Vacations and Visas

Salaam alaykum and jadeed sana ('new year') again to everybody still reading. It's been a while since my last post and I definitely have plenty to update. Let's start with Thanksgiving.

I began my much-needed vacation heading down to Costa Rica to meet up with an old friend. I managed to have quite an airport scare before heading out though, since I was still in the visa control line at the time of our flight's scheduled departure. Luckily I wasn't alone, but the Saudis working at the booths kept randomly just leaving without being replaced. And considering our lines had moved no more than 50 feet in 2 hours, it was among the most frustrating times in my life. It was as if they were trying to keep me there.

Anyway, I did manage to fly first to Atlanta, then down to Liberia, Costa Rica. My friend and I had found some good deals on Groupon for a nice resort to stay at up in the hills. Costa Rica is a beautiful country. It's quite tropic, and very green, with rolling hills everywhere. There's a ton of agriculture as well, so we were treated to fresh fruit every morning for breakfast. We stopped quickly on our drive from the airport to grab some food, some drinks, and a lot of catching up. She had previously worked in Tunisia doing almost the same thing as me, and since we hadn't seen each other in over a year and a half, there were plenty of fantastic stories to share.

Our resort was called the Rio Celeste and considering we went at the end of the rainy season, there weren't very many other people there. It was tucked nicely into the hills very close to the Rio, which made it fairly secluded and extremely stress-free. We got in in the early evening and treated ourselves to some fine wine and as I recall, a lovely steak dinner at the hotel. Day 2 began with a nice hike through the rain forest pretty close to the hotel. It was pretty muddy walking around, but it added to the adventurous side of the trip. We trekked to some gorgeous waterfalls, forded the river Oregon Trail-style, and took a dip in some natural hot springs. There's a lot of geothermal activity there, as there are many volcanoes within driving distance. I also discovered just how comically poor my alcohol tolerance is these days, as one Long Island Iced Tea put me into rare form. Day 3 brought just a touch of sun-tanning as well as some pretty sweet spelunking, which was just about the first time I'd actually done that. Cured up my claustrophobia and one of the guys in our group basically said 'Thanks, but no thanks' about 3 minutes into the cave.

Overall, it was a much-needed adventurous, yet also relaxing vacation after a 3-month hitch in Saudi that included experiencing summer in the Kingdom, Ramadan, and then breaking breaking out as an standalone engineer. Here's a little photo recap:

This little guy made multiple (adorable) appearances



Beginning our hike



Breaking rules left and right

Las Cataratas (muy bonita)



Hot springs

Geothermal river hits normal river

Our spacious accomodation

Pre-sunburn

Spelunkers

Farewell

After Costa Rica, I headed back to the US for some awesome family and football time at Thanksgiving. It was a little strange being back in Bham, considering we no longer had a house there and it was our first holiday without grandma. But considering I missed the holidays the previous year, it was really really awesome being 'home'. I also made a football trifecta, seeing the Lions (lose), the Wolverines (win) and my high school team (win) all in person.  2 out of 3 aint bad, and considering my high school team won the state championship and the Wolverines finally knocked off our arch-rival Ohio State, I was immensely satisfied with the weekend. It was just about a perfect week, outside of the intense 24-hour flu I somehow contracted. It knocked my Tuesday-before-Thanksgiving out cold. I also decided to treat myself just a little, snagging a room at the nicest hotel in my city for the night before Thanksgiving, traditionally the biggest bar night of the year. It didnt disappoint, except for my unfortunate round 2 of the flu.


Annual pre-Lions defeat shotgun



No wonder we lost! Nickelback...



In the words of my brother-in-law: "We'd rather watch nothing!"



Finally! Victory over the Buckeyes! It only took me going through 2 years of high school, 5 years in Ann Arbor, and a year in Saudi to get it done

After a week back in the mitten, I decided it was high time I check out the family's new digs out in the land of unabashed liberalism: San Francisco. It was my first time to the city and I came away very impressed. The bay area is almost unrivaled in its natural splendor. Mountains and hills dominated the landscape, which was just about the exact opposite of our ranch back in Michigan. The weather never got more than spring jacket cold and climbed into the low 70s briefly. Not bad for the end of November. On top of that, there's an absurd amount of outdoor activities within about a 2-hour drive. I look forward to spending some time there in the future. The city itself wasn't quite as eccentric as I was expecting it, although I didnt manage to trek to the epicenter of the 1960's hippie and progressive movement, Haight-Ashbury. I suppose such a trip might've altered my perception. I loved the old trolleys and cable cars that ran through the city, so much so that mom and I grabbed a couple rides and a bus tour of downtown. Couldn't have been more of a tourist. But it worked out well, as I got to see a new part of America. I then hopped on a flight back to the Kingdom, or so I thought...



