I CAN SEE THE FINISH LINE

Ok, for those of you who read this title and thought, "Matt ran in another race?"  I am sorry.  This post comes in at the completely opposite end of the spectrum from running...this post is about motorcycles.

During my time in Houston I got the chance to check-in on my 1952 Panhead.  It has been stationed up at MC Creations in Houston along with my other motorcycles.  Gregg, the owner of the shop, was kind enough to charge me a great storage rate, which means my motorcycles can reside around folks who know how to handle them.  Anyway, the story of this 1952 motorcycle is pretty cool, so I'll indulge you for a few moments. 

In 1996 I purchased my first Harley Davidson, which I still have.  I loved riding with friends all over California, but I also loved fixing the bike and upgrading different parts.  This is the cult of HD riding - the bikes aren't real efficient and they shake a lot, so you're constantly fixing things and tinkering away.  It's a labor of love.  So once I was into the scene, I started learning about all the different HD models that were made through the years.  Flatheads, Knuckleheads, Panheads, Shovelheads, Blockheads and now Twin-Cams.  I won't get into the details here, but basically these names designate the style of the motor.  Knuckleheads are the rarest, but Panheads are probably the most iconic; think Easyrider with Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson.  So I as I learned about these different models, I got really excited about building an authentic HD from parts only.  A Knucklehead would be too hard to find, and much to expensive ($10,000 for a motor in pieces!) but Panheads were available.  I began my search.

One day at work, Kevin came up to me and said, "Hey dude, I've got a good friend, who has another friend, who knows this old-timer in Oakland who's selling 3 Panhead wishbone frames."  Panheads were first made in 1948, and from 1948-1952 the motorcycles were built on a frame that had two front posts shaped like a wishbone.  They are very rare and very popular.  "How much" I asked.  "$600"  Keving responded.  I was game.  I met this old-timer in Oakland and paid him $600 and I had started building my own bike.

Flash forward to 2000 when I moved to Houston, I still had that same frame and nothing else.  MC Creations had opened-up about 5 minutes from my apartment, so I wandered in one weekend and met Gregg, the owner.  We struck-up a friendship that has gotten stronger every year.  My first big expense was getting my $600 frame straightened; apparently the bike must have been in an accident at some point in its life, because the frame was really bent.  Gregg then turned my onto a guy named Phil Corley, who had a 1952 Panhead motor, transmission and belt drive, and from there I started piecing it together.  I landed an original springer front end in 2007, an original oil bag in 2008, and all the miscellaneous parts along the way. 

Take a walk down memory lane with me.

Here is the motorcycle on my lift in Houston.  Things were in good shape here, but no paint on the frame, no wiring, no exhaust pipes, no carberator, unmounted ugly fender, and on and on.  If you look under the neck where the front forks meet the frame, you can see how the frame Vs out like a wishbone.  This was a really special design on these bikes and was only produced from 1948-1952.

Same 1952 Panhead as above, but out for a little partner shot with my Shovelhead.  This Shovelhead was the first Harley Davidson I bought, way back in 1995.

Things are rolling along by this point.  My fender was now attached, I had pipes, Gregg had sold me the original oil bag (black tank right under where the seat goes), and some of the wires were showing-up.



Not the first time I've posted this picture.  When I blew through Houston last August I stopped by MC Creations and saw Gregg.  The frame on my Panhead had been painted black as I'd requested and the bike was back together except for the gas tank.

I employed some friends and family to help decide what to paint on my gas tank.  I had already decided to stick with the sharp blue color that the tank had originally, but I was at a loss on what I should have on the tank, if anything.  Many excellent choices were submitted but 4 choices loomed large in my head: Blank, Nemo (or colorful fish in general), a princess (I think), and a Number 1.

This holiday I checked back in with Gregg.  My bike was up on the lift and the fender and sissy bar were mounted and painted.  I was blown away.

Looking fantastic.  Now the only question was my gas tank and a seat.

