turn down an opportunity like that so he said he would meet me in front in about 15 minutes. I got changed back in to me jeans, which is a must if you go out here, they don’t seem to understand that part of the American culture and they pretty much look down on you if you go out in public dressed like that. Grabbed my sneakers threw them on and was out the door. John was just parking when I came out he said he had just about given up. I hopped in the front seat, buckled in and we were off on an adventure to town.

We were about 10 minutes away from the store and don’t ask me where it is because I couldn’t get there again if you asked me. I am pretty good with direction but I still haven’t gotten my bearings here. We pulled into The Giant and grabbed a cart. It was squeaking the whole way in so John went out to find another one. He started going up and down isles and said I don’t know what you are looking for but if you need something let me know and we will find it. He’s a great guy, always thoughtful making sure I am fitting in. I told him I wanted to look at coffee pots because the coffee they make at the site is terrible. Oh did I mention that they don’t know how to make coffee here either? Well we finally found them and they had one Bunn, it was around $45 US not bad but I wasn’t prepared to buy it. We continued to browse up and down isles I found some peanut butter and some Ritz crackers, a case of water, a case of Diet Coke, a Snickers bar and a Galaxy Bar. The total came out to SR 85.00 which is about $22 US. I think the exchange rate is pretty close to ours just sounds bad. The case of Coke was like $5.88. The sacker pushed the cart out and loaded the car, John tipped him and we were off headed back to the camp.

On the way back John said that they usually have a cook out on Friday evenings and he had asked if he could bring me along. They said sure so we planned on him coming by about 3:30 or so and we head that way. I went to my room and unpacked my goodies and sat down to chat with Diane for a little bit before he came. I filled her in on the morning and told her I would be back in awhile and we could talk before I was ready for bed. John showed up right about 3:30 and we started walking. I didn’t realize this place was on the compound but it was just a short 5 minute walk. This is a small 3 bedroom villa that some of the guys live in, they have a real kitchen, dinning room, living room, bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, not bad for Saudi. Mike was already outside cooking, John said that he comes over on Friday and cooks all his food for the week and hardly eats at the dinning hall at all. He was cooking hot dogs, shish k-bob, and hamburgers. He got through and they put our dinner on, nice juicy steaks. I was a little skeptical but I would give it a try. Inside John and Jeff were cutting up potatoes and onions to be fired, and a pot of green beans. It immediately started smelling delicious right out of a Rachel Ray 30 Minute Meal show.

We sat and talked while everything was cooking and before you know it, Don came in and said you better go claim your steak before they get well done. Now I like my meat a little pink so I was out there in a heart beat with a knife and a plate. I cut one open and it was almost perfect. John said grab me one too so I cut one open and he said it was fine. We headed in with our plates and loaded up with the potatoes and green beans and sat down to dig in. The meat was a little tough but it was seasoned well so it was pretty good eats. We finished up and sat around for a few more minutes and then said it was time to head back. They had just started up a card game and neither of us were interested so it was pretty much useless to stay around they were sure to be absorbed in the game before long. One of the other guys, Fenwick who was the Construction Manager, was driving back so we caught a ride. He dropped us off at the office so we could go in and select our yummy lunch for the next day and then head back to the room.

I got back in the room and chatted with Diane for awhile and then realized it was after 10:00 and I needed to get to bed. We said our good nights and I took some meds and lay down. I had been feeling kind of puny all day, I had somewhat of a sore throat and my nose was running a little but I blew it off and tried to sleep. Soon sleep came and I rested, well that was until about 2:00am when I woke up and my throat was on fire. Well dummy me I had no meds for a cold, or sinus just some Advil and Tylenol. I dosed back off but then it was toss and turn. I knew it wouldn’t be long until the alarm was welcoming me to a new day……

The first few days.....

Well Tuesday morning was a great start, I woke up around 5:30 and knew I needed to get started. I was told that since we got in so late that I was not expected in at the regular start at 6:00 AM. I got up and showered got dressed and walked across the street to the Dinning Hall. I had made arrangements the night before with Ray the Sr. Construction Manager to ride in with him. He was the other passenger we had been waiting on. He had just come off his rotation and was not really in a hurry to get in. Breakfast was nice and cold, almost like it had been sitting out for awhile. Well since it opened at 5:00AM I would imagine, this was like 6:45 or so. Anyway it was a breakfast of scrambled eggs, Beef sausage (of course) coffee and orange juice. I forgot how watered down juice tasted in the Middle East but oh well.

After breakfast I walked over to the room and got my bag and headed back to wait for Ray. He strolled out about 15 minutes later and I was glad because it was beginning to heat up and I could feel the wetness on my skin. Ray wanted some coffee so he headed in for a cup and then we were off. The drive was another typical, through Eastern block buildings to the highway. It took about 30 minutes to get to the site but the scenery, well prety much the same, sand, palm trees, wrecked cars, and oil and chemical refineries in the background. After giving the guard at the gate my drivers license and temporary gate pass, we were there.

