A Topsy Turvey World

Today I went back to site for the first time in a week – which was nice.

I went to meetings, had lunch, went to meetings, took some photos, came home.

Went to the gym, had a cold supper from the fridge, wrote my blog, spoke to my family on Skype and went to bed.

It’s not very interesting when you put it like that is it ?

They gave me a gun…….

Calm down, they took it away again fairly quickly………


The first meeting was with the client who has just got back from leave and is happy with the progress we have made over 3 weeks (so we’re happy…….for mostly different reasons to him, but we won’t split hairs !) We have to go away and design a 25m pool for him now – run of the mill stuff in the middle of the desert but if he wants it and he’s willing to pay for it then who are we to argue !

Lunch was, if you’ll believe me, chicken nuggets, chips, green beans and a dhal poured over the beans……with mayonnaise obviously ! I definitely need to get back to the normality of a sandwich, because, apart from one second-rate burger a few days ago, I don’t think I have had anything between two pieces of bread since I had a Big Mac (testing their theory that they are the same the world over – which they seem to be) at Dubai airport. Normally I would be lucky to go 5 days without one, never mind 5 weeks !

The photos were fun and no doubt will trickle onto various people’s Facebooks.

We drove back a different way today, which took a closer to Mosque that I took a picture of very early on in my stay…..

And closer to a pile of old tanks at the end of the airport which we have seen in the distance every time we have come back to the COB but never been anywhere near before……

I’m off to live on site again tomorrow (I know, I’ve said it before…..) which is really the final stretch before I’m back at the COB and away to Dubai on the first leg of the journey home. We’re nearly close enough to start the countdown……just not quite ready yet.

Today’s inventory

4 cigars – sorry, but there’s a bit of a rhythm developing, which with a bit of luck will be solved by doing something different tomorrow…..we shall see.

$2 – on tea and a big biscuit (with chocolate bits in….)

0 units – although I have to say, for whatever reason, I could do with a drink this evening. It might be something to do with heading home soon or it might be something to do with the end of the day where I think I got caught in the crossfire of somebody else’s office politics (which always hacks me off – why do they have to include me, can’t they see I’ve got my own problems to worry about ? It’s not like I wander about looking like I give a shit !)

Weather – today was a vast improvement on yesterday but I could still feel the sweat running down my back whilst I was standing still, which isn’t very nice, even at the best of times.

Food – I’m starting to get bored with the range of food served here, and before you say it, I know I should be grateful, and I am, but it’s beef or chicken pretty much every meal (except breakfast when we have beef sausages and beef rashers but no chicken – at least I can have my new friend Mr Porridge). Must bring some Marmite back with me !

Gym – back to full speed tonight. I had the whole place to myself and sang along to my ipod for most of my time on the cross-trainer. It must have been dreadful, the sort of gym equivalent to singing in the shower, but it made me happy and passed the time.

Right, time for my bath – NURSE ?