Gregg looked at me and said, "I know you were debating what to do about that tank, but I took some liberty and I hope you like it."  I was nervous, but not overly concerned.  I trusted Gregg's judgement.  He brought out this tank with an awesome Number "1" painted on!  Gregg's painter didn't go the easy route with a decal and clear coat.  I was blown away.

So minus one exhaust pipe, this is what the 1952 Panhead looks like now.  Gregg also had a spare seat sitting on the wall that fit perfectly and was exactly what I was looking for.  The little set support in the back has been taken off - the sissy bar provides the support if needed.

So I didn't run in a race, but I've definitely been crawling against a clock for the last 15 years.  It has been a labor of lover for me.  When I get back to Houston this coming year, the bike should be all done. 

I know it wasn't the most exciting story, but thanks for reading everyone.

WHAT A YEAR!!!

As my holiday time in the United States came to a close, I started to think back on 2010.  What an amazing year, full of incredible blessings beyond what anyone ever expected.  That's always how it works out though isn't it?  I have made some incredible friends, done some incredible things, and seen some incredible sites.

So I thought it would be nice to reflect back on quite a year, and take all of you along for the ride.  Some of these events you may remember, others may be new.  I'm sure I will leave out some favorite moments (ducks, Cairo, etc.) but I will try and make up for it with some new winners.

This was Houston 1 week before I left the United States for good....yep, that's snow.  It was miserable.  Little did I know, I would be whining for some of that cold weather in 4-5 months!



Marty never complained once about the move.  As long as he controlled the TV remote, he was alright.

I was so excited to get into my new digs, but when Schlumberger announced they were buying Smith International (Wilson's parent company), my Saudi residency went into a holding pattern.  Without that residency visa I couldn't move any personal items into the country; I lived out of a suitcase from January-April until my stuff finally arrived in May (visa taken care of!)  Here's what an apartment with no books, radio or pictures looks like.

No personal items...no problem.  Keep on plowing ahead.  In mid-April Wilson sponsored a booth at the SABIC Technical conference in Jubail.  Peter O'Neill (UK) and Tommy Broussard (Dubai), fellow Wilson brethren, hosted with me.  For those of you who think the photo is a little blurry, well it is partly, but that's also Tommy cooling off with a brochure.  It was 98 degrees, WITH AIR CONDITIONING, in the trade show tent...a great business event for Wilson, but a miserable personal experience.

So the driving isn't great here in Saudi Arabia.  Ok, it's ranked as the second most dangerous driving environment in the world!  One of the advantages of driving in Saudi Arabia is that you tune your driving senses to an amazingly high level...dodging motionless objects, like this $110,000 Mercedes that is parked half in the street, right after a sharp turn, helps refine those senses.

Driving dangers aren't just limited to the oncoming traffic.  There is also an option to place your children in your lap...this 3 year old, whose head you can barely see, is learning the basics of driving from her father while sitting in a brutal line at the causeway to Bahrain.  Awesome!

While we're on the subject of safety, this office building did an entire refurbishment during the summer.  These laborers plowed along like it was nothing...of course not having to wear safety equipment or haul anything to the street helps...just drive the dump truck up onto the sidewalk.  That way, all those folks walking to lunch can avoid falling cement as a sort of lunch-time sport.

On a much lighter note, my wobbly coat rack was healed in fine fashion.  Altaf came in one day, made a quick assessment, headed back to his office and grabbed a sticky note pad, and placed it under the short arm.  But wait, that is not the beauty of the solution.  See, the first attempt proved that our wedge was too large.  Solution?  Just pull some of the sticky notes off and make the wedge shorter.  Hence, Altaf still had sticky notes and my coat rack is fixed.  Totally awesome!

