Well it has happened, later this month I turn sixty! That landmark will result in retiring from Saudi Aramco and returning to The Woodlands Texas. Back in the States we are gearing up for retirement by refleeting the cars (Jane got a new BMW X3 and I got a new Mercedes GLE 350) as well as updating the kitchen and bathrooms. This will keep us happy for some time and keep the large item spending to a minimum!
Every time I head back to the States I get the same question a lot -- what is life like over there. So I developed this post to give you a good idea of what the world is like. It's a day in my life, which I hope you don't find too boring, but you need to make your own excitement over here!
Every good day begins with a hot, strong cup of coffee. I use mugs that have good memories associated with them. This makes for a great start in the Middle East. This mug was purchased during one our visits to see Lauren in New York City when she was attending Joffrey Dance School. Those visits were always a lot of fun.
The next step is checking for messages. The world has definitely changed over the past five years. Early on I could only get e mail, but now I can get Internet texts in I message, what's app or a multitude of other providers. Besides, it's always nice to hear from friends and family.
There is one tradition that I really like, every day begins with a cup of coffee when you get to work (0700 no exceptions). I like the Starbucks with Benjie my favorite bartista, typically there are people sitting at all the tables but it's about fifty degrees this morning....too cold to sit out. BTW this is the best office I had in all the years at Aramco!
One of the highlights of the day is lunch, as I am sure is the case in many places. We all head off to the dining hall (that we lovingly call the slop hall for obvious reasons). The food isn't that bad, I typically get a make your own salad, lentil soup, some bread and water. 15 Saudi Reals (about four bucks). Best deal on camp ( except for the hair cut which is also 15 Saudi Reals, but downside is everyone gets the exact same haircut). Any way, after work (4:00 pm no exceptions) it's back to the old townhouse.
This evening's excitement will be a trip to the driving range. A few points of interest along the way include the golf clubhouse, the Chicos Mexican Grill overlooking the ninth green and a few shots at the driving range. Tonight's it's the six, eight iron and wedge work.
Well the day is coming to an end..... dinner is a leftover grilled salad. I have a great recipe I made up myself. You grill up some peppers, mushrooms, kale, lettuce, fennel, avocados and endive. You do have do do some prep work of cleaning the veggies, spraying lightly with olive oil and seasoning with Tony's. tonight there is a sliced steak topping to add interest. OH WAIT, there's the phone. Oh good, it's Jane, time to hear about her day.
Now that dinner is done it's time to relax and watch some television. It's a Wednesday night so we have a replay of one of the American football games on the satellite (you need to specify the type of football over here). After that perhaps an episode of one of my favorite tv shows (who doesn't like a saga that includes fights, sex and dragons).
Well that's pretty much the typical day, hope you enjoyed it! To all my Houston friends, hope to see y'all in February. Others later in the year!
Yep we will be back in the USA
