Hez kids! <so here we are in yagreb. It's an interesting town. Not nearlz as big as I anticipated a major citz to be. Reallz it's quite rural. When mz plane landed it was seriouslz in the middle of a farm. The airport was all of 1-8 of a mile long. I walked off mz twin prop plane right up to 'immigration', thez didn't aska single questions, just stamped bz passport. I walked through the doors and boom, there's the street. No customs, nothing. Crayz!

Ok, so the kezboards here are a little different. Ha!

Now we're tzring to find a bus to take us to the coast, then we're gonnna trz some island hopping. We're also thinking of hitting Italz and Lubjulana before heading back to >Budapest.

Ciao peeps!

So. Boo friggin hoo. Sarah Brightman got SICK and was not able to sing at the graduation ceremony. I was devastated. I was SOOOO looking forward to seeing her. We DID have Andrea Bocelli. He has a lovely voice, and he's much larger in person than I ever imagined. The air was warm but there was a light breeze, and it made the evening concert spectacular. However, I was reminded just how lovely Sarah is when the fill in pretty much dropped the ball on every duet. He ended with "Time to Say Goodbye" and it just wasn't the same without her. :(

I learned the Qatar National Anthem, which isn't very catchy. The first two lines are and then it kind of gets muddled and confusing. I was up close and personal with His and Her Highness. There were also a number of high security folks present. Thabo Mbeki for example, President of South Africa. It was just weird being so close to so many people of influence. I've never even come close to seeing one of my Presidents.

This is the entire ceremony. I think you can see me for a split second at one point. The nice voice that does both Arabic and English introductions is my friend Ahmed.



In addition to the campus wide graduation each institution has it's own graduation. I attended VCU because one of my staff was graduating this year. I found 2 things very surprising during this ceremony. First, the Qatar Military Band plays bagpipes. WTF? I seriously thought someone next door was having a Scottish ball (we were at the Ritz Carlton). Yah. Anyway, the second and quite shocking moment came with the band played the Qatar National Anthem followed by the US Anthem (as it is a US school). 75% of the people in the room sat down. I never felt so incredibly awkward to be standing ALONE surrounded by Qataris who were sitting while my anthem was being played. Apparently it created quite a buz among all those that DID stand. Yeah. That's probably the first time in my life I ever felt SO out of place in a room full of hundreds of people.

He put flowers on the bed for me....



....he makes me so happy

See you in Zagreb (e:jbeatty), (e:lizabeth), (e:john)!

P.S. I have officially created a new term for any international travel involving 2 or more (e:peeps). It's called an (e:trek).

Last weekend I got to spend some real quality time with Rory. I'm not going to go into detail but, as my little extended family, you should know that the boy is a diamond in the rough. He invited me over for a quiet night in. He cooked me dinner - tofu fajitas. He actually bought me tofu! But it gets better. He served it to me alongside a crisp cool glass of DR. PEPPER!!! Liken finding Dr. Pepper here to finding some rare exotic fruit that shows up every 3rd blue moon in Buffalo that you just adore - and your significant other went out and got it for you. Seriously, I was melting. He is incredible!



Next day we went out to "Party on the Pitch", a fundraiser for the rugby club. I took on his buddy Mark in the sumo ring, and Rory and I danced to the live music. I love being outside, having a drink on a warm night, and listening to live music. ; Especially since I've been lacking it for so many months. Lately it seems ALL I do is hear live music! Ha! Anyway, enjoy the photos. Cheers!


huwaaaaaaaaaaaaa


i challenge you to mortal kombat, *slap slap*


i am the champion!


i put him out of commission


so he took it out on ian


and i drank almost an entire bottle of champagne



P.S. Feliz Cinco de Mayo! AND....Feliz Cumpleanos Jenks!!! Happy 32!