What would a year in review be without a water polo shot.  This was the blind-side-blessing from God.  I met a great group of guys that play competitive water polo.  They travelled to the FINA World Championships and won 8th in the 50+ category, and I got to join them and play open tournaments in Dubai and Qatar.  What an amazing blessing.  I made lifelong friends, got into shape, and had a release away from work.  This picture was shot at the Heine-Classic in October.  Chris Heine was leaving Aramco to join a company in Houston.  Abdi pulled together a little tournament and we had a huge turn-out.  On Christmas Day, the annual Christmas Classic took place, in which the children take on their parents.  26 people showed-up, so 4 teams were assembled.  The senior guys won of course...slime balls.

Pranks are a way of life in the Capital Projects Department, so when Jack Mason sent this photo to me, I was expecting classic hysteria.  This picture was taken in Frankfurt during the World Tube Fair...well actually, it was taken a week after the Tube Fair.  A little volcano in Iceland decided to interrupt the European continent and blow, sending smoke everywhere.  Air traffic was stopped for over a week, and even after it picked-up, it was intermittent.  The Wilson Team got tired of each other quickly, especially when one of your travel mates is constantly taking pictures and laughing at you.  From L to R, this is Cal Leavitt (Manager Capital Projects), Jim Owsley (VP Materials), and Phillip Nicolas (Director of Process Piping Sales for V&M).  Jack coined this as a record album photo for a 70s adult contempo band...works for me.

I travelled all over the Middle East in 2010.  My first trip to Abu Dhabi left me in amazement.  Check out the famous leaning building.

Or how about a giant circle building?  I'm surprised I didn't drive into the freeway divide while gazing at this building.



Tommy Broussard has let me stay at his house 3 times.  With the price of hotels in Dubai, this is a great cost saver, and a whole lot more enjoyable.  On one particularly long stay in Dubai, Tommy drove me out to the Red Dunes.  He took this picture of me as the sun set.  The sand is so soft and fine.  People go 4x4 trucking and dune buggying in these big dunes.  That's on the bucket list, but for this night, just seeing the sun set amidst the quiet of the desert was enough to be overly thankful to the Big Guy above.

Of course before Tommy and I reached those dunes we had to race some camels down the highway.  These guys are huge!  They weren't overly concerned with the two gawkers in the Land Rover.

Oman was the first country in the Middle East that I travelled to.  That was back in 2008.  It is still my favorite Middle East country because my good friend Unni Kizhake lives there.  Here is Unni accepting his 5 year service award from yours truly.  Unni is a great guy, who spent 5 years of his life in KSA!  He's been a real supporter and great friend.

So I catapulted into 2011 with a bag full of excitement.  2010 was fantastic.  I had great friends and great experiences.  I landed back in Bahrain on January 12th and taxied on over to Khobar.  On the way I had the driver stop at Wazzan's so I could grab a shwarma.  It melted in my mouth.

The week started slowly.  Everyone in the office was happy to see me back.  I really missed the guys, and realized it as they smiled when they saw me sitting at my desk.  On January 18th a huge rain storm hit Khobar.  We got an overwhelming amount of water.  1".  Yep, chaos ensued.  See, there are no storm drains here, so all the water just sits.  2011 entered with a bang, and I'm sure there is tons more fun to come.



That's what the lack of storm drains will do to you.  This is the service road I am on.  Notice that the freeway is even worse.

Notice that the high water doesn't stop people from trying to pass other cars.  My faithful Camry braved all the water and drove away to talk about it.

Have a great year everyone!

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? PART 2

Ok, now we're rocking again...two posts in as many weeks.  I think we're back on pace, at least for this month.

So I left off with my adventure to Kenya.  It would be tough to top that trip.  Manya and her family were great hosts, the animals welcomed me into their kingdom (ok, not really, but it sounds good), and I checked-off Sub-Saharan Africa as a place I have visited.  Yep, this would be tough to top...and I wouldn't succeed.  Sorry, the road ahead provided some fun, but nothing comparable.

