Night out with the boys in Jeddah

Had a great night out with some guys from work. One of the guys (Rami) was leaving for a new job and they had a little going away gathering for him. It is a rare thing as a Westerner to be invited to something like this and all three of us in our office were honored to be invited. I will personally miss Rami. He is a very gracious man with a good sense of humor, an infectious laugh and is pleasant to be around. Rami, you will be missed.

Me and Rami

Saudis are a nocturnal people, so we did not meet until around 9 PM or so this past Tuesday evening. We met on the Corniche near a tributary of the Red Sea just 20 or so minutes North of our compound. It was a small public park with a handful of grassy areas. When we arrived there were a few guys already there. There were several rugs laid out on the grass, pitchers of Moroccan tea and Arabic coffee, some local pastry munchies and such. The Saudis have taken pastry to an art form and amazing pastries are available everywhere you turn.

Party Central!

We really did savor the moment.

Three Westeners, Steve Long to my right and James Maloney to my left

The Moroccan tea is a very nice green tea with a special mint in it and it tastes simply amazing. It it pretty sweet, but not unbearably so. Arabic coffee is ground cardamon and while I like it, let's just say that it's an acquired taste.

Party Central. Tea, coffee, cell phones and food.

Boys will be boys. Some things need no translation and everyone had a great time. Lots of laughter, some story telling, and all in all, a great visit.

No translation needed... Horsing around is universal...

At around 10 or so, the food arrived. Three huge bowls (3 foot across easy) arrived chock full of rice, veggies, chunks of liver and in the middle, a rather large piece of  roasted goat. No flatware needed here. You grab your hot sauce, pick your spot in the bowl and dig in with you right hand. I watched a couple of the guys and got the technique down pretty good. Ate until I was full. When I looked around the bowl, I realized I was easily the lightest eater there. I thought I was doing pretty well but I barely made a dent in my section of the bowl. The other guys had craters in their sections where rice and veggies once laid... They teased me a bit about being a light eater... no worries... I gave it right back...

After the meal, we washed up and the cards were broke out and a couple of serious card games were started. Even though I had no clue what they were playing, there was plenty of friendly banter and chiding just like any card game anywhere else in the world.
 

Something akin to hearts, but I never did get it.

Around midnight we had to leave, but we knew from experience that the Saudis were just getting warmed up. I was back home and in bed by 12:15 and at work by 7 that same morning. Wednesday, I spoke with a couple guys who were there and the earliest that any of them got in was 3 AM! Talk about nocturnal...

All in all, a great night and a rare chance to be a part of something special here.

Good times in the desert!

You never stop learning...

The longer I am here, the more I learn about myself. For better or for worse. I thought I knew myself pretty well before I got here. Nope. More to learn.

Off to play ice hockey for the last time until August. Should be fun. Already enjoying the day.

Like the blog title says... Random thoughts...

It's a hobby...

As many of you know, we (Leslie and I) have a knack for buying and selling vehicles. We mostly do pretty well on these deals, sometimes helping others when in need, but mostly filling our vehicular needs rather nicely. We almost always buy used (99%), sometimes we run the wheels off it,  get bored with it, our needs and or requirements change, or we just get bored with it.  

In our 32 plus years of marriage we have owned well over 40 vehicles. Granted, some of these were company vehicles or at least paid for by a company, so they were as much someone else's as much as ours... Also, living in the middle of nowhere as we have the past 20 years, you tend to rack up miles pretty fast. But I digress...

In that span of time, as I can recall, only once have we had the occasion and opportunity to buy the same car twice. The first time was my very first car which was a '64 Ford Falcon wagon. I had that car in high school, it sat in a field (as someone else's car) while I was in the Marines and Leslie and I bought it back when I got out in '81...

The second time was just this past weekend. When we left the States in February, we were considering a longer stay than what we are actually planning to do now and so we traded in our '93 Lebaron convertible.

In hindsight, we regretted letting that car go for what we had in it and the fun we had with it. Well, as fate would have it, last week I saw it for sale online at the dealer where I traded it in. They had not sold it and I bought it back on Thursday for just about what I got for it when I traded it in. They even made a couple small repairs I had been meaning to do. A good deal for both of us.

My daughter and son in law graciously went by and picked it up today and as happy as they are to drive it already and for the rest of the summer, I am more pleased to have it back. All reports from my daughter are that it is every bit as nice as when we owned it.  I knew that. (wry smile)

Sometimes things just work out and while this vehicle is in no way a show room quality ride or anything even close, it's nice to have it back. For my daughter and son in law, enjoy the rest of the summer with the convertible. I'll be back in August for a week and am looking forward to enjoying it again too!

I would very much like to have a convertible here in the desert and there are plenty of them around, but it would draw just a little too much unwanted attention... not a good thing here... besides, I still hate driving here.

 

 

Fun in the Sun