beaches

going out to the beach today. its about 4 hours away by train. I get to ride from one end of the vast Saudi rail network all the way to the other. the whole country has a total of four stops. Talk about a fledgling program. I know if I had a boatload of cash i would invest it in rails here. Then again the government does have boatloads of cash and they seem not interested in rails. Anyways I am excited to see the ocean again I am more excited to see what the hell there is to do at the beach. I know what there isn't and I cant think of what there is.

This is from a supermarket near my home, makes me want to cook.

get a grip

Ok america you are really starting to piss me off. The FDA is currently tooling into the caffeinated alcohol drinks to see if they are safe. Really that is what the FDA worries about. Fuck no they arent safe, but neither is a bottle of Jim Beam or any alcohol. If they say that selling caffeinated alcohol is unsafe and prohibited or that it must come with a warning label then does my rum and coke at the bar get the same treatment, or my irish coffee? or kalua for that matter. Its alcohol it is not good for you. People dont drink to get healthy they drink to forget or celebrate or because they are addicted or for many other reasons but it makes me angry that the powers that be want to ban these drinks. So what some retard drank a few cans of this crap and shot himself and another popped a bunch of pills and died how many people everyday get behind the wheel after a few glasses of wine and slaughter others on the roads. How many people get filled with the liquid courage before taking the nestea plunge from the top of a building? Just tell me what the alcohol percent is and what the ingredients are and leave it at that. That's why I pay taxes so I can know what I am ingesting not to be told what I can or cannot ingest. Makes me crazy. I need a drink, make it a double. and a espresso on the side.

holiday

i slept in late this morning and eventually got up and got started with the entire moving around and being productive and eventually I got hungry so I went out to find some grub. I guess that today is some kind of special day for this part of the world as every restaurant that I entered told me that I could have take away or eat after the evening prayer. Mind you the evening prayer was 4 hours in the future. they were happy to have me sit in their establishment and drink coffee or tea or soda but not eat. So eventually i gave up and came home to make myself a sandwich. I will try again to go out and get some dinner in a few hours. On a completely unrelated note I went out with coworkers to dinner last night and after sitting around chatting I walked back home which was about 3 miles. I was a bit worried at first as I left their hotel at midnight and I was unsure what sort of scene there would be late at night in the streets of riyadh. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that for the entire hour of walking through neighborhoods it was just me and the cats. I did not see another soul, I may make it a habit of strolling around late at night while the rest of the city sleeps.

and i walk

I went for a stroll through the streets if riyadh yesterday and realized that this is not a beautiful city. it is working on becoming on and there are loads of high-rise buildings going up and the few that have been completed are architecturally interesting so I have hope for the future of the city. But right now it is low and monochromatic. There are not any places for pedestrians and the sidewalks that do exist are shabby at best. On the bright side i walked by well over a million dollars in cars just sitting in small showrooms. Until yesterday I wasnt aware that lamborghini had showrooms, nor bentley. But I walked by both and each model that they sold was shiny and new in the window. I went into a few malls and it was odd to see people shopping, not just because I hate the activity myself but the women are of course covered but walking into shops that sell western clothes Zara etc. Makes me wonder what exactly is under those long black robes. I have plans to meet some coworkers for dinner tonight about 3 miles from here, I will probably walk over as I want to see the city and get a better bearing on the areas. I still eat lots of goat cheese and olives they practically give the stuff away at the supermarket.