Going to Florida

So I’m heading off to Tech Ed on Thursday and more anticipated Texas the next week. Like every other time I fly I have now entered the of crap portion of my planning. I have not packed one thing and I probably won’t until the last minute. Getting to fly and going on vacations for me is quite an indulgence. I look forward to it quite a bit. This is probably one of the reasons why I don’t plan enough for it. I almost feel guilty when I spend time planning because I think I should wait to enjoy it when it is the proper time. Does it make sense? No. Kara on the other hand is much more practical and ever since we have been married has packed my bags and kept me in line. Of course I had the prestigious job of carrying the bags but that is why we make a good team. So with a few days left I have decided it is OK to pack and I better start or I will have a nervous breakdown and not be able to enjoy the flight. Why do I enjoy flying? Because I’m going business and I can relax and think to myself for 24 hours while catching all the movies that I don’t get in the states. It’s like a little pod of solitude that I get for the time period. Also the fact that I’m going to arrive somewhere new is a bonus.



Teacher Russell



I was asked by the computer teacher at the American School to give a presentation to his class about what it means to be a Software Developer. He asked me because Kara told him I would be interested in helping him get kids interested in technology. Well I did my best and I just hope I didn’t turn them away from it. I have several friends and family members who are teachers and I can not imagine what it would be like to do that job everyday. The kids were well behaved they just didn’t seem to care about what I was saying. Of course I guess I can’t expect all kids at that age to be in love with the idea of being a computer geek. That’s why you teach them.



First off I prepared a powerpoint presentation that was about an hour long. I tried to make it interactive but it is pretty intimidating when you ask a question like “Where do you see software being used” and they all just give you blank stares. Right thanks for the help. So I went through my presentation and nobody fell asleep. The second class actually had some questions. The thing that surprised me the most was how young they were. I kept on trying to tone down the presentation when I was creating it but I was thinking of non-technical adults not 15 and 16 year old kids. It was a good experience and if I’m asked back again I think I will be better prepared.

Memorial Day

It is Memorial Day in the states today and I was thinking about what that meant. For most of my life it has meant an extra day off and not much else. I ashamedly admit for many years I didn’t even know what it was for. The official holiday is to honor the men and women who died defending our country. So to them and their families I would like to say thank you. Thank you for making the sacrifices you did. It is because men and women like yourself that I am able to enjoy the freedoms and protection that I do as an American. No matter where I live, at home or abroad. So thanks.



I would also like to thank members of my family who have served in the military and chose to do a job that I chose not to. My grandfather Russell Workman, my dad Tom Lindell and my cousin John Horning who is on his way to Germany this fall. Thanks for everything.



If you want more information about Memorial Day you can visit http://www.usmemorialday.org/

Gun smoke

Gun Club



This weekend I went to the Doha gun club with some friends of mine. I was unaware that there was such a thing but a friend was in a competition so we went to watch. I have never shot skeet before but this may be a good place to get my gun fix. They are opening it up to the public in June and are trying to encourage expats to come out and use the facilities. Along with skeet shooting there is a rifle and pistol range. They are only shooting .22s but it will be enough for me to get back in practice. It’s not a fancy indoor range with an automatic arm that moves that target however far you want but I’m still excited about it. It even has a mosque on site. I don’t think you would ever see that in Texas.



Say hello to my little friend



Speaking about guns I went for a walk yesterday and passed by the embassies that are down the street from my building. I do this because I like to listen to books on tape and this way I get out of the house but I’m not completely bored. Well while I was walking I noticed the vacant lots by the embassies. The embassies are on the beach with the water coming up to their back door. I had never gone to this waters edge and thought today would be a good day. After walking to it and back up to the street I was greeted by an Egyptian embassy guard with an older automatic rifle slung over his shoulder. He signaled me to be wait a second and what appeared to be his boss rolled up in the LandCruiser. Neither one of us spoke the other’s language so there was a lot of gesturing. I didn’t think they cared if I could spell my name in Arabic or not. In the end I told them I was walking for exercise and they said “Oh, sports” I shook my head yes and they let me go. No big deal, they just wanted to know why I was down by the water. Guess I won’t go there again.



