The Vest

Before I came back to Saudi, I picked myself up a training weight vest. This was to increase my work rate for my morning jog / exercise. I would love to be able to increase my distance but that is not viable with the time available to me so I wear the vest to increase my workload - "feel the burn".

I had trialled it out in NYC with success. Not even half a look from passer-bys. That wasn't the same here in the camp. I jog around 3:30 or 4am dependent on distance, as it is a little too hot after work. The call to prayer at the moment is just before 4, so the punters are up and bleary eyed just after this. My first day drew a raft of funny looks from people that didn't really phase me, but maybe I should have thought about it a little more.

After I got back to my room I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. With the headphone wires sprawled out of the top of the vest, you can probably imagine what these guys where thinking as this white guy was running towards their Mosque. Fortunately I'm pretty friendly with the guards carrying the big guns, so they hopefully recognised me after a quick wave.

Planning the ceremony

Would just like to note first up - there are no spoilers here. The following is what the Girl vetoed from my ideas of the wedding.

Celebrant: "The couple would now like to recite their vows."

Me: "John, can I please buy a vow?"

Me: "I take thee Rachel...."

Celebrant: "By the power...... of greyskull, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

The Girl: "I have the power...."

Ending the ceremony by knocking knuckles was also binned but that was probably my fault, high five should have been the call.

Do you think I watched a little too much TV in my youth?

A Belated Birthday Celebration

After an extended stay in Saudi, a weekend with my favourite band, it was time to spoil the Girl for the birthday I had missed a little while ago. The evening commenced with a showing of the Musical "Annie" (her favorite since childhood). I had grabbed the best seats in the house and we arrived a couple of minutes before the curtain was to be raised, garnering a few surprised looks at our smartly dressed attire that was required for our later dinner reservations. It felt good to dressed up for what essentially was a childrens show, quite distinguished from the rest of the rabble. Coincidence provided us with an opportunity to see Australia's own Anthony Warlow playing the male lead, "Daddy Warbucks",  in a drastically different role to the last time I saw him in Phantom of the Opera. Overall it was an amusing spectacle that the Girl thoroughly enjoyed.

We headed a few blocks uptown to the evenings final destination, Le Bernardin, a French Seafood restaurant that is frequently topping the best restaurant reviews for the last 25 years. Upon arriving at the venue, we were amazed at the sophisticated, yet subtle look of the space. A soft light filled the high ceilinged, large room all the way to the back wall, that sat an enormous Ocean mural.

We were soon seated and commenced our evening with a glass of Dom Perignon. The Girl got to browse the menu and I was delighted when she chose the Chef's Tasting menu - with a wine pairing, that I had been craving since the reservation had been made. Each dish was a small portion of divine taste, paired with an appropriate selection of wine that seemed to enhance each dish. It would be dishonest to try and pull out a single favourite, for each pairing seemed to extend the tastebuds in different ways. It was clear that the combination of carefully selected, fresh ingredients were combined with the preparation of experienced chefs, that had found the intricate details of each component enough to establish a meal I will never forget. 

The service was so much more than expected, enhancing the whole experience, and leaving you with the feeling of being the most important table in room full of strangers. The only fault I could find with the restaurant would be the policy that doesn't allow me to live there forever. If anyone wants to win over my favor, a night at Le Bernardin would be the key to your success.

The Rain Delay

I fled home from Saudi in time to take the Girl up to Chicago, for an evening with Pearl Jam at Wrigley Field. We had secured some members passes for the VIP area in the pit. The concert started with a strong pulse of classic tunes before an hour into it the concert was stopped. Due to concerns for the safety of the patrons they decided to have a short pause while a storm passed through.

In a twist of irony I thought back to the mud bath that PJ played through the first time I was in attendance. In 1995, at the Eastern Creek Raceway, we slugged through an epic 3hr set that saw the heavens open up for a large portion of the show. Back in '95 though I was a whipper snapper, the pit was actually moshing, and the girl would have been nowhere to be seen.

