MEMORIES OF SUMMERS PAST

If you haven't caught my last post, it's a must read.  Goals abound my friends!  My biggest physical goal is a 200 meter butterfly.  Training is now hitting full tilt at the Oasis.

Summertime around here is pretty mellow.  A lot of families head back to their home country for 3-4 weeks of R&R.  School is out and swim team ends (in fact this weekend we have no water polo because the Saudi Nationals are taking place at the Dharhan pool where we normally practice).  On Wednesday evenings from late May - August the Oasis puts on a pool party.  A large buffet, 100 kids screaming, parents relaxing and a gigantic blow-up play center dominate the pool.

This past Wednesday I watched the Khobar Lasers (the Oasis swim team) finish up their last practice before Nationals and then watched the set-up crew get the pool ready for the first party of the summer.  "No swimming here tonight.  I guess I'll head to Al Hada."

So I trudge down the main entry way towards Al Hada and lo and behold, my feathered friends are back!

There was some serious in-fighting going on here, not to mention that this is in the entryway to Al Hada.  I literally had to walk around to the exit to get in the door.  They were squawking at each other, at me, at the sun, at the cars...insane.

So every Wednesday evening this summer I get to check-in with my aggressive little friends....I'm getting my towel ready for battle again!

HEATING UP IN 2011!

Ok, so you read the title of this blog title and figured we were talking weather right?  Well it was 115 one day last week, but it's since dropped back down to a manageable 104-105.  We can all do that right?  Hey, it's only May still and we've got 4-1/2 more months of burning heat to go...

Well actually this is an update on a previously unpublished post about my goals for 2011.  I took the time this year to actually write down some personal goals and I'm trying my best to stick to them.  I've never been a resolution guy at the start of the year, and I've never been one to write down goals.  I tend to keep things that I want to accomplish at the front of my thoughts and just plow forward.  Well a friend at work emailed me his goals out of the blue earlier this year and I really liked them, so I decided to think through some expansive goals this year.....Drum roll......

1. Play 1 song on the guitar - A close friend of mine, as well as my loving sister, think that "Closer to Fine" by the Indigo Girls is the perfect starter.  Great.  This is a wonderful acoustic guitar song, but not the easiest kick-off to my strumming career.  I've got the first lick down though, then it heads towards scratching and grinding...but I'm on my way!  I'm stammering through a few chords below.

2. Complete all Thunderbird courses - So far so good.  A trip to Switzerland, a tough battle with Data Management, and I'm still on track.

3. Read 6 books (1 Business, 1 Fiction, 1 History, 1 Business History, 1 War History) - I've read Andrew Sorkin's Too Big To Fail as well as Last of the Tycoons, so I've got Business History taken care of.  I'm currently reading The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, so I'm on my way to knocking History off the list as well.  American Negotiating Strategies will take care of Business, so I've got to choose a War History and a Fiction novel.  These aren't the only books I'll read, I'm just making a point to have a nice balance on top of the normal topics I like to dive into.

4. Swim a 200 Butterfly - Yama Hama!  Yep, I've added a whopper to the list.  Late last year my loving Mother sent me an article from the Wall Street Journal about how people are now swimming butterfly in place of freestyle.  Gag.  For some reason it intrigued me enough to drop this doozy into my 2011 Goals.

Now for those of you who don't know me, I'm quite the B-Swimmer.  While my giggling sister was slashing her way to victories at County, North Coast Championships, Junior Nationals, and others, I was sloshing my way to 36th place at North Coast and a sound victory at Junior County ("Junior" is self explanatory here), which ultimately placed me at about 48th fastest in the whole area.  If doubters exist, my Mom even busted-out some awesome photos of my past glory.

I'm not the first one in here, but second is ok for me, smack dab in lane #4, where the burners swim.  I claimed victory in this bad boy, along with style-points for most ineffective dive entry.  The spread-arms, head-smacking-water entry is a trademark of mine.

So I'm heading to the pool every night and my yardage is up significantly.  I've actually started to consider a run at the 2012 Water Polo World FINA Championships in Italy with a team from Los Angeles.  I'd play in the 35-40 league, which is very, very competitive, so I'd have to be in very good shape.  I'm up to 2500 meters in a little under an hour, but I'll need to probably be doing double days if I really wanted to play.  I figured I'd give it 6 months and see where I'm at, then make a decision.

Anyway, this mid-life charge to water polo glory can only be supported by Goal #4, the looming 200 meter butterfly.  I am up to a full 75 and it feels like the Grim Reaper has visited during this swim; my "turtling" (an almost verticle, hunched-arm, lactic-acid induced state of swimming) is in full-force the last 10 meters.  I figure a 100 meter by the end of June and I'm on the downhill slope.  Like Rocky Balboa, in order to stay pumped-up for my title bout, I've pulled out an inspirational photo.