Small World



Some friends that I have known through a weird series of coincidences came in last night on a recruiting trip. It is for the PR folks so I’m not sure what exactly the job is. They are Shane and Desi Porter and I first met them while I was a fish in the Corps. They were friends with my buddy Chris and we did the whole wave thing every time we saw each other. When I worked at The Association I ended up working in the same department as Desi. Now they are coming out here for a recruiting trip. Danna who used to work at The Association was the one who prompted Desi initially but it is still funny how things work out.



I’ll be heading to Florida this Thursday and then to Texas the next week. I’m really excited to see everybody. It has been a while but in the grand scheme not all that long. I hope I don’t spend the whole time talking about my self. I have been warned by others who go back that it can happen. So that’s it for now.

Spinning a rhyme

Well after going to church tonight for some reason I was reminded of this piece I wrote a while ago. I searched through my backup hard drive and what do you know there it is. I wrote it over 5 years ago and showed it to a couple of friends but thought for some reason I would make it public tonight. No real reason but it just hit me. FYI, Kara and I were not dating at the time of this writing so keep that in mind when you read it.



Hope you like it



prodigal son



Just talking and thinking of back in the day, remembering games we used to play…



Talking about us being boys, and treating girls like they were toys…



Struggling hard feeling the drama here, last night toe up, too much, caused by fear…



What causes a brother to look for that high, its not even enough to help you get by…



It’s good for the moment then its gone, can't hit replay like with a song…



When its done you don't stay feeling good, like having candy instead of real food…



You had your choice of water to take, but you made another mistake…



In front of you sits all the joy ever known, instead we build our own worldly thrones…



Ones made of lust greed and cheap highs, but in the end you sit down and just want to cry…



Knowing the walls and idols we made, when he comes they'll do more then just fade…



They’ll be burned to ashes and rest in a pile, the only thing that could make our Lord smile…



Every dollar, every car, every girl on the side, they won't mean a thing just as empty as pride…



He gives us more then we could ever want, we just ignore where we're supposed to hunt…



Lord I thank you for I have sinned, your forgiveness is worth more then whiskey and gin…



More then jobs and the girls I look for, more then every opportunity that has walked out the door…



Lord I love you more then I can say, and every time I sin it pains me in that way…



To know your love and sacrifice, and I just treat it like the roll of the dice…



Down on my knees with my heart open wide, Lord I pray you crush this foolish pride…



Keep me solid and keep me real, keep me reminded you are stronger then steel…



I'm the prodigal son that has been so far away, yet you love me and ask me to stay…



Ragged and unworthy no more then a peasant, I only want to hear well done good and faithful servant…



To know I did your will and not my own, to know I'll kneel before your thrown…



I end this prayer asking to be strong, and the next time we talk not to be long…



Lord give me strength for the troubles I hit, Lord let me know what actions will fit…



We struggle and fight for what we think we should have, but in the end we deserve less then a half…



With you on my side I will never fall, but the first step is for me to make the call…



So I go to bed thinking of friends and my fam, resting in that you will meet me where I am…



Whether on my knees in the front pew, or passed out on a worn bar stool…



Your love is that large your love is that strong, I just don't know why it has taken me this long.

Things can change in a year

Well as I let the one year anniversary slip by of my Blog it reminded me that I have been a slacker with it and I decided I should send everybody an update to what I’m doing.



