Qatari Five-O

Monday 6 Oct. 2008
2000

Well, today is my birthday. “The big five oh”, as they say, hence the title. I guess I should be feeling introspective and waxing philosophical, but I’m not. I’m just tired. :-)

I have been getting settled in pretty well and getting myself more or less un-jet lagged. Last night was the first night that I actually slept through most of the night. I’ll post some photos and a description of my room later on, but for now I just want to get a few things done while I have the internet connection. I will say that I have nearly twice as much room as I had in Kuwait, which is very nice indeed.

Camp As Sayliyah has a lot of positive things, but one huge disappointment – the internet service here really sucks. I thought that being a rear-area base and also the R&R post, it would have great services, but it doesn’t. The internet service is slow and unreliable, and worst of all, is not available in the barracks. I have to go out to the USO or the gym to get a connection, and so my after-hours activities and routines are totally disrupted. I think maybe that’s one reason I am still so tired – I can’t get anything done because I spend hours and hours sitting in one of those locations struggling with the internet trying to accomplish what should be a five-minute task. I tried talking on Skype and it didn’t work too well. I haven’t tried Yahoo IM yet but I’m not optimistic. And forget gaming altogether….

I guess I didn’t know how good I had it at Camp Arifjan in that regard. If I could leave and go back to Kuwait, I’d do it in a heartbeat just for that one reason alone. But I’m stuck here and have to make the best of it. There are other things that make life here more relaxed and potentially interesting, but nothing that makes up for the feeling of disconnectedness caused by crappy internet service.

I’ve been downtown a couple of times already. What a novelty to be able just to drive out the gate and go to the mall! It’s a lot like Kuwait, although things in general seem to be a bit better kept – neater and tidier. It’s very cosmopolitan, with a mix of people in traditional Arab dress as well as more westernized attire. We went to the mall for some small stuff but also looking for a desk for my room. There is a little fold-out table on the wall of my room, but I plan to remove it and install a desk there, with a bookshelf above it.

Well, I’m afraid I just don’t feel very voluble this evening. I keep falling asleep in my chair, so I guess I’d better go do that in my bed! I was planning to go online and play a game for awhile for my birthday, but maybe I’ll watch a movie instead.

More soon, once I’m just a little more settled in as well as better-rested.

Mood : Tired
Music: Franz Danzi - Wind Quintets