Out of this world

So this is a quick note to transition the theme of the blog. In 2007 and 2008 I was a very dedicated athlete and spent a lot of time training and racing in a multi-sport race format called adventure racing. I even got to race on a sponsored team and qualified in a US leg of the race to go to Nice, France to race in against Volvo, Bechtel, Disney Hong Kong, Airbus, and many more. So when people talk about the French mediteranean, my memories are a bit different than lounging on a beach and enjoying wine and cheese. We were racing in December in freezing rain and kayaking down gourges. I did 17 races in 2007, the shortest 4 races were half-marathons. IN 2008, I competed in 5 races before age caught up with me in June. I reinjured my right ACL and had to have surgery in Sep 2008. My racing career is on hold indefinitely. However I am looking forward to getting signed up for a 10k or perhaps a cycling ride and slowly building back into a more active lifestyle. It was the best I ever felt in my life.

So if I am transitioning this blog out of race reports, what then could we be talking about here. Well, the good news is that my family has supported me in the decision to take an offer with a Middle East National Oil Company. On January 2, we will board a flight for Doha, Qatar and I will go to work in Sales and Marketing for RasGas, who is an LNG producer in Qatar. It is a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobile. So as of now, my house is basically packed, rented and we are just enjoying the last few days here in Houston before we head off for our new adventure. I will be writing to share experiences and photos with everyone. Additionally, we'll have a section that Nico will drop some information onto so that he can share with his former kindergarten classmates. It rakes the idea of being "pen pals" into the 21st century.

I look forward to sharing this exerience with you all and the door is always open should you decide that you want to explore the Middle East.