I will be attending a seminar in Jeddah from today until next Wednesday.  I am not sure whether I will be able to access the Internet while there. 

Hope to read up from all of you guys when I return.

As I write this entry, my mind is wandering about thinking of my bed and soft pillow.  I did not sleep too well last night.  The adrenalin rush from some events that happened last night kept me from having a restful sleep.  I was tossing and turning most of the evening. 

Now that Pinky and the kids are on vacation, my cousin, Geraldine, has graciously invited me to have dinner in their house every night.  Being the food deprived person that I am I accepted the invitation provided that I they would allow me to treat them to dinner once a week.  Last night, Geraldine was not in the mood to eat out so she requested me to buy fried fish and delicious biryani rice in one of the local restaurants. 

We had dinner at half past 7 and ate the fish until it was unrecognizable.  We each had a slice of homemade carrot cake for dessert while we continued chatting endlessly about our childhood.  It was a nice, simple dinner.  That was until we heard our friends (Ato and Raymund) knocking on the door.

After opening the door, Ato and Raymund told me to immediately move my car since there was a fire right beside it.  I panicked and rushed outside.  The building’s main electrical cable, which was located close to where I was parked, was suddenly on fire.  Nobody knew how it started but we suspected that it could be due to the extreme weather conditions here in the Kingdom.

One of the neighbors thought of dowsing the flame with water until Raymund smartly remembered that water would only aggravate the situation.  Instead, we got an empty pail, filled it with sand and threw it on the flame.  The fire did not weaken and it was only then that the Arab neighbor realized that he had a fire extinguisher in the car.  The fire was controlled but we were now all pumped up with adrenalin.

About five minutes after the incident the ambulance and several fire trucks arrived.  We were pleasantly surprised at how quickly they responded to the emergency call.  To be honest, it was something we did not expect especially after seeing how inefficient some things can be here in this part of the world.  I wanted to take some pictures but unfortunately forgot to bring my camera.

The local electric company arrived too and started to repair the damage.  The whole building was in total darkness. It was around 2230 that time and knowing how things move pretty slow in this place, I decided to invite the Magallaneses (Geraldine, Rinel and Ira), and our friends, Ato, Beaver and Raymund to sleep over in our flat.

Oh my gulay! The reality of the situation soon sunk in.  I have not cleaned our flat for almost 3 weeks! The last time I had a general cleaning was when a friend from Riyadh visited me a few weeks back.  What an embarassing situation! 

Everyone was polite enough, though, not to comment about the condition of our flat.  I guess they all knew that it was either they accept the sorry state our flat was in or they had to sleep in the car - hehehe! (Of course, I do not have the heart to do that *wink*).   Even though I was caught unprepared, I could not bear letting them think that I was a total slob.  So while everyone was getting settled, I changed the bed sheets, vacuumed some parts of the house and scrubbed the toilet clean!  Whew! What a workout.  I know I could have done a better job but given the time constraints, it was the best I could do.

So, if there is one lesson that I want to share with all of you that would be … you will never know when an emergency like this will happen so always keep your house neat and clean (just in case).  Will this event push me now to keep things more tidy at home?  Nah, only my wife Pinky can pressure me to do that!  Hehehe!  But since she is on vacation, I am on vacation too

Last Thursday, I was fortunate to revisit the Lost Paradise of Dilmun (LPOD).  This new waterpark in our neighboring Bahrain is really beautiful.  Even though I just went there with my family a few months back, I still decided to join the Magalleneses and our friend Raymund as they discover the secrets of this ancient civilization.  Truly, we had so much fun.

Anyway, I am posting some pictures of our outing.  I hope you guys enjoy it.

Greeted by these bulls at the entrance of the LPOD.

The building where the souk (market) is located. Actually, gift shop lang yon…hehehe!

An elaborate fountain beside the souk.  

Raymund trying to avoid the splashes… mission impossible!

Pretty bouganvillas… reminds me so much of home.

Thrill rides… guaranteed to make your pants wet!

The guardian of the beach… Aslan!

I was looking for my size… d**n it, they do not have it in XL!

Perfect way to chill-out, relax and get a tan… actually, I hate sun burn!

Hunk and father.

Bridge to nowhere.

Love these fountains…

… these ancient ruins…

 and this wash area!

Munchkin Mommy, I finally received the beautiful cards you sent me.  Officially, it landed on my desk last Saturday, 28 June 2008, but I was unable to blog about it because of my schedule.