On December 2nd and 3rd, the old faithful Ras Tanura Water Polo Team made a trip to Qatar for an open tournament.  Day 1 would consist of matches in their world class facilities.  Qatar has made huge investments in their children - future generations.  They have built world class sports facilities all over the country and brought some of the top universities in to Doha.  Qatar may now be the wealthiest country in the world on a GDP per person basis.  Huge offshore gas fields provide a seemingly endless stream of money for the country.  Instead of fancy buildings and hotels, they have invested in sports and education.  A great combination.

Qatar juts off the Arabian peninsula in a defiant way.  You can see it below on the ride side.

Yours truly lives about 10 miles south of the city Dammam, also on the right side of the Arabian Peninsula.  Qatar is a 4 hour drive from my home, as well as the Ras Tanura guys.  Abdi organized carpools and on December 2nd I drove off with Abdi and two other teammates towards Qatar.  That wasn't before a 5am wake-up call.

"Abdi, why are meeting so early at your house?"
"Well it's good to get down there early and relax a little bit.  We'll have breakfast and then head out by 7am.  That way we can be ready to go when we play."
"But Abdi, we don't play until 5pm.  We're going to arrive in Doha at noon.  That's a lot of R&R time."
"It's just better to leave early."

So that was that.  We were off to Qatar.  About an hour into our drive, Abdi decided to call the rest of the guys to see where they were at; they had all left at 8am (imagine that).

"Anthony, where are you guys at?  What do you mean you don't know where Jim and Austin are?  Well...No...I'll call Jim."  Abdi was not happy.  Apparently Anthony, our goalie and MVP, was still in bed.

"Hi Cora, is Jim there.  He left already?  He's going to pick-up Austin and Anthony...great.  Thanks."  Abdi was feeling a little bit better now.  He paused for about 5 minutes before calling Anthony to confirm everyone was meeting up now.

"Anthony, Jim has made it to your house?  No?  Cora said he left 10 minutes ago...but he should be there.  Maybe he's picking-up Austin first.  I'll call Austin."  More skittish again.

"Austin, hi, it's Abdi.  Is Jim on his way?  You haven't heard from him?  I sent out an email and everyone agreed to their rides and now nobody has heard from Jim.  Can you call him?  Ok, thanks...call me back."  Abdi was back in panic mode now.

"Hi Austin.  You can't get a hold of Jim?  I'll try him."  Ring, ring, ring.  No pick-up.  Now there is visual worry.

"Cora, it's Abdi.  Have you heard from Jim.  No?  How long ago did he leave?  25 minutes!  You live 3 minutes from Anthony and Austin and they haven't heard from Jim.  Let me try them again."

Abdi turns to me, "These guys are crazy.  Why can't they organize a simple pick-up.  Anthony sounds like he stayed up all night, Austin is waiting for Jim in the street, and Jim won't pick-up his phone."  Just then the phone rings.

"Anthony, where are you at?!  What do you mean?  Kostas is flying down...no you can't use his ticket...wait, Kostas isn't going?  That won't work Anthony.  Jim should be picking you up.  I'll try Jim again."  Ring, ring, ring.  Jim doesn't pick-up. 

Abdi's phone then rings.  "Anthony, what is going on...you can't trade for Kostas' ticket...that won't work...What...you jerks.  You've been driving along for 15 minutes together.  Oh, you just thought you'd give me a panic attack.  Very funny."  Abdi hangs up.  "They were all ready; they thought it would be funny to play a joke on me and act like they weren't coming."

So that was the laugh of the day as we careened towards Qatar.  The drive was very peaceful.  The customs process took a little time, but no troubles.  We drove into Doha at around 12pm, right in time to pick-up Kostas at the airport.  We had a little wait, but really no problems as we headed to the hotel.

By 1:30pm we were lounging by the pool.  That day we were scheduled to play the Qatari National Team, The Ex-Qatari National Team, and the 17-U Junior National Team.

