Like the any good Houston countdown we are now into the final days of the contract - today is 48 hours minus 8 before we head to the airport for the red-eye flight to Dubai and on to the UK, Jordan and home.
Everyone in the Qatar team is in varying states of packing and shipping our gear home as well as apartment tidying which means gathering boxes and cases and tracking down a reliable carrier to get our possessions home in time for our arrival in wintery New Zealand.
We all gathered for a final, very hot,(temperature around 45C - humidity 60%) get together on the roof of the Gharrafa apartments on Sunday night as an excuse to empty fridges and cupboards before we close up our apartments and head off to different parts of the globe for travel and, for some, new jobs and experiences.
This morning was a definite very early awakening as the waterpipe repair crew on the streets surrounding our block decided to make a start before the temperatures got above 30c. So at 4.15am they switched on the digger sized jack-hammer outside our windows and began to smash their way through the seal and the underlying rock to the pipes below.
When the thumping of engine and hammer began I rolled over, glanced at the clock, swore and then, deciding that there was little point trying to snatch another 20 minutes dozing, fell out of bed to prepare for our penultimate day at work.
For the rest of the Cognition team in the Mazda Apartments the preparation for departure continue but not without some respite as the Mazda 2 quiz group are planning their final regular monthly appearance as the "Mazda Mafia" at the Ramada Quiz night tonight where we hope to at least get in the final three before we head our different ways from Tuesday night. Frank, ever the optimist, has asked how we'd cope if we won this time around as the usual prize is QR1000 of dining at one of the Hotel restaurants. Needless to say there have been volunteers among the later departers to take up the challenge and dine on the quiz team's behalf!
Tuesday will see us being farewelled by the staff at MBAW, returning our car to the hire company and delivering our bags and boxes to the Carrier for shipment to New Zealand in the evening.
Joy and I plan to complete tidying up the apartment and doing a wander around the Souqs on Wednesday before heading out to the airport around midnight for the 3.00am flight to Dubai and our flight to London and the first stage of our roundabout trip home.
We will catch up with Roddy, Carl's best friend in London, our daughter and her family in Wales and, with luck, contact other relations in England before heading off to explore Jordan.
Our next posting will, given an internet connection, be from Jordan.
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