Back to Work

Monday morning came early for me today.....after traveling for nearly 24 hours on multiple plane rides, I made it back to Benghazi. This morning I woke up to rain hitting my window and the streets were nearly flooded. As I stepped out on my front door steps, the rain stopped and a rainbow appeared in the West.
I have added the picture of the rainbow to my photo collection below. Not a bad picture from my iPhone. So I thought, today is going to be a great day..........well it was not too bad. My morning meeting was short, the rain came back and flooded the parking lot at the job site. We now know where the low spots are on the site. Most of them are in places that should be the high points, so I guess we will have to push a little dirt around and get things fixed.
I brought back with me some snacks and candies to share with the gang at the office. A bag of Oreo Double Stuffs was a big hit along with a box of Abbott's Caramels. I think both items were cleaned out within minutes of me putting them in the common area. Good to know that my fellow co-workers have a sweet tooth like me.

Home in Indiana

Well the past eight days in Indy for Christmas went by so quickly that I cannot believe that it is 2011 already. True I was up for 48 hours traveling from on Dec. 22nd and 23rd from Benghazi to Tripoli to Rome to Chicago and finally to Indy. The good news is that I have another 12000 miles to add to my frequent flyer program. The bad news is, I do not know when I will be able to cash some of them in. I seem to get stuck flying different airlines all over the place.
Time home with the family was fantastic. Got to spend some time with family and friends. Charley and Jenny brought the grandbabies home for a few days from California. I had some good quality time with the whole gang. Got to spend a lot of time with Nicki and Brian too. I did not feel like I should make Carol cook at home, so we ate out a lot so that I can put some weight back on. I figured out that I have lost nearly 20 pounds in the three months that I have been in Libya. I think I put about 5 of that back on after going to Skyline Chili, Cracker Barrel and Outback Steakhouse. I needed to get my daily alottment of pork into my system before heading back to Benghazi. It is amazing what a wonderful animal the pig is. You can have pork nearly every meal and it comes in different forms (breaded tenderloins, pulled pork, bacon, spiral sliced ham and pork loin.) I was able to double up at Sahm's with a healthy chef salad that happened to have sliced ham and bacon. That hit the spot when you add in the cinnamon coffee cake on the side.

Christmas Time in Indianapolis

Christmas in Fishers is great this year. Got to see lots of family members and close friends. I think I have been able to have some pork in one form or another each day of the week. Hard to believe that it is the end of 2010 already. I will be heading back to Libya on January 1st. Can't wait to figure out how to spend more time with Carol and the rest of the family. Now I just have to do some quick calculating to figure out how many vacation days I can put together for some quality time with family.
I will update the blog when I get back to Benghazi.....until then, I hope everyone has had a very Merry Christmas and I hope 2011 will be a great one too.

Back Home Again in Indiana

Just thought I would update everyone and let you know that I made it safe and sound to Indiana on Thursday, December 23rd. It was a long day but I made it without a hitch. I was up for nearly 32 hours from the time I woke up and went to work and then caught a flight from Benghazi to Tripoli. Then I stayed up all night in order to go to the airport for my flight to Rome. The flight from Rome to Chicago was a little over ten hours in the air. I will try to update my blog later, but for now I am having too much fun with family and friends. I hope you understand that the blog will be down for a bit until I catch my breath. I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and I hope that 2011 will be a great New Year for everyone.

God's Artistic Hands

Time for a moment of reflection again. Today the Mediterranean Sea was beautiful. The waves were coming into the shore and yet the wind was blowing from the land side out to the Sea. As the waves would crash on the shore the wind blowing over the waves would make the mist linger at the top of the curl and it looked like diamonds were flying into the sky. It is hard to describe and it is even harder to figure out how God can make such beautiful scenes like that everyday. Lots and lots of people are driving by and don't see the wonders of this fantastic world that we live in. I am so lucky that I got the chance today to see His marvelous handiwork. So while I am looking at diamonds in the Sea, everyone in Indiana is looking at white diamonds shimmering in the snow. Looks like a White Christmas this year. Can't wait......

Rainy Season

I love it when I get to extend my weekend beyond a one day weekend. Yes, we had a little wind storm again at the job site, so we got to leave the job site before the trailer lifted off the ground. The wind was really whipping up on the Sea and heading right into the hotel. Someone said the winds were hitting 50 MPH. It was strong enough to make the sand from the beach come over the four lane highway and land on our sidewalks in front of the hotel. You could see white caps all the way out to the horizon.  With that type of weather we do not have a very good internet connection which then plays havoc with getting drawings uploading to the folks at the Intercontinental Hotel Group. Even though the air temperature is about 55 degrees, a wind factor of 50 MPH makes things a little chilly.

The wind had calmed down in my neighborhood, so I thought I would walk to dinner. Had a great serving of spaghetti while I watched RAW WWE wrestling. Libyans seem to like that sort of entertainment. When I left the restaurant, it started to drizzle then the sky opened up and by the time I got home,  I was soaked.  Hopefully I will not catch a cold right before I fly out to Indy next week. I will keep my fingers crossed. 

Power to the People

I mentioned in my last blog that we have been having some power outages.  The power went out last night right after I ordered my pizza for dinner. I thought to myself, “well I wonder how long this is going to take just to get a pizza. “I could see into the kitchen from where I was sitting and I was pleasantly surprised to see a gas fired brick oven. So I got to eat my pizza in the dark. Actually by candlelight. The waiters went around and put candles on everyone’s table. Now mind you, the dining area that I was eating in is the men’s restaurant. The family restaurant is upstairs and men are not allowed up there unless you have your wife or girlfriend with you. So there I was  in the men’s dining area with romantic candle-lit tables. It just did not feel right for some reason……..

On the way home, I noticed that the elementary school near my house was having their school program. Can you imagine being in the middle of your first graders concert/program and the lights go out for about an hour.

I also discovered that when the power goes out, then the electronic strike on your exterior gate tends to not work with your key. I had to call my landlord and have him let me back into my apartment. He even gave me some candles and matches in case this power issue happens more often. I asked him if these power outages are common and his immediate response was “Welcome to Libya”. So I guess so.

So if it appears that my blogs are very short in length, it is not that I am tired of typing, it is so that I can get them completed before the power goes out. Maybe I should invest in an Amish generator.