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