The Occupy San Fran 'people'



Chinatown



'traz



Not in any way tourists



The lovely San Francisco



Tony Bennett artwork



Atop Mt. Diablo



Landmark



Super earthquake-proof



Lombard St.

So before I left for Costa Rica, I checked with our travel dudes to make sure my Saudi visa was "still good", which I was told it was. The Emirates people at the San Francisco airport didnt really ask many questions about the visa, probably because it was half-Arabic. I flew first to Dubai with no problems, although I was eerily close to the north pole, as commercial planes are now allowed to fly up there. I even flew over Turkey and Iraq before getting to Dubai and saw Mosul, Baghdad, and Irbil from 35,000 feet. Irbil was pretty cool as the whole city, and I mean the WHOLE city, was shaped like a big circle with a huge citadel in the middle of the city.

Anyway, I got to Dubai and headed to my gate to board my flight back to Saudi. As I showed the attendant my ticket and passport, he immediately informed me that my visa was no longer valid. S.H.I.T. I called our government officer who had told me my visa was good. Well apparently it was only good if I hadn't left Saudi. Well, I did. S.H.I.T. The Emirates guys proposed me staying in Dubai and trying to get another one, but both my manager and our visa dude said I needed to proceed to Houston. S.H.I.T. I just flew halfway across the world and now I've gotta fly back. So I managed to book the next flight to Houston, which conveniently was in about 4 hours at 2am. I chilled at one of the airport lounges in Dubai and booked myself a hotel in Houston so I wouldn't have to worry about it when I arrived. And then, once again, I settled up and flew back across the world, this time crossing right over the North Pole. I was conveniently asleep however.

I got to Houston, settled into a hotel that would get me some Starwood Points, and tried to organize myself. I called our visa agent in Houston to get the ball rolling, but I quickly found out I needed to wait for our guys back in Saudi to take care of some paperwork and send it to our agent. That includes a letter of invitation into Saudi from the Saudi government and a contract. Well, considering it was a Friday (a weekend day in Saudi), I knew it wouldnt get done anytime soon, since the visa agent in Houston doesnt work on US weekends. Basically, nothing was getting done for a couple days. Luckily I have a few friends from my previous interning days in Houston that still live there. One of my buddies was nice enough to allow me to crash at his place that first weekend, where we enjoyed a hearty amount of college and NFL football.

Each day got progressively more frustrating as our visa guys back in Saudi originally sent me the files for an entirely different person. The person shared my first name, so I assumed they simply saw that and assumed it was me. That alone delayed the process a couple days. Then the visa system at the Saudi consulate shut down for about a week due to technical difficulties. That kept me in Houston for 2 weeks. Each day I would get an update saying it wouldnt be ready that day, and then would turn right around and book yet another night at the same hotel near the Galleria. When it became apparent that I wouldnt get my visa the next weekend, I took off for a little getaway to Chicago. It was awesome seeing most of my best friends and then attending my cousin's Christmas party for some quality family time as well.

I finally got my visa 2 weeks to the day that I first arrived into Houston. Knowing that I wouldn't be flying out that night (once again, it was the weekend back in Saudi), I flew out to LA to visit my brother and told the company to book me a flight from there. Saudi efficiency was on full display as they managed to first book me for a flight not from Los Angeles, but from Lagos, Nigeria. Yet another delay in my whirlwind return to the Kingdom. It worked out pretty well though as I got to spend a ton of time with my brother, who was just settling into Cali life. Finally a couple days later, I managed to hop on a flight from LA to Dubai and then Dubai to Dammam, finally settling into Saudi just after midnight on Christmas eve. I got back and quickly learned that my role in SLB was about to change.