Now if that doesn't get you fired-up, I don't know what will.  Stay tuned for some awesome, regular updates everyone!

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

Loyal friends and followers, I apologize for being absent for over 2 months!  Have no fear though, I do have some new tales to tell.

Back in February my Dad began to notice that I was dragging from the challenges of operating alone in a foreign country.  One day via email he wrote the magical words, "Do you want me to come and visit you?"  This was a perfect offer at a perfect time.

I was due to head back to Houston for some corporate meetings in early April.  My Dad decided to time the trip with my return from Houston back to the Middle East.  We spent over 6 weeks preparing for all the different parts of the trip.  What started as a jaunt through Oman, Bahrain and Dubai became a whirlwind trip that started in Jordan and ended in Istanbul. 

My Dad's final plans started with a Air Turkey flight from Los Angeles to Amman, Jordan.  After Jordan he would catch-up with me in Doha for some 1-way flights, starting with Muscat, then Dubai and then finally we would both spend some time in Istanbul. 

The trip started in rocky fashion when Air Turkey didn't have my Dad's ticket.  3 hours and lots of waiting finally produced a seat, which insured that the trip stayed on original schedule.  My Dad's trip through Jordan was awesome.  He visited Petra, the Dead Sea, the location of Jesus' Baptism and Mt. Nebo.  I was still in Houston as I read his daily updates.  Dad hired a driver and they became buds driving all over the country for 3 days.  As much as I was excited for this part of the trip, meeting up with Dad in Doha was where the fun would begin.

I landed in Doha on April 16th.  I hurried to my connecting flight to Muscat.  Dad wasn't on the plane yet when I boarded, but the next bus would deliver him!  On the way to Muscat together.  Recovering from sleep depravation and travel exhaustion, Dad and I soaked up 2 days with Unni in Muscat.  We started with an awesome coffee on the beach.

My dad then headed to the Grand Mosque while Unni and I did some work at the office.

After Oman we headed to Dubai, where we caught up on some R&R with Tommy Broussard and his wife Vicki.  They are great hosts and the chance to sit out on their balcony and watch the sun set is indescribable.  Dubai wasn't an early target for my Dad's trip, but I think after seeing the city he was glad to make it a stopover.  The sheer magnitude of the city's growth is staggering.  Cranes and buildings are everywhere.  From the tallest building, to the world's most recognizable hotel, to an indoor ski slope, the city is one of a kind and worth a quick 2 day visit.

From Dubai we took off for Istanbul, Turkey.  Neither of us had been to Turkey and the trip proved to be well worth it.  Istanbul sits on two continents, the only city in the world positioned this way.  Half of the city is in Europe and half of the city is in Asia.

We started our first day with visits of the old mosques and churches.  Below is the famous Blue Mosque.

Below is the Haggia Sophia, which was originally a Christian church, then a mosque, and now a little of both as the Turkish government has worked to restore the building to it's original state.

Below is the inside of the Haggia Sophia.  You can see the mix of Islamic and Christian decorations.

On the third day we took a visit to the famous cistern that the Romans built back in 300AD.  This underground waterway was amazing - HUGE beyond expectations. 

Two of the pillars in the cistern are famous for their base: Medusa!

After the cistern we headed to the Asian side of the city.  Can you imagine, we take a 15 minute boat ride and we've gone from Europe to Asia.  Awesome stuff.  Here's a picture of the famous lighthouse with the old city in the background.



On Sunday my Dad headed to Istanbul's International Airport and journeyed home.  I took a Finance Final and then headed to the airport myself for the measley 3 hour flight back to Dubai.  It was hot when I got out of the airport in Dubai...like 100 degrees hot.  A big difference from the 30-40 degree temperatures in Turkey.  Truth be told though, I would last through any cold weather to hang out with my Dad. 

Thanks so much Dad for coming to the Middle East.  I can't express how much our time together meant for me.  See you in Utah!

WOW!!!! MOUNTAINS AND SNOW AND COLD WEATHER

This past week marked my first RBE experience at Thunderbird.  The Thunderbird MBA Program requires students to take 2 Regional Business Environment (RBE) classes as part of their curriculum.  The program offers 2 trips in the Winter, Summer and Fall.  The trips are broken down into regions, and you can't take two RBEs in the same region, so you get to choose.  Here's how my RBE break-out looks for my time at school:

RBE Winter 2011:
Geneva, Switzerland
Santiago, Chile

RBE Summer 2011:

Prague, Czech Republic
Beijing, China

RBE Fall 2011:
Hong Kong, China
Sao Paulo, Brazil

RBE Winter 2012:
Shanghai, China
Johannesberg, South Africa

So if you take your first RBE in Europe you can't take your second one in Europe; you have to choose a new region.  This is because the content and professors are specific to the region: Asia, Europe, Africa, South America

The RBE is an intense week.  The class starts about a month before the trip when a book is mailed to your house and a team assignment is laid-out on the class web page.  The team assignment consists of a 2-6 page executive summary on a topic chosen from a list provided to the class (first come first serve - no two teams can do the same project) and a 25 minute presentation at the end of the class week.  While in country, one day is reserved for company visits and the other 4 days consist of class lectures and case studies.  The average day runs from 8am to 7pm!

