1 week down, 77 to go

The first week has come and gone and after that it appears that there will be enough to keep a person busy here. Mostly I’ve just been working a bunch… The work week is Saturday to Thursday, and I’m at 5am to get ready for the day. I head to breakfast at 5:45 for half an hour of your standard breakfast buffet with an Egyptian twist, then onto the bus which leaves at 6:15 to head to site where I start work at 6:30. Saturday to Wednesdays are 10 hour days plus an hour lunch, which means we leave site at 5:30. Some days I’ve worked 12 hours until 7:30, those have been tough but so far there’s only been two… Thursdays are half days, of which I’ve only had one, and I spent it warming up for a golf tournament put on by KBR on my first Friday off. It was a stableford style tournament and I may have underestimated my handicap because I came in 2nd. I still maintain it was a good day… On the Thursday I shot a 98 (shut up), but on tournament day I pulled in an 85. I gave myself a 19 handicap which means I ended up with 42 points, good enough for 2nd place and bragging rights at work the next day.

Everyday work evenings have been filled with a mix of working out, the driving range, squash, ping pong, sheesha, and a bit of shooting this shit at the pub. So far I’ve stuck mostly to the hotel my villa is at, but there are 2 others within the “complex”. I hear there’s a better a gym and some different restaurants to visit but I’m not sick enough of the ones at mine yet.

Last week I had to make a trip to Cairo for an HIV test… that was an experience. First off, Cairo is crazy. Not as crazy as Vietnam, but crazy in a Muslim Egyptian way. Cairo is a little dirty, too busy, polluted, hazy, old, chaotic, and pretty damn cool. It’s definitely something to see, but the clean streets of Brisbane and Calgary got it beat. But what can you expect from the area known as the beginning of civilization.

The hotel set-up is alright… I stay in a villa away from the main hotel. The villa is made up of 6 units over 2 floors and it’s an alright set-up. It’s a decent size with a good shower and a king size bed. Actually the bed is two singles pushed together so it’s not really a king size, so it sort of sucks come to think of it. The main complaint about the living arrangements is the fact there is no internet in our rooms, so I have to come to the main hotel to blog and surf… This is why I haven’t been as connected as in the past, but that just means you’re not as bored reading this.

Hah! Well, I’m off to play some pong.