During my (extended) vacation, I decided I was quite unsatisfied with my current career path. I really wanted to learn more. I mentioned in my year-end review that I would like to possible cross-train into another segment or get involved in some of Coiled Tubing's new technologies. And I decided I was quite sick of Saudi, specifically Khobar. A slight chip was made in that emotion when I received our new field break policy, which guaranteed me more days off. I also learned we would be changing compounds into one that had far better facillities and better management. So when I was able to meet with my manager, he gave me some much-needed good news. I was to train to become an ACTive Specialist, a role that works exclusively with Coiled Tubing's new fiber optic system. It's a big step for me, as this likely means I won't be involved in normal CT operations for our office anymore, but will run our most technical (and priciest) equipment in high-profile jobs for our clients. It was a little surprising, but I got very excited at the prospect of dealing with new equipment with an ever-growing portfolio of services. Basically we use fiber optics to control our downhole tools, which gives us some of the same powers as our wireline segment. The added benefits are that we can still pump and can reach into deeper and more horizontal wells. Pretty sweet stuff.

So as 2011 came to a close, I had to dwell a little bit on what I'd learned and what had happened. I've certainly become pretty comfortable in the Middle East. Daily life is certainly very different (food, language, sights, stresses), but in many ways its still the same. I've gotten better at dealing with people of different cultures and I can manage my time a lot better. I've tried to cut out the bullshit, which has certainly helped. I have a much better picture of where I stand in my career, excelling at our operational school, breaking out as a standalone engineer, and now studying our new technologies.

I managed to travel to 4 new countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Bahrain (sort of), and Costa Rica. Got to meet a lot of cool and interesting people along the way. I managed to climb a mountain for the first time in my life. For the first time I also lost someone who I was really close to (grandma). I've developed far more complex opinions on the world around me and topics like religion, love, and happiness. This year really made me aware of just how much I love my friends and family though. Being away from them for long periods of time apparently was the only way that was going to happen. Their support was vital to me remaining sane (or close) while working abroad, and I can't thank everybody enough.

Looking forward into 2012, I expect a pretty interesting year. I'm currently in Abu Dhabi learning our ACTive technologies and I've got weekend trips to Dubai and Oman planned. I'll be going back to Oklahoma in March for the coiled tubing's technical school. The summer is shaping up to be a big one, with my brother's bachelor party in Vegas and wedding in Chicago, and potentially a trip to Turkey and/or Russia. I think I want to try to actually conquer the 7 summits, which are the highest mountains on each continent. Mount Elbrus in southwestern Russia is generally considered the highest mountain in Europe, although its kind of half-Euro, half-Asian. So we'll see what develops. I should break out as a standalone ACTive Specialist in the first half of this year and then the second half of 2012 is completely open. Whatever happens I'll be sure to try to experience life to the fullest and I look forward to sharing it with all of you!

Ma'salama

The Culinary Kingdom

I know what you're thinking. Is it a Middle Eastern tradition to have the non-Arabs of the meal don absolutely minimal clothing while exposing their nether-regions to the home court team? Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding 'no,' and alas I'm actually wearing shorts in this picture.  However, this provides me a window of opportunity to describe an extremely important daily part of Arab culture: eating.

During my time back in the states, I got two distinctly different questions always asked of me: "do you feel safe?" and "how's the food?" I can happily inform everyone that I do in fact feel safe, even if every time I walk into a restaurant, each distinct pair of pupils finds their way to my face and then refuses to turn away unless I reciprocate with an evil and imperialistic glare. As far as the cuisine goes, the food certainly varies, but the variety, the flavor, and most importantly, the company, always makes dining a fun experience.

First, the setting. Every traditional Arab restaurant (which means essentially everywhere in Saudi) will have areas where you can choose to eat on the floor. Large rugs are placed on tiled floor and all customers remove their shoes before sitting down cross-legged or on your side. There are small pillows to rest your elbows on if you decide to recline Roman-style. Below you can see our crew seated both ways at a Syrian restaurant in Safaniya:

However, if formal dining isn't an option, we resort to much more simplistic means of displaying and arranging our grub, such as setting cardboard and plastic on the floor and eating in a circle. Like here below:

Manners: As I said, everyone is seated or laying down (or maybe on one knee?), but make sure you don't point the bottom of your feet directly or annoyingly at someone else, because to direct the bottom of your foot at another is a big insult in the Arab world. Remember when that guy threw his shoe at Bush? Same thing. So don't give everyone at the table a glimpse of your warts or calloused arches. Anywho, it's customary to begin every meal by saying "bismallah," which I think means 'Thank God' or something close to that and it's essentially the Muslim version of 'grace.' Also, most Arabic meals involve eating with your hands (I know I've discussed it before, but whatever, get over it). This isn't the case in less traditional places like Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, or even in Oman and Algeria, where there's both strong traditional presences and more modern philosophies. However, if eating with your hands is the way to go, you always eat with your right hand, as the left is meant for ummm, well let's just say more...'hygienic' uses. Everyone generally digs in at the same time, grabs food from each other, and even grabs food for each other, passing around pieces of chicken or peppers or lemon. At the conclusion of the meal, it's customary to say 'alhum-duleelah' which also means 'thanks be to God.' It's an indication that you are completely finished.