As we pulled up to the office complex, I noticed the familiarity of the style, and another typical of the Middle East, canvas covering to park the cars under so they wouldn't burn up in the heat. We went in and I was introduced to a nice chap from the UK. He was the F&A (Finance and Administration) guy and Ray asked him to show me around and find John my new boss. As we walked down the long hallway heads turned to see who the new guy was and I met a few of the people I would be working with. Most seemed to be in a good mood so that was a good start as well. We made it to John's office but he wasn't there so Mick called him on the Cell and told him I was there. He said he would be along shortly he was down at our Superintendents building. It is another complex that is closer to the site where we are building the units. As we waited he introduced me to a couple of the guys that would be working for me, and some chit chat about IT stuff. He eventually left me because John was taking longer than expected. I told him I would be fine I sat down got out my Laptop and started logging in to check email.

After about 10 or 15 minutes John came in and we introduced ourselves and sat and talked for quite awhile about what he expected and what they had been working on. We immediately hit it off and I knew that I had hit a gold mine in a boss he was going to be very easy to work with. You know you never know what to expect when you are going into a new environment but God provided. While we were talking there was noise in the hall and finally he said that he guessed they had finally got my furniture moved in and was I ready to settle in. I said sure and we went into the IT office and talked for a few minutes more. It was a little akward with Ardie my lead who had been there for quite awhile, I wasn't sure how he was going to take having a new boss and all. He is from the Philipines as are one of the two guys that works for me the other is from Napal. I immediately tried to break the ice with him and I think he responded fairly well.

The rest of the day was getting settled in and going through all the emails waiting on me, and the new things I needed to start working on. Around 4:30 Mo our local guy who takes care of getting our clerances, drivers license and Agame (i'll explain this one later), came and got me and said we needed to go to the clinic. I asked him what for becuase I had already done my medical in Houston. He said that it was a new Saudi law that all new Expats (Expatriot)who come into the country must have a Hepititis test, eye test and chest xray before they could submit their paperwork for home status. We stopped by and told John and Mo said he would drop me off at the camp after we were through. We went out to his car and headed to town. The ride was about 20 minutes and we talked about everything, his family, where he lived, how long he had worked for KBR, etc. He even was shocked that we were paying $4 a gallon for gas because they were paying somewhere around 45 cents a gallon here. I was floored I knew it was cheaper but had no idea it was that cheap.

We arrived at the clinic and went inside. Typical Middle Eastern clinic, tile floors, concrete walls, everything painted white. We went upstairs to a waiting room next to the check-in desk where three lovely fully dressed in their buca's including facial veil. He told me to take a seat and he would take care of everything. He knew his way around and he knew EVERYONE. He got us in and out in less than 30 minutes. As we were walking down the stairs he said see I told you it wouldn't take long, ya if I had tried to do that by myself, I would still be sitting there waiting. We got back in the car and headed back to camp. The drive was short considering we had traveled three quarters of the way to town and he dropped me off at the front gate. Before he left, he got in his trunk and handed me a selection of the local fruit, dates. He said you wash these and you will love them, eat them with your coffee and you will have tastes you have never tasted before.

I proceeded to my room and put down my items I had been hauling, my backpack with Laptop and other essentials which weighs in the neighborhood of about 40 lbs. I quickly changed into a pair of shorts and headed across to the dinning room for dinner. To my pleasant surprise, they were serving curry chicken and rice, one of my absolute favorites. They did a good job on it and the green salad and tomatoes with your choice of French, Thousand Island, or Blue Cheese dressing. Now remember we are in the Middle East so they look like what we have at home, but don't nearly taste as good. Anyway I finished up with a quick pice of Apple pie for dessert and a cup of coffee to wash it down with. I headed back to my room and chated with Diane for about an hour before it was time to hit the hay again.

Wednesday and Thursday left nothing to the imagination, pretty much the same ole. Oh we carry a packed lunch everyday because there is no place close to get lunch, usually consist of a couple of sandwhiches, a couple of juice boxes a piece of fruit and a piece of fruit bread. Not bad when you are hungry but I wonder how fast that is going to get old. Well Friday is a day of rest so I will hopefully be able to sleep in and get some much needed rest. Hope you are enjoying, please be sure to leave comments if there is any questions or ideas you have.

And we're off

Well the day finally came to head off on my new adventure. Got up around 7:30 had a lite breakfast, tried to get my thoughts together, look at my list and scratch off anything I had completed already. Of course the last day you always forget something so we added that to the list as well. Josh and Cassie came down Saturday night and we had a nice quiet evening, well other than me stressing that I was running out of time and I couldn't find everything.

