I just watched the sunset outside the Dhahran International Hotel in Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. If you are wondering what in the world is Mark doing there, that's a great question! Almost 5 months ago I was offered a one-year contract as a technical writer with Saudi Aramco, the world's largest energy producer.
After a lot of discussion and consideration, Dana and I decided that something like this doesn't fall in your lap every day, and it must have dropped on us for a good reason, so I accepted the offer. Finally, all the pieces came together and I arrived a few days ago, tired but in good spirits and ready for this crazy adventure.
Dana, God bless her, is holding down the fort at home, and has a busy summer of weddings to shoot without me, starting yesterday! She has some terrific guest help to take my place, but while I am sad to miss some wonderful weddings this year, I am very proud of her for tackling such a task. She's a gifted photographer and I can't wait to see the weddings to come!!
So this blog will be about my trip, what I see and do, and occasionally something about what I think! It's going to be busy to start, because it was a fascinating trip! At some point I'm going to get settled into a routine and there's not going to be much of interest to post. But there will be some moments, I think, that will be intriguing to describe, so keep your ear out.
For now, I'll start when I started, just a few days ago in Fayetteville, Arkansas! Tuesday April 9th was going to be my well-organized, simple day of wrapping up all my preparations and packing. I hoped to have it all done in time to spend the evening with my honey, then get up in the morning for a nice brunch before heading to the airport for my 2:45 flight to Chicago. It's always nice to have a plan, but it's even better to know when your plan isn't working and toss it out the window!
Tuesday turned into a blizzard of activity with work that didn't quite get done, unexpected errands and last last last minute shopping, some last minute training for Dana on one of the tasks I usually do, and some other very important chores. It was 9 p.m. before I even started packing. Fortunately, Dana and Darby were there and willing to help any way they could to get me ready. So I gave them both many things to do, and am so thankful for their efforts, and I went about gathering and packing and stuffing and loading all my stuff into two bags and a backpack (thanks Stephen - great choice!!).
By 1 a.m. we had it complete to the point I could finish it in the morning. The morning was a blur of an appointment and several errands, then back home to wrap up the packing and close up the bags. My planned nice brunch morphed into a banana for breakfast and no time for lunch, but Dana made sure I had something that would carry me through the afternoon. So we loaded the bags, I told Dex to be a good boy and obey Dana, we picked up Darby on the other side of town and headed to the airport as the temperature dropped into the upper 30s and a massive storm system moved into the area!
As expected, all the flights into and out of XNA were delayed by the weather, so we were able to spend an extra 45 minutes together before I went through security.
Finally, though, it was time to go and we hugged and kissed, then waved as I finished the security exam and headed down to the gate. I didn't know it would be almost 2 more hours before my flight left, after watching the storm pound across the airfield, and getting a texted picture from Darby of the hail so heavy they had to stop on the way home!
Finally, though, they made one announcement that the flight was preparing for immediate departure! The captain came on and said we had a short window of opportunity to get on our way, and in less that 10 minutes we were loaded, started, and airborne on the way to Chicago!!
Thanks for reading so far! Check back soon for the next leg of the trip!!
After a lot of discussion and consideration, Dana and I decided that something like this doesn't fall in your lap every day, and it must have dropped on us for a good reason, so I accepted the offer. Finally, all the pieces came together and I arrived a few days ago, tired but in good spirits and ready for this crazy adventure.
Dana, God bless her, is holding down the fort at home, and has a busy summer of weddings to shoot without me, starting yesterday! She has some terrific guest help to take my place, but while I am sad to miss some wonderful weddings this year, I am very proud of her for tackling such a task. She's a gifted photographer and I can't wait to see the weddings to come!!
So this blog will be about my trip, what I see and do, and occasionally something about what I think! It's going to be busy to start, because it was a fascinating trip! At some point I'm going to get settled into a routine and there's not going to be much of interest to post. But there will be some moments, I think, that will be intriguing to describe, so keep your ear out.
For now, I'll start when I started, just a few days ago in Fayetteville, Arkansas! Tuesday April 9th was going to be my well-organized, simple day of wrapping up all my preparations and packing. I hoped to have it all done in time to spend the evening with my honey, then get up in the morning for a nice brunch before heading to the airport for my 2:45 flight to Chicago. It's always nice to have a plan, but it's even better to know when your plan isn't working and toss it out the window!
Tuesday turned into a blizzard of activity with work that didn't quite get done, unexpected errands and last last last minute shopping, some last minute training for Dana on one of the tasks I usually do, and some other very important chores. It was 9 p.m. before I even started packing. Fortunately, Dana and Darby were there and willing to help any way they could to get me ready. So I gave them both many things to do, and am so thankful for their efforts, and I went about gathering and packing and stuffing and loading all my stuff into two bags and a backpack (thanks Stephen - great choice!!).
By 1 a.m. we had it complete to the point I could finish it in the morning. The morning was a blur of an appointment and several errands, then back home to wrap up the packing and close up the bags. My planned nice brunch morphed into a banana for breakfast and no time for lunch, but Dana made sure I had something that would carry me through the afternoon. So we loaded the bags, I told Dex to be a good boy and obey Dana, we picked up Darby on the other side of town and headed to the airport as the temperature dropped into the upper 30s and a massive storm system moved into the area!
As expected, all the flights into and out of XNA were delayed by the weather, so we were able to spend an extra 45 minutes together before I went through security.
Finally, though, they made one announcement that the flight was preparing for immediate departure! The captain came on and said we had a short window of opportunity to get on our way, and in less that 10 minutes we were loaded, started, and airborne on the way to Chicago!!
Thanks for reading so far! Check back soon for the next leg of the trip!!
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