At 4pm we climbed into hotel vans and headed towards the facilities.  Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of these, but I can tell you that they were world class - the nicest pool I have ever played in.  Qatar had hosted the Asian Games earlier in the year, and these facilities were nothing short of Olympic.  Full stadium seating, separate diving tank, bulkhead, the works.

We played 3 games, winning our first 2, but eventually losing to the Qatari National Team 7-4.  They were much more fit and well coached.  It turns out the Qatari coach was the goalie for 3 Holland Olympic Teams  in the past 20 years.  He stands at a cool 6'7" and still has all of his muscle.  He was tough on his guys, but they were appreciative of him.  It was a quite a cool site to see. 

The next day we were scheduled to play a beach water polo tournament, with real rules, not the crap we played in Dubai.  But before we could sleep on that fear, we had to get from the pool back to the hotel.  See, while we were playing that first day, Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup - the first Arab country awarded the tournament.  The entire country of Qatar was between us and our hotel.  It took 1-1/2 hours to crawl back to our hotel, but to see the traffic jams with the Qatar flags waving and the people ecstatic was something else.  I will remember the pure excitement for my entire life.

On Friday morning we crawled out of bed and made our way to the beach.  The field was set-up and ready to go.  In real beach water polo, you play 3 on 3, so the field is only 20 yards long and 15 yards wide. 

Sounds easy right?  Not at all.  Instead of lining-up after a goal, the goalie just puts the ball in play.  The goalie can actually shoot at the opposing goal right after being scored on!  The referee sits on a kayak and calls the game. 

Because there is no line-up, and only 2 other people on the team, the game is constant.  You are either shooting or defending someone who is shooting.  On top of that, the water was freezing.  I thought we were in the Middle East.  It was numbing, so that only a lot of swimming got you warm.

I played in the first game and the second game.  We won the first against the 17-U group, but got smacked in the noggin when we played the Senior Team, losing 11-5.  The game is non-stop!  A great workout, but totally new to me.  I have to say though, I'm looking forward to future tournaments.

You can see the referee and the action pretty clearly in this photo

At the end of the morning the spirits were really high.  We took a photo with the entire group.  Most of the Qatari guys were still overwhelmed with joy from the night before and the announcement of the 2022 World Cup award.



I had lost some of that glorious sun in this picture.  I look like Casper the Ghost.  The Qatar coach is looming over me in the background.  Check out the Qatar 2022 shirt that Austin is holding-up though.

So we headed back to Saudi that afternoon and got home safely at around 8pm.  I stopped and grabbed a shwarma along the way.  Mmmmm good.  It was 2 weeks before I headed back to the US for the holidays...

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? PART 1

So it's been a long time since my last post.  I am sorry for the wait.  My sister, who runs a dynamic blog (www.fancyfootballs.blogspot.com), along with some other minor responsibilities, such as a photo company and 5 children, reminded me during Christmas that having a blog is a major "responsibility.  People want to see continuous posts.  You can't stop."  Ok, so I've been completely absent.  Well hopefully some of my travels make-up for the delay.

The Middle East has a week-off right before Thanksgiving occurs in the US.  At the same time, I befriended a fellow classmate at Thunderbird who lives in Kenya with her family.  I emailed Manya and asked if she was up for a visitor in Kenya.  Hey, I'm low maintenance and ready to adventure.  She was all game, so I bought my ticket for a 6 hour plane flight from Qatar to Nairobi.

A number of people in Saudi asked me if I was going on a safari.  I wasn't sure about that, as I only had four days in Kenya.  Well when I arrived Manya had arranged 2 major "Animal-Viewing" adventures.  My first full day I drove to a wildlife park that was about 3 hours north of Nairobi.  A robust Nissan Sentra was to  be our safety wagon.  If you've seen wildlife programs on TV, most safari parks haul people around in Land Rovers and large buses.  Not this trip!  The Nissan Sentra rolled-up to the park and I got my first glimpse of how "wild" Kenya's parks can be.  Small monkeys roam around the entrance gate.  A restaurant provides an opportunity for food.  Now these monkeys don't sit by the table waiting for a hand out.  They just jump up and take your food.  If your car window is down, your car will be burglarized of all edible items.  Check them out.

