PAWS is taking over my life!!

Hi guys - what a week its been - I don't think I have ever been so busy for ages - mainly I have been sorting out the party for the PAWS Halloween do on the 29th October - its a fancy dress ball and tables are being sold in 8's so its been pretty challenging to juggle folk and get them all on the tables they want. There were 250 tickets up for grabs and we have 12 left. I think I sold around 170 of them and loads of raffle tickets. Its taken over my life this week and people have been coming and going to collect tickets and meet me!!!

I have managed to have 2 arguments today also - one with the company who provide food for us (ie when visitor's come to see us) over unpaid bills - but due to the computer system having had a glitch in it forever we cannot provide the details they want so they threatened me with not delivering food in future. Then the laundromat have lost my 800SAR Egyptian cotton sheets for the second time - they gave them someone else before and 4 weeks later they eventually turned up but now they have offered me 400SAR for the sheets which I am currently not accepting. I think its time for a break from here - its getting to me a bit! Thank goodness for Dubai next week although it will involve a lot of work!

Last week was busy - I went running Saturday and Monday - managed 4 minutes x 6 with one minute walking in between. Missed last Saturday so its 8 mins tonight x 3 - thats going to hurt. Previously I have gone to spin before - tonight I think I will give it a miss! Classes were busy too last week .

I attended the wellness symposium on Weds too last week - taught a pilates masterclass too. It was a good day. However, I was apparently up to win a wellness champion award it seems. They read out this guy's name for his award and this loony bin woman who works with me just got up and took the award even though it was for someone else and didn't call her name out - everyone just sort of looked at each other gone out, but let her have it as it was rather embaressing... anyway, Sam, who is our wellness guru, said to me at the end that they had an award to present for me for all the fitness stuff I do, but because this nutter Fay collected an extra award, they were one short and knew I would understand what had happened!!!!!????

I ended up going to see some of the new girls on Weds night for a few drinks then in Bahrain on Thursday. Hassle with the taxi not turning up but one arrived eventually and we got over the causeway in an hour! Went to drop the bags off at the hotel, then went to get my hair done and then had a wander around the mall..

We went out later to the Meat Company for food - it was awesome - Ive never had a bad steak there. I also popped to Jim's restaurant, where I am having my birthday party, and met him and sorted a few things out, so all that is set up now...

After we had been to the Meat Co we went to JJ's Irish bar - it was pretty manic in there - met up with a few folk I knew too - stayed til around 1.30 then stumbled home!! Some of the others stayed out til 6am! I am too old for that time of the morning!!!

Came home relatively early the next day and then I just chilled all day.

This week has been manic. I have been busy all week selling PAWS tickets for the Halloween event on the 29th Oct at the US consulate - which I will be missing as I'm in Dubai... Anyway, I think personally I have sold around 180 of the 250 tickets and I've sold loads of raffle tickets too! So, job well done - we can get more cats sterilized!

I didnt do much on Saturday really - had a night off as I knew I would be out every other night this week! Sunday I was off for all the day as they were sorting out my a/c unit which has caused mold to grow on my clothes - it was filthy - and a huge job - my apartment certainly smells cleaner now tho and fresher! I taught Sunday, ran Monday - managed 3 sets of 8 min runs, so getting better and gearing up for the 30 min run before I am back in the UK! Tonight teaching circuits, selling more tickets, tomorrow teaching too and taking car to garage, then a massage! And weekend Bahrain!!!!

I won't have time to do a blog next week as I will be busy in Dubai. I am hoping to meet my friend Jo, who works on the yacht, the Tatoosh which is in Abu Dhabi for the F1 and I am also meeting some other friends I know over there...

Anyway, thats about all from me! Mrs Busy.

See some of you in 4 weeks and counting!

Jill

xxx

Visit to the Empty Quarter weekend - Shaybah

Hello

Here is my latest update. A pretty interesting weekend in that I did something "cultural" for a change and it didnt involve propping up a bar somewhere - well apart from each night either side!

My week was pretty quiet really last week (work wise)- apart from the running club, spin - I did spin and then went to the running club - yes I am mad! Pilates went ok too - I had my nails done, went to a friend's for tea. Weds was mad - I left work, taught body conditioning, went to the US consulate (saw lots of men in uniform!) to check out the cat situation and meet some of the folk that live up there then rushed back and myself and Sharon dared J9 and Spooks on Azziz - BAe compound - hadn't been up there in some time - we had a good night really and an added bonuses was they were selling the real stuff (ie gin!!) in J9. Met up with a few folk I'd not seen for a while but sensibly left at 11.30 for my early start to Shaybah.

OK, so Shaybah - this is our camp in the empty quarter - ie in the middle of 250,000 sq km of desert in Saudi. They run GOSP operations out there - basically gas plants - they literally are in the middle of nowhere surrounded by tons of sand and sand dunes. You cannot really get the feel of the place from the photos - but its like another world really! They had to shift a whole dune to make room for the camp and the runway which is right next to the camp - its like being on a bus being on the plane, you get off it and you are right at the door of the camp!

