Okay, before I start my next story, let me show you my new Crocs!

From 2009 01 10 Southwest Asia

I guess Crocs is discontinuing their collegiate Crocs, since I could only find Penn State Crocs in their smallest adult sizes online. Oh well.

The BX here had navy blue “Beach” Crocs, khaki “Professional” Crocs (no holes), and orange “Cayman” Crocs.

Orange?

It turned out they were shipped by mistake and were 1/2 price ($12).

So I got a navy blue pair and I’m happy. I plan to order some PSU Jibbitz. Of course.

So let’s get onto my next story:

It’s about hydration. Water here is offered by the pallet-load in these water stations throughout the base. We help ourselves to what we need, whether it’s a single bottle, or a 12-pack. Or several 12-packs.

Here’s a picture of a bottle to show you:

From 2009 01 10 Southwest Asia

The company claims this water is from a “Well out from Qatar’s desert from the depth of 70m under the ground. It includes all the necessary mineral factors which help in supporting the bones and suit all ages.”

I checked the label twice, that’s what it says. Really.

Anyway, these are the standard 1/2 liter bottles, like the Ozark, Zephyrhills, or other local water companies in the states. In my room, in the box of leftover stuff donated to the next occupant, there were about 6 boxes of assorted brands of “singles” of beverage mixes, such as by Kool Aid, Crystal Light and Hawaiian Punch. I think Gatorade makes them too. You get a single serving of beverage mix, you dump it into the bottle of water, shake it up, and you have instant FLAVOR for your Qatari water.

I’ve decided these are pretty cool…if anyone’s thinking of a cool care package item, I recommend these, preferably sugar-free. The dining halls carry Crystal Light tea and peach tea here already, so other flavors would be welcome.

And speaking of hydration, the dining halls here also offer us carbonated soft drinks. We get “native” Coke, Pepsi, Fanta, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper and most of their diet variants:

We’re allowed to take 1 or 2 cans of soda out of the dining hall to enjoy later, which I usually do. I either take them to my desk at work, or else I keep them in my fridge and enjoy them later.

A couple days ago, I was unloading two “Pepsi Diets” [sic] into my fridge and I dropped one. It fell to the floor, got a hole on the bottom edge and started spinning on the floor, spraying Pepsi Diet all over my dorm room!

Remember, it’s a small room, so before long, my floor and walls, along with my shoes, backpack and open fridge were covered in Pepsi Diet! UGH! I was able to wrestle the still-spraying can into the trash can to finish its fireworks show with about 1/3 of the soda still in the can.

I had a few cleaning supplies, but what I lacked were rags, towels or sponges for cleaning. I happened across a towel stuffed up on the curtain rod, in place to further darken the room for us night-shift folks. I grabbed that and wiped up what I could.

Good thing it was Pepsi DIET…no harm when it dried up. I picked up a couple of inexpensive washcloths at the BX today with my Crocs…expressly for such emergencies.

Coming soon: they took my extra bunk beds this morning! I’ve finished rearranging the furniture and am beginning to get comfortable! Also, I found signs of life here — my photo album of desert foliage!