After we bought our tickets and avoided the criminal monkeys, we cruised on into the park.  Our Sentra would prove to be one of the smaller items in the park.  We bumped and bruised along the road seeing amazing wildlife.

These water buffalo were huge.  They had the right of way when confronted with the Sentra's might.  There was always a male water buffalo checking everything out.  If you expand this picture you can see the big guy staring us down. 

Zebras were everywhere.  They are very skittish.  A slight noise from the car and they would jump.

There were all sorts of these Emu-Gazelle type animals.  They cruised in packs and were on constant look out for predators.  Like the zebra, any noise and they were on instant alert.

Manya told me that many people travel to the safari parks and never see a Rhino.  Well I was blessed to be 100 yards from one.  This guys was gigantic.  He just sat there and ate.  He didn't look at us once and I'm sure wouldn't have been frightened if he had noticed us.  Look at those horns, and those birds weren't a bother at all.

Giraffes weren't too concerned about the gnat-like Sentra.  It is hard to explain how large these animals are when close-up.  They just hung-out and ate from trees that no other animal could get close to.

Baboons have serious attitude.  Whereas the little gate-monkeys want to swipe your food, baboons will come up and challenge you for your food.  They are much larger than I was comfortable with.  Manya told me that many tourists get out to take pictures and smile away at the baboons.  Well apparently that is a sign of challenge to a baboon, so oftentimes these smart little mammals will rear-up for a fight..."Ok, everyone back in the van!"

Leopards, Hyenas and Lions are all residents at the park we visited.  Unfortunately they are all nocturnal, and leopards, in addition, like to hang-out high-up in trees.  It was a real long shot that we would see any of these three animals.  We were launching into the home stretch of the park drive (hour number 5) when we got word from a passing visitor van that a lion had been spotted with her cubs close by.  We squeeked up to a grassy area and sure enough, this lioness had been woken-up.  This was as good a shot that I could snap, and I think it's a winner. 

Day 1 was overwhelming, but I was in for more.  Manya had big plans for Day 2.  We were heading to an elephant nursery and a giraffe camp.  The elephant nursery was amazing.  The nursery has discovered a formula for baby milk for elephants.  As parents are poached the babies are left to fend for themselves.  In the past, baby elephants couldn't survive in a nursery because the milk available didn't provide the nourishment they needed.  Well the formula has been discovered so these baby elephants have a much better chance of survival.  Each elephant has a trainer that acts as a parent.  They feed them, sleep near them, and generally help raise them until they can be returned to the wild.  The nursery is open for visitors 1 hour a day.  These little elephants came trooping down the trail and socialized with us for an hour.  I eventually sponsored a little guy named Chemi Chemi and my nieces/nephews are closely tracking his development.  Here are some pictures.

Manya and I with the elephants in the background.

Here's one of the baby elephants cruising around.

After the elephant nursery we headed to the giraffe camp.  One picture will best represent the park.

So we got to feed the giraffes, which was a blast.  Yours truly wasn't into the kissing-the-giraffe-challenge.  Manya, you are very brave!

On Day 3 I had an awesome lunch with some of Manya's old co-workers.  They were wonderful people and immediately welcomed me into their community.  The trip was overwhelming.  I can't thank Manya and her family enough for giving me a room to sleep in, a driver to and from the airport, and for organizing so many awesome events.  I haven't listed the entire slew of activities because it would take too long.  I encourage everyone to visit Kenya if you are ever traveling in the Eastern hemisphere.  The people are great and the experience is amazing.

So that put me into December, and my next blog will cover the second adventure I had leading up to the holiday season...