We decided to get all the things we needed at Walmart and would meet them for dinner at Lupe Tortilla's close to Intercontinental Airport. Diane and I took off for Walmart and Radio Shack around 2:30 and we were going to try to be back in time to leave by 3:00 ;) ya I was pretty sure we wouldn't make that one, but hey we tried anyway. Of course it took way too much time at Walmart and then the stop at Radio Shack, well you guessed we weren't even close to being home, and we still had to pick Kimber up at her apartment. Long story short, we got home and I repacked all my suitcases, each weighed less than what they were supposed to and off we went, at 3:55. Ya I was pretty sure that we wouldn't have enough time to get there and eat and be at the Airport an hour and a half before the flight.

We tooled out on 45 North and called Josh to find out where they were. It was too late to eat so we told them to just meet us at the Airport. We arrived about the same time and found a parking place. As we loaded a cart with my ton of luggage, we trugged through the cars towards the elevator. After waiting about 10 minutes, we were on and headed down to check-in. I decided we had enough time for a quick Starbucks, probably would be my last for awhile. We got our drinks and went back upstairs to sit and watch the security line. That is one thing that will get you in trouble if it is too long, it can keep you from your flight. We just sat and talked for a few minutes and then I decided we couldn't drag it out any longer so I said my good-byes and got in line. Good thing I did too because all of a sudden behind me were about 15 people. Went through with no issues, got my stuff and put it all back in its proper place and waived bye.

Well I will spare you with the other details but the incoming flight was late so we were late. When I finally got on the plane, the Continental Flight specialist came on the plane and said well you are our only issue. I said really why is that? He said that if we didn't get to Amsterdam in time for my flight to Saudi I would be in Amsterdam for 3 days before the next flight. Nice, really nice and me with nothing to do but sit back and wait and see.......

The first leg of the flight was really quick we had a nice tail wind and got there about 10 minutes after we were supposed to be there before the flight was late. We landed on the farthest runway from the terminal so it took like 15 minutes to get there. At least I slept about 5-1/2 hours and felt pretty good. As we pulled up to the Jetway, it took them forever to get it pulled up to the plane and finally they opened the door. They were all saying Good Luck hope you make your flight...... nice don't help me get there or anything, oh well I was off to find the monitors. I ran down the Terminal hall, which is another crazy thing, you have to park at the last gate in the last Terminal so if you wanted to make a quick flight, no way, nearly impossible. Doing this mind you with a new pair of steel toed boots which I am breaking in for the first time.... ya you guessed it, very uncomfortable. Found the checkin desk for KLM and she pointed me in the right direction. I made it to the gate and they had just started checking people through security so I was good. A matter of standing in the cattle line for about 15 minutes and I was on the plane. Had to call Diane and tell her I made it so we were chatting while I was getting on the plane and finding my seat. I got all set in my seat and we talked for a few minutes until they shut the door and then we were off again.

The flight was estimated at 5 hours and 36 minutes and the plane wasn't as full as it looked when I got on. As I looked around there were a lot of seats vacant. Oh well not to worry we were in the air and that was all that mattered. I skipped lunch because I was feeling pretty hot still, for some reason I couldn't seem to cool off. Anyway I watched a couple of movies on the way which made the time go by relatively quick. Before we knew it we were heading down and making ready to land. It was interesting watching the Tracker as we got closer to ground, the temperature of course is colder in the upper atmosphere but we went from -41 degrees F to +98 really quick. After about 10 minutes the pilot came on and said we were landing. We touched down at 7:59 PM 24 hours from when I had left.

Once in the terminal you have a very long walk to customs, every country does that including the US no clue why because you are already dead tired from the long flight so it really takes a lot to endure. After about 10 minutes of walking we finally arrived in Customs, the wait wasn't bad and I was through and retrieving my bags. They came off pretty quick too so I loaded them on the cart and headed to the Xray machines. I made it through with no check and headed out into the lobby where my driver was to be waiting. I found him and he said he was waiting on another passenger so we waited about 5 minutes for him to show up. Once he arrived we headed for the garage and waited for the driver to bring the car around. After finally getting all of my luggage in the car, well I am going to be here for awhile, we headed off for Al Jubail Industrial City.

The drive wasn't bad, you couldn't see anything with it being night and of course the dust storm. We arrived at the Al Razvat Residential commpound about 9:30 ish. They had my room all ready so I gave them my Passport and signed the papers and they showed me to my room. Not much to it a bed, desk, a couple of chairs, a coffee table, tv, bathroom and a bureau to put my clothes in. It was all good, I was just ready to get unpacked and go to sleep. I was pretty excited about that because normally my trips West end up with me being up for a couple of days while my body tries to adjust. I unpacked got ready for bed, popped an Advil PM and fell fast asleep.