Huh... I believe I woke up from a long slumber - ala sleeping beauty - and here I am, back to my blog again. I couldn't believe, I hibernated for more than 4 months? That long? Tsk.. tsk.. tsk..
Gee, I never thought I would be that busy least forget writing in my blog. Worry not, my friends. I'll try to make it up. Opss... I already promised to do that last April. hehehe.. This time, no slips. I'm pretty sure of it.
The beauty of having good friends who reads your blog is that you have a built in alarm to remind you that you've been away too long. That's exactly what my friends from Singapore did. "Where did you go?", they asked.
Hmm... I didn't go that far. Aside from my trip in Bahrain, I did nothing special during the past two months. But I was buried with tons of work in the office and was too pre-occupied with my toastmasters' speeches.
But worry not my friends. I'll be back very soon. Once again, I will fill up the missing pages in my blog.
2pm...
The adrenaline was pumping my body as I endulge myself with photo spree. I was estatic. It was two years since I last watch an F1 race at Sepang. And now, I am back with a better camera and a better angle of view. hehehe...
I have taken over three thousands pictures, and I could have taken more had it not been of the hunger fangs that started to bite on my stomach. "I'll come back early tomorrow", I quipped. Then, I packed my things and slowly get back to my car on the way to Manama City.
According to my guide map, I could reached Manama at before 3pm. Well, I followed what was drawn on the map but unfortunately, I didn't realized that I was using an outdated one. With too much confusion on the landmarks and perhaps because of hunger, I eventually got lost and was running around in circles for over hour. Luckily, I found a Filipina who was kind enough and help me get my way to Seef Mall.
After a quick lunch, I drop by at the Canon shop to visit my friend Amira.
11:30am
The temptation to watch the F1 cars on action was so strong! I couldn't resist pulling my car towards the Grand Prix circuit race track instead of heading straight towards Manama. I was hungry but didn't mind it. My heart was filled with excitement just to see and hear the thunder of the F1 cars. And.. ahh!!! the radio station was broadcasting the event live, reinforcing my desire. "If only I could fly", I quipped.
At 12:17pm, I was standing at the University Grandstand S2. Finally!
Before me was an magnificent sight o
f the Sakhir race track and it was littered with beautiful screaming F1 cars.
Woaahh!!! What a wonderful feeling indeed. How I wish I could let you feel it too.
I reached the King Fahad Causeway at around 10:15am.
Not much people or car around, except for few cargo trucks and trailers along the restricted lanes. So I thought, this would be an easy one. But I was dead wrong. I didn't know that I still have to get a police clearance for my car. And unlucky I am maybe, I got entangle with a Saudi Checkpoint officer who had trouble speaking or understanding English. I have to wait for thirty minutes at the holding area before an English speaking guard explained the situation to me.
The officer was kind though. He gave me instructions on what to do, and then advised that I can obtain the missing papers at the nearby police stations. It didn't take that long before I finally made it to Bahrain borders. After the immigration at the Bahrain checkpoint, everything went on smooth.
Hheheheh! I was in Bahrain in no time.
4am
I have to struggle just to push my body towards the edge of the bed. Otherwise, I will continue sleeping until 7am. Last night was an ordeal. The aircon was too noisy and .. eww.. the bed was itchy! I guess, sleep started to kick in only after 2pm. That explain why I was so sleepy this morning. Hmm, why did I pick this hotel in the first place? Gee, this is what I get for trying to save few Riyals.
Nevertheless, I managed to drag this lazy & fat Nathaniel into the car before 5am. I reached the Corniche breakwater just few minutes before sunrise. I immediately set my gears towards the horizon facing the Persian Gulf. I know this place - been here 5 years ago - hence I know where to expect the sun would rise. I waited. Waited for few more minutes. But the sun simply didn't showed up. It was too cloudy and the visible arc only showed up when the sun was a fistful over the horizon.
Why did I think of taking sunrise pictures? huhuhu... I should have stayed in the hotel and sleep my butt until 8am. Anyway. I still manage to salvage some nice street photos along the breakwater. You may like to visit my website to view this pix.
http://www.pbase.com/nathan_amores/streets_al_khobar 
Okay, alright. Here's once sample pix. The Corniche
I reached Al Khobar at around 12:45pm. Hungry and with an exploding bladder, I decided to make a U-turn along the city entrance and took a break at Carrefour. I got into the huge mall and not surpringly, only found a few dozens of shoppers. Well, if this beautiful mall is just in Singapore, I would expect it to be bursting with life and excitement. But then, this is Saudi Arabia.
