off to the

Races.... This weekend I went (weekends happen thursday and friday here) to my very first ever car race. It was, interesting to say the least. I think that being from the US has spoiled me with regards to cars. Outside of the race track there were lots of young men with their cars all tricked out and polished to a shine but sadly even the best they did was a sad imitation of some of the low riders with hydraulics that used to bounce through AZ when I lived out there. I would have thought that having and spending loads of money would have given the Saudis the edge in this single category but alas it is still the homies that are reigning kings of the bouncey cars. There were of course some silly gauche cars that made me happy. And the races themselves were not that exciting. Mostly it was interesting to be in a place where Saudi youth could relax and be themselves outside and not have to worry about the religious police. There was a stage set up with just some music playing and one would have thought it was a full blown concert there were literally hundreds of young men gathered around just to move a little and listen to the music. I can see why places suddenly fall apart. These regimes think that everything is going fine because no one fights and everyone acts happy, then out of the blue there is something to do, I truly think that half the folks in tahir square in egypt and pearl square in bahrian and elsewhere are not there because they yearn for freedom at the polls, or are willing to die for a representative government, but instead are there because it is the only thing happening in town. It shouldnt be termed the jasmine revolution, but the revolution of the bored. I can almost hear the cries coming out the palaces, "let them play halo." Sometimes people just want to dance, dance revolution.

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.