Thank you so much for taking the time to brighten my day and for helping me prove that snail mails do arrive in the Kingdom - even if it gets tampered in the local post office.

I hope you guys enjoy these lovely cards because I certainly did.

After 15 days, my package finally arrives!

And they did not even have the decency to seal it again!!!!

The contents… hopefully none missing.

Nice touch… I like the hang ten foot!

Four cards… all neatly packed!

Ooops! Not anymore…hehehe!

My personal favorite…

… and this one too…

… okay, and this one three… shoot, I’m loving everything…

I’ll sure have happy thoughts from now on.

Thank you so much, cousin!

Last Thursday I spent my evening listening to beautiful music.  I attended the concert of Prime Note Ensemble, an all male chorale group who is representing the OFWs living here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  They will be singing for the Filipino community in Paris and Brussels before they finally compete in the upcoming World Choir Games in Graz, Austria.  The concert is a fund raiser to help cover for their expenses as they compete in Europe as well as to also help our countrymen who were badly affected by the recent typhoon.

Just to give you a background, any form of public entertainment is strictly prohibited in the Kingdom. Concerts, theatrical plays and movies among others are discouraged, if not banned, unless done through the independent Embassies of each country or inside the Aramco Compound.  In Riyadh, the Philippine Embassy regularly sponsors various events in its compound to help entertain our Filipino Community there.  However, in the more than two years that I have been living here, I believe this is the first time that this type of event is happening here in the Eastern Region.  The concert’s venue is the International Philippine School in Al Khobar (IPSA).

To say how elated I was to attend such a concert is an understatement.  I felt that this event was really a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all OFWs living here in the Eastern Province. I know that I sound so shallow but it is only by living here that you will you understand what I mean.  Anyway, I took some photos and a short video of the concert for all of you to see and hear.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The stage.

Dr Cecile (middle) and colleagues from the SAAD Hospital.

The well applauded opening number (short video clip shown below).

 Costume change… now singing some African Folk song.

 Booooring! Game Boys are definitely more interesting.

A taste of Broadway… “Bui Doi” from Miss Saigon.

A crowd favorite… Manila, Manila!

We celebrated Rinel’s 34th birthday at the Heritage Village last night.  This place is known for good arabic food and a real nice ambiance so, whenever there is somebody new in town, this is where we always bring them.  I think this is the nth time that we have eaten here but everytime I see it I can not help but get amazed at how nice the place is.  

Anyway, happy birthday bro-cow, you’re d’best!

The waiting area.  This man is brewing arabic coffee for everyone to taste.  To be honest, I like the Nescafe 3-in-1 more than this unique brew.

This colorful window brings life to the, otherwise, plain wall.

Other local hand knitted garments adorn the walls too.

A full view of the well decorated wall.

Traditional Arabic copper coffee kettles, a real symbol of the Mid-East.

I stole this shot of the main interior.  Unlike in other countries, taking pictures in public places here in the Kingdom is not encouraged as this may offend some conservative locals. However, my friend Raymund and I just could not resist taking a shot of that beautiful big lamp that is one of the main attractions of this place.  Also, do you notice the silhouette of the giant copper coffee kettle down below?

Ira is greeted by our kind waiter… that curbed dagger must have scared the little boy as we had to force him to smile for this photo op.  I actually like the bold colors of this room - bright red door against a blue and white wall.

Traditional lamps are seen all over the place.  This one hung over our room.  I love how it gave more character to the place.

I am guessing this parka (?) was left by one of the patrons… that place was cooold!

The celebrant with unico hijo and our friend, Ton.

Lovely ladies, Beaver and Geraldine, my cousin.

Temporary bachelor, Raymund, a colleague from a competitor bank (hehehe!)

Ato-heart-Beaver. Sweet.

Daddy put me on time out!  Poor, Ira, bored to death by the adults.

Friends again…

I woke up early this morning and decided to take a stroll in the Dammam Corniche.  I was actually planning this a few days back since I wanted to practice using my new toy.  Here are just some of the photos I took.

Who said camels can only be seen in the desert?  This lost camel was looking for a place to park… in the ISG School parking a few days before the boys went on holiday.

I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I opened my WordPress account and received a new comment in my Clicking Away site from Mr Jun Alfon.

