Little Blue Pills & "Bacon" Made Out Of What???

Last night, I learned what happens when one gets too cocky----One doesn't get to sleep until 4 in the morning, and that was with the help of a lovely blue pill. There I was, thinking I'm pretty much over my jet-lag and enjoying the fact that I don't have to wake up early on Saturday morning. I surf the net a little, watched my recently purchased "New Moon", and then proceeded to finally go to bed around 12:30am. I figure I'll read a little and go to sleep. I should've known. I'm currently reading Eclipse, the third book in the Twilight series and anyone who's read them knows that if I'm just begining to read at 12:30 am, I most likely won't be done for a while. That is, unless I have an uncanny ability to stop reading when it's gettin crazy-good. But I don't. So I was up for a while. Till 2:15, in fact. Now this isn't terrible since I can sleep in, but I'm still adjusting to the time change and it's not good for me to stay up so late when the next night, I have to be to bed early. Well not only did I not put down my book till 2:15, I also thought I was adjusting so well that I didn't need my little blue pills anymore. (Our HR person had JUST finished telling us that the 4th and 5th night, this night, would be the hardest to fall/stay asleep. I apparently didn't think I needed to worry.)  I bet ya'll know what happened...yup! I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 2 hrs later. For those of you who aren't wizzes at math, that's 4:15 am. Nothing like throwing off your sleep schedule just when it's begining to look normal. Even though I knew it wasn't the best idea, I HAD to get to sleep, so I pop my Tylenol PM at this early hour and was still "hungover", peeling myself out of bed at a little after 11am today. Teacher says: lesson learned.

After that somewhat rocky start to my day, it had no where to go but up. And it did! Today was the day the school arranged for us to go to the InterConn Hotel & Resort (fyi-I almost typed "hotel and casino" out of habit just then) on the shoreline of Doha. The pics are on facebook, but they don't do it justice. It was AMAZING! Great beaches, beautiful pools, comfy lounge chairs, SWIM UP BAR...just what the doctor ordered. It was a bit of a let down though to step into the Persian Gulf for the first time and feel like I was actually taking a bath instead. The water was insanely warm! I only swam for a few minutes because it was also insane hot outside and I needed to cool off. It was so much fun getting to know the old and new staff in such a casual setting. They were there with their familes just relaxing and having a great time. I got to see some of the swimwear that more traditional Muslim women wear. If you've seen Sex in the City 2, then you've seen it. If not, it looks like a really loose, really light and flimsy surfer suit. Covers from the ankles up to the neck. Some friends and I sat down to get some food and walking to the little bar/restaurant cabana (I guess that's what you'd call it), we noticed that one of the cabanas was-get ready for this- actually a STARBUCKS! I couldn't belive it! If you look at the pictures on my facebook page, look for the cabana with the typical "Starbuck's green" umbrellas and you'll see it. Crazy. It was also funny to see a burger on the menu complete with cheese and "beef bacon". I was curious to see what it tasted like, but not enough to order it. My chicken wrap was excellent though :)

That's all for today. I popped some PM before I started to write this blog and it's taking effect. Tomorrow it's back to the grindstone because here, my week starts on Sunday and ends on Thursday. (Muslim Holy Day is on Friday. It's a fabulous time to drive since no one's on the road.) I'm still not used to it. This will be a busy week as I continue with all kinds of training, finally meet with my team members, and get my room ready. It's exciting but also crazy to think that school starts in just a little over a week, so keep those prayers comin'!