Cuisine: the most common authentically 'Saudi' food is undoubtedly kebsa. Kebsa is their greasy rice that is kind of marinated/flavored with chicken oils. It's actually pretty delicious and is always served smoking hot. Saudis will eat either meat (laham) or chicken (di-jej) with kebsa. Most places only have average kebsa, but occasionally you can find delicious meat to go with the kebsa and even enjoy eating it for multiple days in a row, as some Saudis could probably eat it everyday for eternity.

Kebsa

However, should you venture outside of the traditional Saudi diet, there are plenty of other gastronomic sensations in the region that will leave your palate satisfied. This includes Syrian food, whose mixed barbecue has become my favorite food. It includes kebobs of beef, lamb, and chicken and delicious sauces that ease the swallowing procedure. There are spicy sauces akin to salsa or even the classical mediterranean side of hummus.

The delicious mixed barbecue of Syria

Breakfast is generally not a large meal in the Arab world, however I've come across some impressive and tasty morning concoctions. Most breakfasts (and lunches and dinners) will involve khubz, which is a light and pancake sized flatbread. Some of my favorite sides to go with the khubz are kebda (liver) and sharshooka (eggs). I was quite hesitant to dabble in cow liver, but kebda with sauce actually goes decently with bread. There is also ful (pronounced like full) which is a pasty bean dip, but is far different than a mexican-styled dip. Not spicy at all, but still full of flavor. Here's a layout of the various breakfast items:

Kebda (bottom left), ful (middle) and sharshooka (top left)

Another favorite treat that can go with breakfast is a banana-mashed pudding called 'mar-soop' which is actually a Yemeni delicacy. It is quite sugary, but also is a perfect ending to any Arab breakfast.

Mmmmm, marsoop

And finally, I would be doing a disservice to Saudi if I didn't mention a bit about seafood. As I believe I mentioned in earlier posts, the Qatif area has been the site of some of the few protests in Saudi since the onset of the Arab Spring. While there is still ongoing unrest in one of the cities close to Qatif, there is something even more powerful than their spirit: their fish. Fishing is a huge part of the economy in Qatif, as there are hundreds of fishing boats every day that take off and get fairly sizable catches. There are streetside vendors all over selling the day's catch. We eventually stopped and snatched up a healthy sized fish (I apologize for completely forgetting the name), and afterwards took it to a restaurant and had them cook it for us. It ended up being half the price of just buying the whole thing at the restaurant. But here's the before and after shots.

The catch

The amazing conclusion

In other news, I've managed to finally 'break out' as an engineer, so I've been bestowed with more far-reaching responsibilities and even further financial compensation. In this hitch (which has lasted longer than Kardashian's marriage), I've learned a little more Arabic and a lot more about Islam considering I've witnessed their two big holidays, the Eid's. I've also had guys tell me they think the Jews caused 9/11, that my family should arrange a marriage for me, that they've witnessed public executions, and that one poor Malaysian engineer was almost forcibly raped by one of our clients. The oilfield can apparently be a pretty crazy place. Luckily I'm getting out for a couple weeks of much needed r&r (Thanksgiving in the mitten, here I come!).

Until next time...

In the Middle...of the Gulf!

I've decided the oilfield is quite ridiculous in terms of its efficiency. For how fast things move, there's still a tremendous amount of down time as well. I was told to get my things prepared to go offshore for the first time a couple weeks ago, and when I got to our base near the port and the airport, we were told the job was cancelled. Back to Khobar. Shit, there's not room in the SUV because I wasn't booked for a return trip! So alas, I was stuck in a city called Khafji for a couple days awaiting orders. I was lucky enough to be booked into a nice hotel with super fast internet and comfortable beds. I then learned that the job was not cancelled, and that I needed to get all my offshore passes and laptop passes in order and take the boat on a 7 hour trip out to the middle of the Persian Gulf. Sadly, my helicopter experience would have to wait. However, I ended up going to a rig right on the shared maritime border of Iran, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. There were even military cruisers patrolling the waters!

