Qatari Questions

Day 3 in Doha. Still a little jet lagged, and staying in a media village that is only half finished, but it is still great to see so many familiar faces from all over theworld.

Orientation prepared us for many of the cultural do's/dont's, but still very surprised to see so many women walking around in full length, face-covering burkas.

First night here I went with Aussie Dave to see Qatar play United Arab Emirates at the Al-Sadd Football Stadium. Great game: 4-1 to Qatar. Taxis of course no-where to to found afterwards, so after a lengthy walk, a local (Indian) familyfinally stopped and gave us a ride!

Now that we're well into setup at the track cycling, we can see how amazing the Aspire Centre actually is. It's the largest sports centre in the world, housing 9 venues including our velodrome.

Picture are: view from media village P01 (my room), and football spectators.

Destination Doha

Tomorrow I leave for Doha, Qatar to work for the Host Broadcaster on the 2006 Asian Games. It's been a while in coming....but finally I'm excited, and can't wait to be off.

Packing is a bit of a dilemma. It's Spring in Doha, but expected temperatures range between 20 and 30. In consideration of the local culture however, we have been discouraged from wearing: sandals, anything above the knee, anything shoulderless, tightly fitting, bright or low cut.
Unfortunately that pretty much discribes my entire 'usual' summer wardrobe right there!

As part of the DAGSB Uniform that we are required to wear, the women on the crew have been provided with a Shella (head covering). Apparently not required in the media towers or work venues, but should be on-hand if we are sightseeingand wander into a religious area.
Other tips we have been giving: Display no affection in public, showing the bottom of the foot is considered extremely offensive, carry toilet paper with you, do not use what may appear to be a urinal (probably a station for washing the head prior to prayer), and of course your left-hand should alway be used with caution!

There are 70 or so Canadians covering 3 venues. Not to mention a handful of Aussies I know that will bethere also....so I'm hoping to grab a social drink (or 2) in the Aussie bar that Dave has told me about!
I should go pack, I hope to blog while I'm away, depending on internet access....so come back often!
You can check out the official Doha Asian Games at:
http://www.dohaasiangames.org/

When It's Raining....

You can play hide'n'seek in your room, kiss the cat, dissect a pomegranate in a tutu, or just cuddle up with a friend on the couch and watch TV!

Snowstorm Aftermath

In the past few days we've enjoyed collecting snowballs, hugging a snowman, and trying hard to toboggan in snow that was just a little too deep! We also had a ton of fun at the opening night of Bright Nights at Stanley Park. (click to enlarge)

Things are Strange in the West....

Yikes....November in Vancouver has been a series of wind and rain storms, that have caused power outages, flooding, and a boil-water advisory that lasted a week. (just lifted today!) Now....a snow storm over the last 48 hours has dumped 20-50cm of snow on the Greater Vancouver area. Downed trees and power lines, disrupted ferries & flights, pile-ups on the highways, and closed schools. All this followed by a predicted cold-snap tomorrow....with frost-bite warnings, and hazardous driving conditions on icy streets. To make things worse....they have been experiencing higher than average temperatures in the East! Qatar is looking warm and welcoming next week!

Boo.....a Caterpillar !

Halloween party-time, and gearing up for trick-or-treating with Dad.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins

Lily & Makena having fun at a Pumpkin Patch in Richmond, and posing with her decorated pumpkins as well as the jack'0'lantern carved at preschool.

Yee Ha!

Southlands Country Fair (on a soggy day!), and a cowgirl that is very reluctant to be photographed...

Kamloops Wedding

Lily & Abby having fun at Christine's (Jasons cousins) wedding in Kamloops.
Not even the rain could dampen the fun, and Lily danced up a storm on the dance floor long after her bedtime!

A Huge Milestone

Thursday, September 7th.....day one of preschool !

Spin, Spin, Spin

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Plie & Point

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Little Ballerinas

Summer Ballet camp with teacher; Celeste.

Krazy Kayakers

Some of this summer has been spent kayaking up Indian Arm from Deep Cove.

More from the Sunshine Coast

A couple more pics from our time in Gibsons. Lily, Gilly-Ann & Gage enjoying the beautiful weather.

Getting Around In Style

Lily's new mode of transport....a bike seat on the back of Dad's bike. And of course a cool helmet too.

Friends...

Lily had a fabulous weekend in Gibsons, playing with Gilly-Ann on the beach....and sleeping in the tent in the backyard!
Also a cute photo of Lily & friend Leah curled up on the couch during a play-date.

Father's Day

A slightly belated tribute to Fathers Day. At Lily's request, a picnic in the park...followed by planting flower with Dad.

Beach Bash

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video SharingFinally worked out how to add some video to my blog. This is from March.....Lily playing on Glenelg Beach, in Adelaide, South Australia. (see archives for other postings from our Feb/March trip)

World Cup Fever

Friday morning I sat Lily in front of some World Cup soccer and tried explaining the rules in basic 'toddler' language. That the red team were kicking one way, the yellow team the other...and that every now and again they stopped the game because someone was 'naughty'. She was yelling "go equador", while I yelled "go Poland"....we were both giggling pretty hard....

4 years ago, during the last World Cup, Jason & I were backpacking around Spain. I remember being in a little town, in the middle of nowhere, called Teruel....and watching the local police car drive very slowly down the main street in the evening....with one of the games blaring loudly from the speaker on the top of the car....for the benefit of those sitting on the patios!

Australia won their first game this morning! Their last appearance in a World Cup....32 years ago! GO SOCCEROOS!!!!

Photos are of Teruel & surrounding area (Albaraccin, Cuenca).

My Little Canuck

...is learning to skate at the Kitsilano Community Centre. It won't be long before she's better than mum...which quite frankly wouldn't take much at all!!!!

Back Blogging

My mum wanted to show someone some old photographs of Lily's surgery...so posting them on my blog seemed to be the most effective way to do that. An interesting use of a blog!
For those that don't know, this surgery was in February '04, to correct Sagittal Synostosis: http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6751/