I chose Geneva and Hong Kong, and this past week I flew on up to Switzerland for my week of work.  Prior to the trip, a lot of students planned a few extra days in France or Italy as part of a vacation.   I didn't have the time to do this, so I decided, after reading-up on the internet and checking in with my traveling Mom and Dad, that I could fly into Zurich and take a train over to Geneva.  This would be a 3 hour train ride and would provide plenty of scenery.

Unfortunately it rains/snows a lot in Switzerland during the winter months, but that didn't halt the Alps from reaching down into Lake Geneva.

This is the view from the train, overlooking Lake Geneva.

Before I got to this point however, we traversed across an amazing countryside.  Switzerland is so clean and beautiful.  My train ride was definitely worth it.

Once in Geneva, we buried ourselves in work, with the exception of the one day we visited companies.  Our trip was highlighted by two particular visits.  One to Nestle, the world's largest food company (and chocolate bar maker) and one to the US Embassy in Geneva.

This is the view from the sixth floor of Nestle's headquaters.  Not bad at all.  I can't imagine what it would look like when the sky is cloudless. 

Before Nestle we had a class lunch in Nyon.  Despite the rain, the central town area was shadowed by this awesome museum.

The US Embassy was a treat.  The speakers were great and I grabbed my only non-Blackberry photograph.

I am sporting some style out on the far left.  My roommate is in the center of the picture.  Will Randle is the tallest guy in the picture.  My roommate, Ryan Collins, is the first guy to the right of Will.

So yes, I had a roommate in Switzerland, but avoiding an extra $845 to grab my own room was well worth it.  Ryan and I had worked together before, and we were on the same team this week as well.  That made being roommates really helpful as we could pound out our work in the room instead of having to meet in the lobby.

Ryan is a great Christian guy as well.  We share the same sense of humor, and it was on full display the first morning in Geneva.  Our alarm rang-off at 6am and Ryan volunteered to be the first into the shower (we agreed to alternate first up through the week.).  Ryan stumbles into the bathroom and I hear the water turn on.  Like most shower-baths, the faucet starts on and a lever re-directs the water to the shower head.  I hear the lever click up and then, "Oh man!  Goodness...."  Then all quieted down as Ryan took his shower.

5 minutes later Ryan turned-off the water and climbed out of the shower (my bed was right next to the bathroom so I could hear everything).  I hear Ryan fumbling with his travel pack, then some fumbling with the wall socket and on goes his electric razor.  No more than a minute later, "What the...."  There is no sound as the bathroom door opens.  "The power just went out."  "What do you mean, in the bathroom.  You probably tripped the breaker."  Ryan responds, "I tried to switch it but nothing works."  I realize now that nothing is on in the room.  The clock is off, the lights don't work.  Nice.  Ryan stumbles next to my bed and picks-up the phone to call the front desk.

"Yes monsier, wie, wie, bonjour, woo wu, sivuple...yes, the power is out in our room.  Ok, thank you....mercier."

"They're coming up."

Ryan then steps around to the room door and looks out into the hallway.

"Dude, the power is out on the whole floor!"  Ryan is back in the room.  "And I've got half of my face shaved!"

The knock at the door precludes some more French and then Ryan leaning out the door again.  "The guy is clipping over the breaker for the entire floor...I knocked out power for the entire floor." 

So with power restored I drag into the bathroom.  The past 10 minutes had completely erased my memory of the shower drama that Ryan experienced.  The bath-shower has the typical European half-glass that covers part of the bathroom from the water.  Our shower faucet is in the middle of the shower for some reason, and it moves up and down a bar that is mounted to the wall.  I flip on the water and let it warm up for a minute, then pull on the shower lever.  Without warning the faucet jumps out of the holder and starts spraying me and the entire bathroom.  I feel like a kid in Harlem playing around the open fire hydrant.  Things are completely out of control until I finally get my hands on the shower faucet and re-attach it to the holder.  Aren't watches made here?  That's all I can conjure up as I duck into the shower.

Great trip everyone.  Thanks for hanging in with me between posts.  More adventures are to come!

 

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...