A little more from Qatar

Watched the England vs Germany disaster at the JK camp bar. There was quite a crowd in there, but there is 4 screens to choose from, and also a screen outside the bar, in the garden.
Photo shows a small section of the site still under construction. Control room is on this side of the road, to the left. That's where I was heading when this picture was taken. Things starting to get a bit busier now. I am now starting to get a little involved in system integration. Great variety of hot and cold meals on site, and on the camp, and the best thing is it's all free! So I'm starting to get more adventurous with my choice of lunches and dinners. Still keeping it healthy though. Looking forward to getting to the gym again on Friday, and maybe lying by the pool. Already booked my flights for my next six week stint in Qatar, even though I still have three more weeks to go before my two week, one and a half day break. I fly home 2AM on the Thursday morning , so should arrive home 9AM , and return to Qatar Saturday afternoon, just over two weeks later. Still waiting for my camera permit for Ras Laffan City, so obviously I did not take this picture!

End of working week

Went to Doha city centre with Jan Van Berlo last night. Had a look around a large shopping centre. Very modern, and also expensive, although you can easily barter a better deal. Drove around and admired the sky-scraper type buildings in the city. The architecture is more surreal than a set from a Tim Burton movie. Every building is taller than the last, and more bizzare. The vase shapped building in the centre of the picture illuminates the white netting pattern you can see, in a deep blue colour, at night. Impressive. Walking around at night is like walking in a oven. I thought I would not be able to bear it, but I have adapted to it quickly, and actually feel quite comfortable. Made my first visit to the gym this morning. Had my pre-gym medical first. I had already lost 4 kg since being here, and that's from just walking around, and eating healthy meals, and prior to going to the gym. After a shower my hair normally takes 2 hours to dry. I walked to the canteen and my hair was completely dry before I got there (less than 3 minutes), that's how hot it is here. Love it!

First work since going to Qatar

Wild camels couldn't drag me away! Had a good day at work today, walked down to the control room to do my first bit of work today. Still got more site inductions to do before I'm free to work in other areas. Several people are heading home for their break on Thursday, I have over four weeks before my first two week break. Time is going by quite quickly though. Hope to hit the gym on Friday and maybe catch a bit of sun. C2 induction training 09:00 in the morning. First job, configuring Alarm and Event Reports for 15 pairs of Servers.

A quick update

Oh look! A castle in the middle of the desert. We passed this interesting looking building while exploring. A bit cooler this morning (about 40 C), with a bit of a breeze. Have still got some site inductions to do before I can start any real work. There is a problem with wireless network near my room, so I can only get internet access on site, on the Honeywell network. Much hotter this afternoon. Went for a walk to the control room. Enjoying the scorching hot climate.

Day Off

For my first day off I had a lay in, to catch up on some sleep, then went to lunch at 12:00. After lunch Jan Van Berlo (friend of Johan Michelsen, who I worked with in Germany) drove me around the North coast of Qatar. I went to the beach to put my feet in the Persian Gulf water. The water was really warm and a lovely blue-green colur. We drove for hours through the desert, stopped off at a small port in the North. I was up close and personal with a camel trying to poke its snout into the car, when we stopped, and I opened the window to take some pictures of it. Unfortunately the pictures were corrupt in the camera (I think there is a problem with the SD memory, which seems to limit the number of pictures I can take. Anyway, a couple of pictures attached, the desert and me in the Gulf.

End of first working week

Picture shows Honeywell project office. There are almost 140 Honeywell people around the site. Just been for a walk around site, in the very hot sun. Waiting for my system logon to be approved, then I guess it's down to business. Getting to know a few people and how things work on site at the camp, and in Qatar in general. Got a bit of a tooth ache and gum swelling a bit, medical office have given me some gel and some Ibuprofen tablets. I Hope this gets better soon.

Forth day in Qatar

Picture shows the road I live on at the moment, with my room on the left. Very hot and humid walking down to breakfast in the mornings. Now sitting in an air conditioned Honeywell office on Shell Pearl GTL site. Completed my Control Room induction, have not been in control room yet. Got three photo passes so far; Ras Laffan City pass, Shell Pearl GTL site pass and Control Room Commissioning pass. Will have a walk to the control room this afternoon.

And we're off...

Flight to Doha was good, great service from Qatar Airways, even in Economy class. Met Ray East and Andy Green on flight. Flew over some interesting regions, in the middle east, Iraq, Iran, Persian Gulf etc. Have a very basic temporary room at the camp. Had induction and walked around local part of site. Temperature in high 40's, so uncomfortable wallking outside for too long, but air con inside all buildings. Met a few more familiar Honeywell people out hear. Jeff Ng, Manny Lines and a few others. Trying to eat healthy meals and loose a bit of weight. No internet access on camp at the moment.

One more day to go

Getting exited now about flying out to Qatar, never to be seen again! My contract is for one year, but I've heard that before. I may get back in the office by "the next" world cup finals, assuming the office is still there when I get back. Landing in Doha shown in picture added later.

Qatar trip minus 2 days

Still in Bracknell office, desk still intact. Building up and lazing around in preparation for my early Saturday morning flight to Doha. Looking forward to working out in Qatar, but not too keen on getting up at 05:00 every morning. Should be interesting though!