Back to Chicago, the majority of the crowd had taken refuge under or beneath the shelter of the grandstand. We had a nice spot at an entrance to the field to catch the most of the storm.

There is supposed to be a video here that I took of the heavens opening up. Unfortunately technology has gotten the better of me and I can't upload it - if only there was a 12yr old around to show me how. It was pretty cool so just your imagination of the lighting, heavy rain, etc. (Kids that's what we did before technology was around)

After a couple of hours the covers came off and the concert resumed. The band played on until 2am, well after the 11pm curfew, that left some very satisfied fans in tow.

Highlights of the night included: seeing Dennis Rodman (former Chicago Bulls player) in the pit area with us, a rendition of Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns (a song from Mother Love Bone - Stone Gosssard and Jeff Ament band prior to Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready linking up to form Pearl Jam), and the live debut of three new songs off the new album (Mind your Manners, Lightning Bolt and Future Days), the third which may well wind up in the wedding songs rotation if it is released in time - upon request from the Girl.

Happy Birthday!

This one is going out to the most gorgeous girl in the world!



We will have an awesome celebration when I'm home.

Summer has Arrived

I finally know what they mean when referring to "extreme temperatures". The heat is quite devastating. The throat burns as you breathe in the putrid air. Your skin feels like it is burning, not just on the exposed part, but all over. Thank you Saudi for this explanation and please leave further examples until next year.

Hump Day

So the Girl sent me an email saying how much a struggle it is today, Wednesday - Hump Day. Having such resources in abundance here in Saudi, I couldn't resist sending this back.

The Races

Saturday was the 3rd race of the Triple Crown, otherwise known as the Belmont Stakes, or to the punters in the general admission a "white trash bash". A mate and I decided to head over to try our luck. The menu for the day were cans, shooters and cigars which was a throwback to the days of the Perth Cup. We had some luck with a Trifecta early on thanks to a couple of late scratches which put us in the gambling zone often referred to as a "lucky streak".

The big race was coming around and I already had my winner picked. Palace Malice, named for the Basketball Brawl 9 years ago at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit between the Indiana Pacers and some guys in the crowd. For those who missed it, yes there was a brain explosion from a couple of members of the Pacers who took offence to a couple of fans in the stands who had tried to cool them down by launching a drink in their direction. The players did some launching of themselves over seats to dish out some cooling of their own using fists. The altercation led to suspensions totalling 146 games for the players and was dubbed "Malice at the Palace". Being an avid fan of disliking the Indiana Pacers, I took it upon myself to see it as a sign to jump on the horse that was named after an event that set the Pacers organisation back 9 years before they could muster another team that could legitimately challenge for a title.

So it was we put the house on the horse, perhaps not my house but certainly one that would have raised an eyebrow on the Girl had she been present. We took the fine beast in the Trifecta as well. At 15 to 1 with not even an outside chance given it was possible my day would come to an early close. That is until the final straight when he found the courage of the 2004 Pacers team, to unshackle convention and head for the metaphorical stands at the end of the track. It was such a glorious win that we didn't even notice the remaining place getters were also in our trifecta. Such a glorious day to end with a shower of Benjamin's.

There’s something in the water

I think the combination of sand and chemicals in my shower water have seriously done something to my hair. A combination of 5 weeks in Africa, 2 weeks in Australia and 6 weeks here have made it impossible to get a cut so I am now walking around with a white mans fro. Lucky for me I can pretty much pull anything off but let's hope I get time for trim before the nuptials.

Censoring the Classics

It seems to me, here in Saudi, they tend to censor a lot of television. I just switched on the box to find Austin Powers II on. There is a ridiculous amount cut out: swearing, references and images of female anatomy (male seems to be fine), music and even the word “God” is bleeped out. Unfortunately all this censorship limits the movie to about a half of its viewing time and most of the scenes when run together don’t even make sense.