Anyway, I got about 4 hours of sleep on the boat and woke up to a beautiful sunrise on the Gulf. I sat outside and watched until the massive rig began to appear over the horizon. It was just like the ones I'd seen on tv, although not quite as huge as the one from Armageddon or Transocean's Horizon that blew up and sank in the Gulf of Mexico last year. As we pulled up to the rig, it still looked pretty intimidating. I saw they began to lower the small man-basket that they would use to pick me and my bags up from the boat and onto the platform. It was a really fun little ride because you actually stand on the lower rim and hold on from the outside of the netting, rather than on the inside.  I got up to the deck and naturally the rig guys were giving me a hard time because they could tell I'd never done that before. That type of lifting is actually outlawed in a lot of places around the world, where the chopper is the only way to get to the rig, so I feel lucky that sometimes in Saudi, anything goes! After a quick safety meeting, I managed to walk around in circles trying to find my room and the mess hall. I met up with our supervisor and found out we would be stand-by because they needed to do some additional testing and flaring.

The accomodations on the rig were pretty nice. They had a small theater room with an HD big screen tv and LA-Z-Boys. They remarkably had wireless internet connection in the mess hall and the theater room. They had fresh fruit and bread everyday. Apparently they had a workout facility, but I swear I tore the place apart looking for it and came up empty. Being offshore felt a lot like a combination of cruise ship and aircraft carrier. I had to duck a couple times to get from room to room and every door is sealed, similar to submarines. They also had strict rules about photography, but I managed to sneak a few in with the Blackberry. After about a day, I got quite bored, considering once you've read all the news and facebook, there's just not a lot to do offshore if you're not working. I did cave to a newfound guilty pleasure of mine and actually watched the first Twilight movie. Ya, it was awesome, not gonna lie. Thank God after 3 days we finally got orders to rig down our equipment and head out. Unfortunately, the only way off the rig was via the boat and the first boat's cargo area was full, so the rest of the crew got on that first boat and left me behind with our equipment. So a day later, I loaded our equipment on the next boat and shipped out back to Khafji.

Since that first stint offshore, I've gone back to our rigless operations, where I've continued to learn and have also been forced to be more assertive everyday. The supervisors have given me more responsibilities and the expectations continue to grow every week. And most of it is really just coordinating all the crews, all the third-parties we use, and keeping in contact with our office and our client to update everyone on job progress. I found out that soon I'll be going back to where I spent most of my 'pre-school,' a place called Manifa where we have some of our biggest jobs. I know our first job is in a well 31,000 feet deep, which I'm told is the deepest that Coiled Tubing has been run. Ever. Should be a tremendous challenge, and hopefully I'll 'break out' as a stand-alone engineer there. Either way, I'll be sure to keep you all informed!

Ma'salama!

Hilarious warning

Hotel room in Khafji. Fastest internet in Saudi

I thought the porters on Kilimanjaro carried a lot

Ha

Sunrise on the Persian Gulf

First caught sight of the rig

Still intimidating

This is what we call a 'jack-up' rig. Usually used in shallower waters

That little orange basket below the platform was my transportation

Flaring is always cool

Sometimes it felt like a naval shipyard

One of the three 'jacks' that support the rig

Loading our equipment

The rig floor

Kuwaiti Navy keeping watch

Adios first offshore trip

Back in Khafji

Going to Qatif

Camels naturally blocking the road

False advertising

Standard Want-Ad in the Arab News

Found this little guy under our unit

Walking around Jubail

The crew 

Rami conquered the fountain

Hussain feeding the camel

I had to get a closer look

Wasn't sure if it was going to spit on me or kiss me or bite me

I think he liked me

Literally, the 'Yacht Restaurant'

In the Middle...of Ramadan!

Salaam alaykum again to all. I've returned to the Kingdom and things are moving as fast as ever, although it took me a healthy 3 hours to get through customs at the airport in Dammam. As I got back to my place at about midnight, I quickly discovered it is hot all the time here. If you merely stand outside, you will start sweating everywhere, regardless of what you wear. The air is very thick and weighs down at all times, and that's only at night. Daytime is unfortunately worse. Walking around even for 10 minutes in the yard, and I was dripping, and it was only about 110, but with limited humidity. One of my supervisors told me a disturbing tale from one of his experiences in Udhailiyah, where we have another SLB base. During summer a couple years ago, he casually gazed at a thermometer and discovered it was a lovely 65 degrees out. Lets clarify: that isn't 65 degrees Fahrenheit, it's 65 celsius. Let's do some quick math: 65*1.8 = 117. Ah! 117! Holy shit that's hot. Oops, forgot about the other end of the formula: 117+32 = 149. 149 degrees outside! Yes, it was closer to water's boiling point than it was to room temperature outside. Sometimes I wonder why people chose to exist here for centuries. The place was in a location known as the Arabic translation for 'Hell.' He said he took off his helmet (which provides some shade) for a mere 2 minutes and his nose started bleeding and he nearly fainted. Luckily I haven't been close to that temperature yet, but you never know.