Mr Alfon, born Fernando Solis Alfon, Jr, is a well-known Filipino painter whose work is known for its beautiful depiction of the indigenous Tibuli tribe in Mindanao.  I won’t pretend to know a lot about this well known Filipino artist.  In fact, I only know him because we bought one of his paintings in an art gallery in Alabang Town Center (ATC) a few years back.

Unlike many art aficionados who go to exhibits to critique the style, subject and what-not of known artists, Pinky and I love to look at paintings solely because it is visually appealing to us.  Even though we have always dreamt of having a collection of beautiful paintings adorn the walls of our home, this has never been our priority especially since we have 3 children to feed.

Pinky and I have only invested in 2 paintings. The first painting we bought was 9 years ago.  We were newly married, had one child and just moved in our newly renovated house in BF Homes.  It was the perfect way the start a new chapter in our life.  We were both eager to decorate our home.  We bought a few pieces of furniture but thought our living room wall looked very bare. 

We went to this art gallery in Alabang Town Center and saw this beautiful poster (a reproduction of the artwork of some known foreign artist) and decided to buy it.  The lady in the gallery told us that they knew someone who could exactly copy the picture we chose but he could do it on canvass and using oil paint.  Of course, we were excited… imagine copying every stroke and color exactly as the original.  Wow, our first ever painting.  Needless to say, after several weeks of waiting, the painting arrived - we were shocked! It was not even close to anything we saw. We returned it several times for re-touching but, even with that, the painting was still hideous. Since we paid for it already, we decided to just get the same, hang it on our wall and charge it to experience… a very bad experience.  For the longest time, that painting has been a reminder of what happens to us when we buy on impulse.

Traumatized, we vowed never again to buy a painting which we have never seen.  Also, Pinky and I promised that all the paintings we would buy in the future had to be mutually agreed upon.

A few years passed and we had a second child. We decided to sell our first house and, with the help of our parents, constructed a second one.  What a way to start a new chapter again.  Like before, we slowly accumulated some new stuff for our home… furniture, mirrors, appliances, etc.  Paintings, nah, we only just had one.  That was until we visited another Art Gallery in ATC (yes, it was different from the first one) and Pinky and I fell instantly in love with this beautiful painting of a native woman who was dressed with a very intricate garment and head piece.  We were so excited.  It met our agreed criteria… we saw the painting and we both loved it.  Problem is we did not have the money to buy it. 

We decided to think about it a few days and when we had our finances in order we went back to buy it.  The only problem is, the painting was already gone. We were so disappointed that we spoke to the gallery owner to ask about the artist.  He gave us a crash course on who’s who in the Philippine art industry. Apparently, Mr Jun Alfon, the artist of the painting we wanted, was featured in a local publication about artists to watch out for. We were excited but we still did not have his painting.

A few weeks passed and the gallery owner called us to say that he had a new painting of Mr Alfon.  We immediately went to the gallery and, again, instantly fell in love with this new work… a Tiboli Mother and Child with intricate clothing.  We bought the painting right then and there.

This painting has been the centerpiece of our home in Manila and now here abroad.  We brought it to the KSA, our current residence, and I’m sure you may have noticed this in the background every time we post pictures of our home.  What happened to our other painting? I have no idea… we must have lost in when we were packing our stuff for the move… good riddance. 

Tiboli Mother and Child Series by Mr Jun Alfon

Pinky featured this painting in her Litratong Pinoy (Mahal na Ina) entry a few weeks back and that is how Mr Alfon saw it online.  I do not exactly know how but I guess Mr Alfon was just surfing the Internet, lurking on blogsites like what we mere mortals do, and found his work.

I am seriously so star struck and speechless at how down-to-earth and humble Mr Alfon is.  He’s very kind gesture makes me even a bigger fan of his.  Now, every time we see his painting on our wall, we will not only remember the beautiful Tibuli subjects but also the kind man who painted them.

Mr Alfon, thank you so much!

PS: Shown below are the comments made by Mr Alfon:

From Saudi Sexpat Stories:

“hello,just looking for blogs nd i happened to visit your site. happy to know you like and most of your friends like the painting.please visit my website and feel free to contact me. am the artist. Jun alfon”

From Clicking Away:

 ”THANKS SO MUCH FOR POSTING THE PAINTING I MADE.AND FOR ALL THOSE WHO APPRECIATED, MY WARMEST THANKS! I WAS GLAD TO KNOW YOU HAVE ONE OF MY ARTWORKS. BEST WISHES.HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU..”