So, we got our free Aramco flight to the camp (we do get some good perks here!) and then had a look around - 700 men live there and work out in the field - I imagine its a good place to save money! It was so hot though and in the summer gets up to 65 degrees!!! Had lunch then a bus trip around the GOSPs and then back to the dunes for dune walking and sledging. The sand does literally get everywhere and is constantly shifting... then we watched a presentation about the place and then watched the sunset and then dinner.

A long day - myself, Tracy and Cheryl asked for some rocks and stuff just before the plane left so they had to hold the plane up for us as we legged it back from the office!!

Got back to camp around 9pm. For some strange reason, although I was completely knackered, I decided to go to a party at the Marine house. That was fine I guess - the drinks were so strong too - real stuff again - I did well last weekend with finding real stuff! So stayed there til 1am!

Friday didnt do much really... waste of a day!

This week has been equally as mad - I have been busy with PAWS stuff - sorting out invites and tickets for the Halloween party on the 29th Oct. I did running again and am spinning and running tonight too and I am teaching Weds. I have been asked to cover Matt's kick boxing class too so will be running 3 classes a week now for the next few weeks... and I have actually been busy with work - my boss is retiring so I am sorting that out and there are some lunches to fix up...

And there is my mould issue - I have mould growing on my clothes in my closet. I complained (just for a change) to housing last year about this - had environmental round etc who said the a/c units were working ok even though they are flippin 30 years old, bla bla - I noticed that when I go home and away from Aramco I can smell this musty smell on my clothes and I can smell it in my apartment. Anyway, been earaching housing again and they are cleaning out my a/c duct next week and doing air quality tests - its going to take most of Sunday for them to take the a/c unit apart apparently! I just wish they would move me and be done with it - they know it would shut me up then! No news on the housing job either - I have someone I know there doing some investigating for me - I think it is down to the Manager being rushed off his feet by the sounds of things....

And the laundry have lost my Egyptian Cotton bed sheets - they gave them to someone else last time and they eventually turned up but they cannot locate them this time - this place drives me mad sometimes!!

So I am doing a wellness symposium this Weds - helping out with the quit smoking team in the morning then doing a pilates presentation in the afternoon! So the next few weeks, what with my personal training course in Dubai, are going to be fraught to say the least.

All in place for my parties now - around 40 odd folk will be at the Bahrain party and around 50 or so at the UK one so I am looking forward to those!!

Anyway, over and out from me.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Jillbarrows69/Shaybah2009?feat=directlink (photos of Shaybah trip)

Please keep in touch as always with your news....

Jill

xxxx

Party weekend in Dhahran

Hello folks - hope you are all doing ok. I am pretty on top of my blog this week - most of my team have gone to London so its quiet at work...

Last week was pretty manic - first week back and all that - I was playing catch up for most of it! I think I took you up to about Tuesday in last week's blog. That was the night I had to go cat catching. I had been promising Rose for months I would help her out. She has 3 females basically, living around her, all with litters. She has had one sterilized, I'd caught another one, so there is still one left. I tried to catch her but she just kept running off. However, after some time we managed to catch 3 kittens - one just walked into the trap and the other 2 got caught together - they went a bit mental in the trap and bashed their eyes up a bit but the vet reckoned they would be ok. Lorraine had caught Bill - our resident ballpark cat - who ended up biting me when I was trying to move him into a different carrier - that resulted in another visit to the hospital for yet more antibiotics. At least I have a stash of them now as I am sure it will happen again!

So, managed to get all 4 cats into a taxi and down to the vets - it was a funny journey - all these cats miowing and me and Rose stuck in the middle of them!

I eventually got back at 7pm - I dont think folk appreciate how long these things take to do!

Wednesday was full on - spin class, then a meal at the Blue Strawberry for Chrissy's birthday and then to a happy hour. I said I would only stay for a short while and rolled in around 1am! Saw a few folk Id not seen for a while tho!

Thursday I was late up and rushing around to get to a PAWS meeting regarding Halloween - it should be a good bash and we should raise quite a bit of cash hopefully - I will miss it tho as I am in Dubai then... then I went to spin to try and sweat out some of the alcohol from last night and then off out again later to a leaving do!

Friday I did nothing - I was leant series one of Mistresses - I am addicted to it and am now on series 2. Just watched TV all day - you know that it is very unusual for me to sit down and not do much all day - maybe its a sign of me getting towards 40!!!

This week has been equally as busy. I started running on Sat night with the running group - found it pretty easy really - back there tonight and going to spin first, then run! also had a PAWS meeting on Sat night. It looks like they might be doing a cull soon on camp of the cats as they really out of control now - the guy who did the meeting is going to arrange another meeting tho with pest control and the kennel club so we can all try and work together. He has suggested there might be the possibility of having a holding facility on camp for us to have a vet carry out sterilizations and also for somewher for us to keep animals - this would be great if it happened too...

Anyway, thats about all - brings me up to date. Been busy organising my trip home in 7 weeks - my birthday party here and also the one at home and trying to find out who can make it! Booked a cruise for me, my sisters and George next May too going to the Med! On the Ocean Village - can't wait for that!!!

WRITE SOON anyway,

Jilly

xxxx