I love it when this happens...(OT)

[onager]

I was scheduled to go work in Egypt in early November, and stay until possibly the end of February.

At a meeting a little while ago, I found out the schedule had changed SLIGHTLY.

I leave Saturday.

Excuse me...

A-A-I-E-E-E-E-E!!!!!

Oh well. Most of that time I should be in Alexandria, which is nice.

[Book Lover]

1. Lucky you!

Have a marvelous trip! Will you still be there through February?

[GOPFighter]

2. Be sure to take a DemocraticUnderground bumper sticker

For the back of your camel. <snort> Just kidding. I know how you feel, I was just told I have to go to Copenhagen next week (why not when the weather is nice?). Geeesh, when are we supposed to wash our underwear? What will I tell the cats?

[Taxloss]

3. Have fun!

What is it you do, again? (If you don't mind me asking.)

[progressoid]

4. Wow - too cool!

[trotsky]

5. So you'll still be there until February?

Wow, that's a long stay. I want a picture of you kissing a camel!

[onager]

6. Thanks, everybody!

I'll be keeping in touch.

Copenhagen, GOP-F? Maybe we should trade gigs. I've got the underwear handled...hmm, that didn't come out right. What's driving me crazy is getting the bills paid, etc., while I'm gone.

Taxloss: I work in aerospace. We are basically setting up a couple of big computer centers, so the work is familiar to a lot of you, I'm sure: connecting miles of Ethernet cable under the floor, configuring/torturing servers and workstations, etc. etc.

I like doing different things, which I sure get to do on this job. But basically, I'm a Technical Writer working far beyond my level of expertise/intelligence.

Of course, I did have one advantage: not too many people are stupid enough to volunteer for work in Egypt right now.

I will not kiss any camels, though I may ride one or two. It's possible to go on a tour there where you start at dawn and ride a horse from the Saqqara "step" pyramid to the Giza pyramids. It literally takes all day; that's a long ride.

OK, back to setting up bill-payment schemes...

[Az]

7. Almost a rocket scientist

Could come in handy in a debate. Someone claims this ain't rocket science we got it covered anyway. :D

Have a good trip and get back here when you can.

:hi:

[GOPFighter]

10. I'd trade gigs if yours was only for a week

I've been to Copenhagen, but never been to Egypt (Libya, yes, but no one would ever confuse Libya with Egypt!). I don't think Copenhagen in late October is much of a perk, but neither is 3-4 months in Egypt! Also, whenever I travel, I bring horrible weather. I went to Paris a few years ago and they immediately had the worst heat wave on record-thousands died. In Monaco this spring they had snow for the first time in 35 years. If I went to Egypt they would suffer their first hurricane ever, no doubt. You might want to watch the weather channel to see what calamity I bring to Denmark...

Good luck and tell everyone WE HATE BUSH! BTW, what is the weather like in Egypt this time of year? Does Alexandria have good beaches?

[onager]

11. Good beaches, you ask?

Last January, the weather in Cairo was a lot like Los Angeles. We even saw rain a couple of times! It can get pretty cold in the mornings, esp. if there's a strong wind.

There are some really pretty beaches just outside Alexandria, on the way to the famous WWII battlefield of El Alamein. One of these, near Mersa Matruh, is still called "Cleopatra's Beach." I'm not sure if that's real history or just local legend, though.

[GOPFighter]

12. I'll Trade!

Oh wait, you're expected to work while you're there?

[onager]

13. Yes, darn it...

We do work long hours, and almost always 6 days a week. (Usually we only get Friday off, the Muslim "day of rest.")

OTOH, when we finally get home...well, you see those buildings right behind the beach? That's where my hotel is located! ;-)

That makes up for a lot of work! I can sit on the neat little balcony attached to my room and watch the sun set into the Mediterranean. Or walk across the road and sit on the beach...assuming I get up the nerve to dodge the traffic.

Of course, since I'm an atheist, I can't appreciate a sunset nearly as much as a believer who imagines it was all just sort of stuck there by an Invisible Sky Pixie.

(I'm still irked by an R&T thread which contained all the usual assumptions about us.)

[FM Arouet666]

8. Damn, It will be hard to the fight the woo-woos without your support

A friend of mine just got back from Egypt, he reported the general atmosphere as calm. However, he is Egyptian, Coptic, and speaks Arabic. With our Egyptian friend, my wife is urging me to take a trip to Egypt next year. Let us all know about your time there, I am still reluctant to go.

Oh, and I understand that you are going to be intimate with a camel while there. Please act responsibly and wear protection.

:evilgrin:

[onager]

9. There's a pun about "humps" in there somewhere...

I can second your friend on going to Egypt. The general atmosphere is calm.

I talked to many Egyptians who genuinely like Americans. And I wandered all over the place by myself. Step outside the back door of our hotel in Alexandria and it looks like an Indiana Jones movie set: blocks of vendors selling everything from beach sandals to freshly slaughtered goat meat.

A few Egyptians had comments about our current situation, like "Bush no good." I gave them a hearty handshake and a big smile.

During my last trip in July, the bombing happened at Sharm el-Sheikh. That's a big resort on the tip of the Sinai Peninsula. (And about the LAST place to try and hurt Americans. Mostly locals and Europeans go there.)

I was having dinner in our hotel, and heard two couples at another table who sounded like Americans.

They were Canadians who had left Sharm el-Sheikh after the bombing. They were a bit...frosty when I first introduced myself. Until I asked for temporary Canadian citizenship, thanks to the moron in the White House.

We got along really well after that.