Huh! I believe I need to readjust my expectations.
In fairness, Al Khobar is less restrictive than Riyadh. At the cafeteria, I saw families taking their lunch on open tables. They were actually sitting on areas designated as "Single's Section". And what is more surprising, I saw several Caucasians ladies taking their lunch at the same area without any male companion. This is a sight I could never see in Riyadh.
After two hours, I went back to the road and look for Daharan Mall. I need to book for my F1 Grand Prix ticket otherwise, I might miss a seat in the University Stadium. It didn't take me long to find the mall. It was a smaller mall but much cozier and more organized, not to mention there are more shoppers. And hey, I saw several ladies walking along the corridors without their Abaya dress! Most of them are expats, though I found few Arab looking girls too. I suspect these ladies are not Saudis at all.
I found the F1 Store across a painting gallery, and it was close. I was disheartened when the guards told me that they would open at 4pm. Gee, that would be an hour of waiting but I have not choice. I still have no ticket. I decided to cancel my plans for the sunset shoot at the causeway. Even if I can make on time at the causeway, I still have to find a hotel to stay in.
Bored, I crossed the walkway and get into the painting gallery. My objective was to study the landscape painting and get some idea how to do it in photography. I was browsing on some paintings when someone asked me a favor to take their picture using their Point-and-Shoot camera. When I saw who was speaking, howaaahhh!!!, I saw a smiling beautiful lady. Of course, I took their picture using their camera... and you guess it right. I also took their picture using my DSLR. 
The ladies were receptive. They spoke good English and were literally open minded as they exchange conversation with a male stranger - me!
I learned that they were educated in UK which explains their natural skills in dealing with guys. I enjoyed talking to them. They were interested with my hobby and even entertained the idea of having a photo session with me. Before they left, they gave me their names and phone number. We set a tentative photo shoot this coming May. Here's the picture of the girl named Sausan.
8 o'clock in the evening
I decided to rest and forego night shooting at the Corniche. I was very tired and a good long rest was a welcome thought.
Zzzzzzhhhh....
Two hours later...
The swarm of cars along the busy Damman Road has thinned out. You could count with your hand the number of cars along the long stretch of sun-baked four-lane expressway. No more buildings on the sideways except for small mud-brick shelters for shepherds.
It's a long and lonely road they may say, but for a first timer like me the desert dunes and herd of camels along the highway was a sight to behold. I even made a 30-minute stop just to take pictures of camel! hah! Querr? Nah, I was just curious and excited to see so many camels.
How do camel look like in the wild? Hmm... they look like... just like camels. Hehehe.. Kidding aside, they may look all the same from afar but upon closer inspection, you will easily distinguish one from another by the subtle difference in color and shape of the face. I didn't know this before, did I?
Two more stops, before I finally zoom down to Al Khobar. At an average running speed of 150kph, I arrived in Al Khobar in less than 4 hours, and that is including the three stops I made for the camel. Gee... I forgot one thing. I should have taken a portrait of myself with the camels. Wahahahaha...
I woke up early today, err.., I should say I sleep less last night. On a regular weekend, you can expect to see me snooring on my bed until 10am. But today is different. I couldn't sleep well because there was too much adrenaline in my body and my heart was pumping with excitement. I will take my road trip today, hhehe.. and I am "sky"ted, really!
Two things preoccupied my mind. First, I am excited and at the same frightened with the thought of taking my first long distance drive alone. For the entire trip, that would be a whooping 1200 kilometers or more. Gee, I never tried driving more than 200 km in one setting, and now I am doing it in a foreign land and alone. Huwahhh! Second, I extremely excited of testing my new Canon 40D in Bahrain F1 Grand Prix. It's been quite some time since I last shoot for F1 races and I am half-hearted if I still have the skills to do it. You see after rotting for six months in Saudi Arabia, I had this strange feeling that I am loosing my touch with photography. Duh, I guess there only one way to find out. Test it!
I left Riyadh at around 9am.
