Weekend before last I ventured back into Oman with four colleagues. We went in search of green-back turtles found on the beaches of Ras Al Hadd. While sitting in the airport cafe waiting to board the plane we made what proved to be a brilliant rule:
If you even mentioned a SINGLE solitary word about work you were punished which meant that the two of us non-drinkers had to eat peppered lemon slices.
When work life is your social life and your social life is your work life, the boundary between “at work” and “not at work” is very very very blurry. While this kept the trip from devolving into a 2 day work meeting, many lemon slices were still consumed:
Disclaimer: No, I am not looking my freshest best. I hadn't showered in 36 hours -despite 103 degree temps and nearly 100% humidity and 2 days of swimming in water of dubious cleanliness- and I was very very tired due to below mentioned camping "experience."
Thanks to Masoud, our rather bored guide, we hiked into a superb wadi to swim and cliff jump, camped out under the stars (since the rather “rustic” huts also sheltered spiders), and found pretty hilarious 4-foot long turtles nearly 300 kilometers into the Omani countryside. Despite the pepper burn around my lips - an altogether and all-round great adventure.
I've started and deleted this post a hundred times. I can't figure out how to capture a really, really, really wonderful vacation with old friends, new friends and limitless ice cream bars (which were all calorie free because Doug told me that if I did the 'running-man' on the way to and from the fridge when getting one then I would work the calories all off).
But this post needs to be written so here I am two weeks later at my 101st attempt...
I remember my dearest moments as snapshots or still frames which capture feelings, images or experiences that make my heart happy. Two weeks ago I pulled away from an Outer Banks, NC beach house named "Crab's Day Off" (hey, I didn't name the house) with a new album of such moments including:
Wandering across Cathy sunning and sleeping on the beach with Sampson laying across her - sound asleep: true contentment.
Watching Marcus "the Kite Whisperer" Donaldson fly a kite for what seemed like the whole day - and good part of that day laying down on the beach while he flew it. And then kindly allowing us to win the weird German bean card game that night - when we all knew he had the game figured out and won midway through Round 1.
And speaking of games. Settlers - total silence coming from the kitchen table where Loren, Katrina, Allison and John picked up an age old battle over who truly is "Settler Master" and the total chaos two nights later when Cathy, a supposed novice, cleaned up at a game of poker where the high stakes were having to clean the kitchen if you lost. Oh, and remembering from past experiences that a serious player had better keep an eye on one "Run the River" Sarah Shaw.
Learning to build "drip sand castles" from John - who then gamely allowed us to turn him into a sand mermaid (which suited him quite well, I might add).
Spending Sunday evening listening to Loren play us all into a splendid stupor with his guitar and singing.
Watching Doug and Sampson dance the "Macarena" (in my professional opinion they executed the steps with great form).
Walking to the end of the beach (or till it got fenced off) with Allison , my dear fellow "life walker."
Gathering around the kitchen table to talk to a few of the smartest, strongest, funniest women I know - and talking through the "burning-eyes-sensation-because-I-was-so-tired" because I didn't want the conversation, or evening, to end.
Like the wise Jack Johnson says in song playing right now, "I've got a hundred million dollar friends" and shoes full of sand. Could a girl be any more lucky?
Thank you, dear, wonderful benefactors, Katrina and Doug--
I am sure I know what heaven is like. It is sitting around a computer with dear, hilarious, amazing friends at a beach house at 2pm in the afternoon watching youtube clips that go something like this:
[This is best enjoyed while reading the real words:
No I can't forget this evening Or your face as you were leaving But I guess that's just the way The story goes You always smile but in your eyes Your sorrow shows Yes it shows
No I can't forget tomorrow When I think of all my sorrow When I had you there But then I let you go And now it's only fair That I should let you know What you should know
I can't live If living is without you I can't live I can't give anymore I can't live If living is without you I can't give I can't give anymore
Well I can't forget this evening Or your face as you were leaving But I guess that's just the way The story goes You always smile but in your eyes Your sorrow shows Yes it shows
I can't live If living is without you I can't live I can't give any more I can't live If living is without you I can't give I can't give anymore] ____________________________________________
Anyhow, consider this post a teaser preview of a later longer post commemorating the past 5 days...
