I am the QUEEN of dvd slideshows! Honk-honk. I just made the most spectacular show for my graduation ceremony. I wish I could have made it a short film of about 30 minutes but I was limited to 10. Hey, I have to tell myself I'm proud of my hard work, no one else will :)

T-minus 46 hours til graduation. Hallelujah!

I drafted this great entry yesterday but as we have all experienced at one point, it went POOF. So...this is the short-short version.

My flight from Doha was delayed 1.5 hours. I had been awake 26 hours when it left. I arrived in Berlin late, obviously. They already closed check-in and the woman was accusing me of suspicious activity. She claimed I landed on time. After much fuss and interogation (not kidding) they allowed me to board.

My heart sank when I walked on a fucking 737-300! Basically, that's 3 seats, isle, 3 seats. The kind of plane you take domestically. I wanted to cry when the pilot said it would take us 9 hours to get to New York. U.S. immigration hassled me about being in the middle east. He felt almost hostile.

I suffered the most intense deep vein thrombosis I've ever experienced in my life. My legs were swollen from the knee down. I had no ankles and my toes looked like little vienna sausages. I'm glad to be home!

Without further ado, some photos of my adventure.


my hotel room was snazzy


their version of toilet paper
actually quite refreshing when you have to number 2


didn't even notice this until day 2, it points to mecca


potential supervisor, funny as hell this guy!


view from my window


preparing for my presentation


wearing this! proof of my incredible interview outfit


this is the bigger version of the lecture hall i was in


everything is under construction, this will be the new graduation and ceremonies center


traffic is a bear but not as bad as cairo


i did a double take at this sign


another potential supervisor


skyline at night


potential co-worker


another potential co-worker


doha recently hosted the asian games and built all these structures for it, now they are taking them down, what a waste


how very dr. seuss, apparently the largest 'crooked' buildings in the world


sailing is big there


met up with my aunt and uncle for dinner


the beaches are beautiful

Yah, I said my happies to Jenks but it slipped my mind that cinco is also Codypomeray's b-day! You know I would have texted you if I was in the country :)

So I just reviewed my journal from this time last year. It's amazing. I remember being that shadow of a person, trapped within myself. I'm not all better, but I am much better. Look at me now for Pete's sake. I'm sitting in a posh hotel in freaking Doha, Qatar!

You really don't know what is around the next corner in your life. You shouldn't take people for granted, you should appreciate each day - shitty or grand, you should take the time to tell someone what they mean to you. It's not all sentimental feelings, I don't do that anymore. I just remember thinking as my plane took off from the Buffalo airport that if I am offered this job (I will take it) I will be away from the things I know here.

I don't get homesick. I adapt very easily to new environments and make friends easily. What I'm really thinking about here is what I will mean to you when I'm gone. Will you think of me at all? Will you forget about me because I'm not around? Will you miss me? Or will life simply carry on as if I had never been there at all? I will return. It will not be 'good-bye'. It will be 'till we meet again'.

Enough of that. Let me tell you my luggage finally arrived tonight! Safe and sound. They found it somewhere in the world and shipped it via Air-France. Qatar Airways says they will reimburse me $100 for the clothes I had to buy. I hope it's true! Tomorrow will be my last day for interviews, then it's time to explore more of Doha. I will also connect with my Aunt and Uncle that just moved here.

Oh! Remember last post how I talked about meeting 3 people that had gone to school in Buffalo? Today I had an interview with all of the RA's, and one of them actually attended Texas A&M Univ- Corpus Christi!!! My God this world really is small! Amazing.

Sleep well my fellow strippers, I shall see you in a few days. I think it is near time for a party. I think the 333 will be hosting one first week of June. Keep your calendars open!

Ciao- LC

I got up this morning, still no bath water. So I took a sponge bath out of the sink. Couldn't wash my hair but I still don't have a comb anyway...

I wrapped my stinky shirt around one of these scented soaps so that it would act as a perfume. It helped a little. I must say I was looking quite stylish in my black suit, grey shirt, white socks and blue crocs. Oh yes, I did.

We checked on my luggage and found out that Paris doesn't actually have it. In fact, it is 'missing' altogether. They can't seem to track it down, even though we live in the modern age of bar codes and scanners. It's entertaining really.

I've been able to make a great impression on everyone regardless of the threads. I made my power point presentation, 15 minutes on the nose! I didn't realize I would be presenting in a high-tech lecture hall, complete with an audience of 20! Yah, can't lie, I was nervous. Then they questioned me for an additional 30 minutes.

I had to take a tour of Education City, walking for many parts of it. Remember, I'm wearing a black polyester suit. It was 106 today. Mmhmm. I sweated like a prostitute in church.

In light of my dissapearing luggage act Kristin took me shopping to find replacements for tomorrow's interviews. She also gave me a pair of flip flops.

We went out to dinner at a place that reminded me so much of Sahara Grill. The instant they opened the door I smelled it. That delicious and sweet scent that only the hookah can produce. Oh yaaaah. I had a new drink, lemonade with mint. Refreshing.

I finally got back to my room around 9pm. The water was on! I'm all clean, have fresh clothes to wear tomorrow and am no longer nervous because that presentation is over. Woot!

The people here are so incredibly friendly!! And if you want to know just how small our world really is...I met not one, not two, but three....THREE people, not Americans, who attended school in Buffalo! :O

Ok, it's 10pm, I am thuroughly exhausted and I have another 8am breakfast meeting. In other words, I'm outie.

Ciao, timika