I took the Dammam Road via Exit 8. Khurais Road would be a shorter way but I don't know what Exit to take. Anyway, both roads eventually leads to Al Khobar then Bahrain.
I excuse my self from work this afternoon, giving a lame excuse to my boss that I need to look for my lost Iqama ID. I actually lost my ID yesterday, which my collegues knew, but I didn't tell them that I found it this morning in my car. I used the lost card issue as an alibi so I get out of the office early.
And did you know where I go? Hehehehe... I went for a photo shoot.
Ranie called up yesterday and asked me if I could accomodate a photoshoot with the Top 2 Graduates of every Filipino Schools in Riyadh. Gee.. why would I say no? Of course, I was elated with the request. Hehehe.. It looks like, I am becoming the official photographer of SE Production. 
I meet the graduates at the Future Generation School at around 2pm. There were 18 of them - the valedictorians and salutatorians of the 9 Filipino Schools in Riyadh. The siblings Kevin and Charmain of RIS were also there and were all smile upon seeing me.
Well, the photoshoot went fine. I took four 500w flood lights with me to illuminate the place, and Ranie on the other hand bring a nice backdrop to serve as a good background. I took several group shots then asked each of them for a portrait.
More photos in my site:
http://www.pbase.com/nathan_amores/grads_2008
I you recall, last month I was invited as one of the judges in the Search for Speaker of the Year at the Riyadh International School. Of the six judges, four came from the academe and only me and a guy named Ranie Mabasanta were from the corporate.
Ranie, I learned, is the current CEO and President of SE Production. They were in charge for all the social activities at the Philippine Embassy and the current copyright holder of the Ginoo & Binibining Pilipinas - KSA. They were also active in other beauty pageant and fashion shows here in Riyadh, though performed covertly and usually conducted at Expatriate Compounds where locals are restricted.
Today, Ranie gave a call and invited me to conduct a photo shoot session with the SE Production officers. The object was to capture a corporate picture that will use for a souvenir program and to be used for Saudi Gasette - a daily local newspaper.
The photo session was challenging. The location was poorly illuminated and flash photography simply doesn't help. I have to make use of my incandescent boom light just to give enough light for all the subject. I actually didn't like using the boom light because of the yellow color of the light, but I have no choice. Anyway, I can do white balance adjustment on the photos using PhotoShop.
And one thing more, we didn't have any backdrop. Gee.. I still have to manually edit the background and replace it with something else. Whew! That was really difficult.
Anyway, we manage to get some good shots.
Finally! After waiting for 10 days, my new 'baby' has arrived.
The agent from Autostar gave me a ring at around 5pm today. He informed me that the plate number has arrived and the car is now ready for pickup. Without wasting any minute, I immediately went home and park my rented car. Then proceed to t
he car shop via taxi.
Indeed, the car was ready when I arrived. Hmm.. didn't I told you that I choose Hyundai Tucson SUV over Toyota Corolla sedan? I really love my new baby. Just one glitch though. It doesn't come on pink. Hehehe.. I was just kidding of course. I initially choose a red SUV but some muslim brothers strongly advice me to keep away from the red color. Red, according to their culture, is a sign of bad luck and oftentimes considered as haram (forbidden).
Well... I could have settled for metallic green but the stock will arrive in three to four months. No choice, I pick the Saraha Grey (smoke silver) over Artic Frost (light blue). And yes, you were right. I was smiling from ear to ear when I drove my car towards home. Ahh... my sweet new 'baby'.
I know this feeling! Excitement over something that I really like of love. The last time I felt this way, was in 2006 when I first pick up my Digital SLR camera. I still remember how addict I was that there was nothing in my mind but pictures, camera and gears. And yes, I spend countless sleepless nights just to understand the technical intricacies of photography and at the same time learn Adobe Photoshop to enhance my work.
Now, I'm sleepless again and this has been ongoing for the past two weeks. I was restless not because of my camera nor because I was thinking of someone, but because I got too excited with my new car that even when I close my eyes I would imagine myself behind the steering wheel.
Nah! This is simply crazy. I need to go to sleep. Hmm.. where's my 'hammer'?
My first speech for the Toastmasters Club
Basic Manual: Ice Breaker
Evaluator: ATM-G/CL Ditas Tiamzon
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