I also quickly learned about Ramadan. Working during it sucks, which is why nearly everybody tries to get vacation during it. The fasting lasts from roughly 3:40am until 6:30 at night (sunrise to sunset). Therefore, working during dayshift is tremendously difficult because the lack of nutrition is exacerbated by the immense heat. Guys at the base get to go home at 1pm to go sleep before awaking just before the Iftar, which is the meal that 'breaks the fast.' These are usually large family events with great feasts and are followed by evening prayers. There's also very few places open during these times. The prayers last about an hour during Ramadan, which is about 45 minutes longer than normal, so sometimes actually getting food from 6:30 until about 9pm for those without large Iftar feasts can be difficult. I learned that the non-Muslims generally do any eating and drinking completely in secret, mainly because it's prohibited in public. I kinda went back and forth on whether to try to actually do the fasting as my co-workers do, both as a personal challenge and to develop some empathy for those I work with. I lasted about 2 days. Maybe I'll try next year, especially since one of the American guys I work with said he was able to fast for all of Ramadan a couple years ago, although it was almost a month later in the calendar. So I'm actually more impressed that the guys are able to do it for an entire month, especially considering the working environment. It says something about the dedication to their religion, their extreme self-discipline, and their desire for spiritual cleansing as well. One of the guys stopped a conversation we were having because it started to get a little too 'impure.' At first I was a little pissed off, but I have to say I respect the fact that he was willing to stand by the values to which Muslims are asked to return during Ramadan.

To give you an idea my first week back in Saudi, I got into my apartment Monday night at about midnight, had Tuesday in the office, spent Tuesday night breaking the fast with one of our drivers (he was repaying me for transporting some dates back to America to send to his niece, who lived in Pennsylvania), and then about 3 hours in the office Wednesday before the boss said I was needed on night-shift in nearby Qatif. That night I shared an outdoor Iftar meal with the crew on a large rug they laid out and had some delicious rice and chicken (eaten only using hands of course), sambusa (think 'empanada'), and laban, which has the consistency of milk, but tastes like cream cheese. I was also dripping sweat by the end of it, since the humidity picks up as the sun goes down. That first shift working outside was one of the hardest things I've done in a long time. My boots literally felt like I'd walked across a river. Just drenched with sweat. I probably chugged 5 or 6 bottles of water and found any time I could to spend in the air-conditioned cabin we have on jobs. Luckily the humidity seemed to die down by about 2am, which is when we had our next and final meal. I made sure I purchased an unnatural quantity of UnderArmour HeatGear products before I went back to Saudi, but the verdict is still out on whether they help as much as needed. They certainly absorb a lot of your sweat and that keeps you cooler, especially if there's a breeze, but ironically the moment you step into A/C, you become freezing cold. Interesting predicament.

Anyway, after a couple days out in Qatif, I got the call to go offshore. This was very exciting for me, since it's certainly a unique experience, and also way more difficult than land jobs. I packed up my gear, and headed to our base in Khafji, which is also the jumping off point for rigs in the northern part of Saudi. It's only about 100km from Kuwait. Unfortunately, literally as we were pulling into the base, the supervisor I went with got the call that the job was canceled. Shit, waste of 5 hours of driving. Worst yet, there wasn't room on the transport going back to Khobar, so I got lucky enough to just 'hang out' in Khafji alone for a day. I'm currently in a hotel in Khafji, but I did get another call saying that they had a new job offshore and I'm to leave tomorrow. So, all in all, I just basically had a day off, and I'm looking forward to my first offshore experience and my first helicopter ride! I know I won't have phone or internet signal, so hopefully the job won't last too long. I also won't be able to take pictures, but I'll try to get some aerial shots with my phone from the chopper ride in.

Hopefully I'll be able to have some interesting tales for my next post!