Kara has been gone visiting family and friends in the states for the past two weeks. Which means that I’m living like a bachelor, dirty, naked and starving. I’ve actually been doing OK on my own but it sue hasn’t been fun. She is helping a good friend of hers get ready for her wedding. She is also visiting with everyone she ever knew in the Houston area. I wonder if this is going to be our routine for however long we live here. I guess that is why they give us an extra two weeks of vacation each year. We’ll just take it one year at a time. It has been good to hear all about what she is doing. It sounds like she is having a lot of fun. She went to a cocktail party in Louisiana and was asked where she was from. She initially said Texas but was prompted by the groom’s mom to be more accurate and she told the group Qatar. She then explained that was in the Middle East. When she said that one guy blurted out “That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard, that is so dumb.” I really wish I could have been there to interact with this enlightened argument but I was not. I guess money doesn’t make you immune to ignorance. I may have thought the same thing myself if my only source of information on this was Fox news but I doubt that I would have ever said anything so disrespectful.



I guess it shows me how much things have changed in my mind since arriving here. I hear a comment like that and to me it’s like calling A&M a third rate country bumpkin school, Texas a state of hillbillies or teaching an easy job. You just don’t know until you’ve been there. I do complain about my host country from time to time but overall it has been a great new home for us to live. What I need to remember is people won’t and really can’t know where I’m coming from. As long as they are respectful I can tolerate that. I don’t know what life in Louisiana is like. Maybe its acceptable to make an ass out of yourself in front of complete strangers.



An Era has Passed




Well, it was fun while it lasted but I decided to put the Beast up for sale. I don’t know if it was 5th or 6th trip to the mechanic or the impending summer and its weak AC but I felt it was time for us to part ways. The last time I drove it the engine was overheating but you couldn’t tell by the broken temperature gauge. It was the rattling of the engine that gave it away. I know from experience what an engine low on oil sounds like. Thanks to my old escort that ran out of oil on a regular basis. I checked the engine and smoke was coming out of where you put the oil in but the dipstick was telling me I had plenty. I guess something wasn’t working. A $100 later it was fixed. The engine would do a couple of victory laps when I turned it off as well. That was fixed to. So I slapped a for sale sign on the window with my number and in 24 hours I had 10 calls asking to see it. The first guy wanted it to pull his boat on the weekends. I told him that would be a good use for it because it is not an everyday car. He paid the full price ($1200) and it was done. I used that money to buy Kara’s and my tickets to Germany and it was done. I was really amazed how fast it went but much more relieved.



As I followed him to the traffic department to change the title I started to get seller’s remorse. I was thinking that I was going to miss it and wondering if I really should have sold it. When we got to the traffic department the guy who bought it told me the engine was heating up but that was OK he knew how to fix it. Good for him because I didn’t have a clue. I then thought to myself “Now that’s why I sold it.”



My new not so new ride



Before I sold the beast I bought a Hyundai ’97 Galloper which is based off the Mitsubishi Pajero. Both are vehicles you probably haven’t heard of but are big on this side of the world. It was being sold by a female teacher returning home. This is important because she was selling it because she had to, she had her maintenance records and it had never been to the desert. It only has 45k miles on it. It helps that she only lives 1 mile from where she works. So I bought it for a good price and at this point I went from 0 cars that I could drive to 3 in a matter of a day. Kara left for the states, the beast was fixed and I bought this car. So I decided I didn’t need to start collecting cars and that’s when I sold the beast. I also leased the Galloper back to the teacher for her remaining stay here. It was cheaper then her going through a dealer and I didn’t need two cars until Kara got back.



John 3:3



I was walking out of the mall yesterday and a guy walked up to me and said John 3:3.



In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."



I was like well hello I’m Russell. I was wearing a BUCs (Brother’s Under Christ) Island Party T-Shirt that had a scripture on the back of it so I figured that is what had triggered his comment. We talked for a while and the guy poured out quite a bit in the first 5 minutes about his walk with God. I’m quite an introvert with people I don’t know and it amazes me to see people who can just start talking with in 30 seconds of meeting you. It turns out the guy is from Conroe about 15 minutes from where I used to live. It brought me back to running through the neighborhoods on cool spring mornings. That’s hard to forget. He’s been living here for 6 months and hasn’t found a church to go to. I got his email and told him I would connect him with the one I go to or the other predominately western expat one. You never know who you will meet when you go for shwarmas (Arabic Fast-food).