The last few weekends have given us damp cold weather so we haven't been to the trailer. Doesn't look like we're going there this weekend either with definite rain in the forecast and only a high of 11 C (which is 51.8F in American.) I'm sure that the cats would stare at us peevishly and think that we were animal torturers if we were to take them there this weekend. They are a wee bit spoiled, and like to be warm.
My friend KD was in town for a conference and a few of us managed to get together for dinner last night. It's always fun rehashing old times when we met back in Saudi and were working at the Eye Hospital. The pictures here show what my accomodations were like. It's hard to believe that I was only 27 when I arrived there. I was young, full of adventure, and everyday life was new and
exciting. Kevin reminded me of our weekend to Jubail which I hadn't thought about in years. Jubail is an Industrial Oil City, and I remember driving past miles and miles of Oil Refineries to get to their only hotel by the sea. The Eastern Provinces are much more liberal than Riyadh so it was a great weekend away with our male friends and we didn't have to worry about the religious police. There was sand, beach, turquoise water, paddle boats, speed boats. Kevin, the natural athlete wowed everybody with his water-skiing abilities. What was great about this hotel, was that Westerners and Saudis spent the weekend together harmoniously, all enjoying the weekend. We did have a 
good laugh though, recalling the Saudi women dressed completely in their black garb on the paddle boats, some even daring to go into the water with their metres of abaya floating around them in an inky mess. Very daring for them...what they must have thought of us, baring all in our bathing suits in front of men! And might I mention that the guys were wearing Speedos?!On my second night in Riyadh, Kevin had indroduced me to KD, figuring that we would like each other because of our common interest in the band Blue Rodeo. KD knocked on my door a few hours after our introduction and invited me to 'Dip Night.' She had an excellent connection at the Canadian Embassy and once a month, on a Wednesday night (the Saudi equivalent of Friday night) they would provide real booze for their expatriots. I was terribly jet-lagged but she would not take no for an answer! So, I went.
Let's just say it was my Coming Out Party. I was the new meat in town...and Boy! did I feel like Scarlett O'Hara! The ratio of men:women is probably 10:1. Being a very inexperienced 27 year old I thought I had died and gone to heaven! I have never had that many men literally at my feet wanting to get to know me. But I have to say, it was a once in a lifetime experience...it never happened again. After one week...it was all over. KD, took me around town and introduced me to many people, and of course, I had to fall for the biggest Leba-loser in the world. OK, maybe not in the whole world, but none-the-less, the biggest loser in the world that I have ever come across. But, that's a whole other story, and lets just say that after 8 years of mental abuse and immmaturity, that chapter ended. But my friendships with KD and Kevin, and a whole slew of people in England, Australia and the US have survived, and every once in a while it's really good to stir up those old memories.
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