A few other shots from my surprise visit home this winter


I hid in a giant box to surprise my sister


hugs


my nephew can now run around and say 'uh-oh'


i played uno with bambi, she's a real card shark


i got my dad and brother 'gudtras' for christmas


a ton of soft balls for my nephew


and a personal sized hookah for carey


i didn't realize they keep the fountain running in mirror lake (at forest lawn) during winter


i think this one is pretty

feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, come on peeps, it's torpedo time!


down the hatch


(e:vincent) and (e:theecarey)


ball dropping master (e:paul)


the countdown


(e:metalpeter) tag team


(e:matthew) excitedly discussing education of little people


climbed to the rooftop via secret hatch, which exhausted (e:terry)


and made (e:kookcity2000) want to sing


i ripped a giant hole in my sweatshirt so had a little help climbing back down to avoid further wardrobe fatalities


Several peeps turned out of a last minute goodbye dinner at JP Bullfeathers. Just prior to it, (e:leetee) did my hair. I was in desperate need of a trim and fresh colour. Thank you everyone for coming out. I enjoyed the beer and company very much!


good times


the gel looked like pumpkin snot


guests (e:drew) and (e:janelle) left too soon for the group shot


as did (e:libertad)


the gang (and yes we're squatting to fit the photo)

I was going to post my new year photos but this is much more important. Mark your calendars folks, today in Doha, it RAINED. It rained ALL DAY LONG!!! I was so excited. I just stood out there looking toward the heavens letting it fall gently on my face. It's the very first day in my 7 months in Doha that I didn't have to wear my sunglasses.


my car is relatively clean now


this is why i had to buy a 4x4. this is an example of a road 'diversion'. they simply close the road where they need to do work and let you off road around it.

So the sandstorm lasted quite a while. Take a look at my car (sorry, she hasn't revealed her name to me yet).



I've been on duty since the night I returned. Thankfully most students are still away on vacations so it's pretty quiet. It's also very cool outside! We're between 60-70 now that 'winter' has officially blown in with the northern winds. People here are bundled up like north pole expeditioners!

I'm just wrapping up Zelda: Twilight Princess. In the beginning I honestly didn't like the idea of running around as a wolf, but it got better once you could transform at will. Just going round collecting all the hearts and bugs for extra padding before I meet the big boss.

I've also been using my down time to GREATLY enjoy watching La Femme Nikita, as in the tv show that used to air on USA. I loved that show so much, hence my code name Nikita for all spy missions. I finally own the entire series and I vowed to wait until I did before I began watching any of them, so I could enjoy weeks of unending joy. Weeks of espionage, betrayal, treason, 'cancellations', psychological warfare, and of course, the beautiful Michael played by Roy Dupuis. Mmmm.

Just desserts everyone, karma likes it sweet!

After a 1 hour delay in Buffalo, a 6 hour layover in D.C., a 12 hour plane ride, and 2 hours waiting for luggage that didn't come...I'm home. I arrived safely in Doha this evening and was greeted with my first major sand storm. It's crazy out there!

I promise I'll post photos soon and write much more but I'm exhausted and really want to sleep. Happy New Year everyone, it was so wonderful to see you :)