Final Post: What A Long Strange Trip It's Been

My first draft of this post was a twisting and turning account of the past 5 years of my life and how it ended up here.  I've now erased that and will try to do it again, less as a summary and more as a reflection.

Five years ago, I was moving on to the next step of my career, away from home, away from friends, and perhaps most importantly, away from a church I was very active in, and a youth group, which volunteering in brought me great happiness.  While chaperoning a youth conference with that organization I attended a lecture on vocations and left needing to do something different with my life; not believing any one path to be my 'calling', but certain that I was not going to find it building power plants in rural communities.

The next day I began my Peace Corps application.

I am often skeptical of those claiming divine intercession; I think the word miracle is overused and that billions of scenarios yield millions of improbable and fantastic 'one in one-thousand results' every single day. But I also believe God has a purpose for our life, that out of chaos he provides a strange and perfect order, and somehow ensures the people and places we need to experience are woven into our existence.

I am so blessed for all the experiences and circumstances in my life that put me in Greenville in early 2012, for having met Amanda, and having been ready for her to become part of my life.

This blog is titled 'Ryan's Next Steps' alluding my continuing journey of discernment and discovery.  In some ways that journey ended New Years 2013, with the past 16 months being the epilogue.

...But that journey, and these past two blogs are just one character's back story, spanning 5 critical years; not years that made me who I was, but years that allowed me to discover who I was and what I wanted.

Now the main story begins, we hope you all can experience it with us over the next 50 years...

Launching today... Living the Lucky Life

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad, Babydoll.

HIMYM Spoiler Alert...

Had I known the season wasn't going to follow normal time flow I wouldn't have included condition #3.

Still 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

Wedding Update & Life In Saudi

Wedding Update:

The wedding is quickly approaching, countdown timers on my Nexus 5 indicate the wedding is 43 days away, and the bachelor party is 35 days away.  I'll be contacting the DJ later today with our song list and doing other final alignments and checks.  This week I tentatively selected the three beers to served at the wedding, Amanda placed an order for a case of wine, and about a week ago we put together a rough draft of the seating.

I turned in my travel request for the honeymoon this week, amid a series of visa reform policies currently being administered here at site.  Essentially my company's HR department wants me to go home for a visa switch-out on my June R&R.  I don't know if that will translate into an extended R&R or some new documentation being delivered to my layover hotel in Miami, but it isn't going to prevent me from spending 10 nights in this room...

Arabia Update:

The weather is really nice right now in Saudi Arabia and that ought to hold true until about the time of the wedding, after which it will get ridiculously hot.

I've now been here for over a year, and am currently expecting another 8 months.  By the time the wedding is past I ought to be within 6 months of this being over.  When it is all over I will likely have been here longer than I was in Uganda.

The experience is both parallel and juxtaposed to my Peace Corps experience.  The boredom of nights and my days off here is very similar to my Peace Corps experience, except that Peace Corps was marked by 5  - 12 day stretches of boredom between getting out of my village.  There is also a slight pay differential between the two jobs.  Today is my first day off in a month, having worked through the last 3 Fridays, a normal week has me booking anywhere between 65 and 85 hours. I can handle the work load just fine... the bigger concern is that other than Skype nights, there isnt anything to look forward to when leaving work.

I've focused my boredom into some career development opportunities, really getting aggressive with Fluor online training and getting my Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP) certification from AACEI.  I'm studying for my Project Management Professional (PMP) exam right now which I might be able to knock off in April. 

Hopefully the flurry of letters after my name make me an easy sell to a client for a Greenville position in the 4th quarter.

Jamaica, Yeah Mon!

The Plan

We had one less day than usual on this latest R&R due to trying to save as many of Amanda's vacation days as possible for the rest of the year.  I couldn't come back into the country for tax purposes and we wanted to minimize Amanda's jet lag since she would have to be back at work the day after our R&R. Also, our Italy and Scotland trips were amazing, but also stressful at times, making trains, trying to see lots of sites, walking miles with luggage, changing hotels every other day or more as we made our way to the next city... we wanted to avoid all that.

We've had our honeymoon booked at Sandals La Toc St. Lucia for a while and thought a trip to Sandals Jamaica would be relaxing, easy travel, and provide a good opportunity to get the feel of Sandals prior to our honeymoon.

Travel

I'm getting snobby about my flying lately, and had resolved that this would be my last 'coach' ticket so long as the Saudi assignment was going.  Maybe I'll reconsider as I was able to get the exit row front row aisle seat on most of my flights, providing literally 4 feet of clear legroom in front of me. 

Last seen at the LHR
Terminal 3 Starbucks.

In London Heathrow one of two things happened.  Either somebody stole the sexy hat, or I lost it. I shared my assessment that it was clearly one of those two possibilities with Amanda, and that we would never know what really happened.  I don't know what made her more sad, that I won't be sexy anymore or that she likely faces a life filled with stolen hats. (this has happened before)

I flew through London and on to Miami where I met Amanda Friday evening for our Saturday flight.  (The US allows expats to travel through the US for less than a 24 hour stay without counting it as a day in the US).  Our hotel room overlooked the airport but was well constructed and was very quiet.  It was really cool to watch the 777s landing.  This isn't one of them, but you get the idea.

We had a short flight over Cuba from Miami to Jamaica.  I surprised Amanda with first class tickets.  A little extra leg room, warm mixed nuts, and complimentary mixed drinks made for a nice trip, although at less than a two hour flight,  really isn't necessary.  Still, it did a good job of setting the mood the week.

One thing that was undoubtedly a good value and necessary for all our future trips to Jamaica was Club Mobay.  A representative met us in the jetway coming off our plane and walked us past about 500 people to the front of the customs line.  I highly recommend you check out Club Mobay's arrival services and departure lounge for all your future visits to Jamaica.  I've admittedly become addicted to skip the line expediting services this past year, but I don't get to spend nearly enough time with Amanda, so when we are together I do what I can to make sure we don't spend it waiting in lines.

From there we proceeded to the Sandals lounge and boarded a shuttle for the two hour drive to the resort.  When we arrived it was dark and raining.

Getting A Feel for the Resort

We settled into the room and found a nice covered outdoor restaurant for dinner.  I was pretty jet lagged at that point and can't say I remember too much.  I believe I ordered a steak and had my first Manhattan.  I know very little about cocktails as I've never been very inclined to experiment at restaurant prices and don't keep many bar staples in my home.

After dinner I think we headed back to the room to unpack a bit. The next day our stay really kicked off:

. 

It rained most of the night and the next morning the resort looked a bit dreary, but we could appreciate that with a little sunshine this place would be amazing

Breakfast was excellent.  The French Toast with Rum Syrup was a particularly nice touch. As I posted to Facebook from the resort... "it's going to be strange going back to orange juice that doesn't have champagne in it"

Very cool palm trees... still very wet outside.

With the sky like this Amanda and I still got burned on the first day. (in about an hour)  Really made us take note of the severity of the sun in Jamaica.

Lunch at a beachside grill.

Our cottage.

Relaxation was the best part of this trip.  Plenty of comfortable, shady, scenic spots to hang out.

Starting to look a bit less dreary.

Now that is a sweet door.

German Pizza.  Sausage, sauerkraut, and mustard!

Yep.

Sorry ladies, I'm taken.

Amanda on the zip line.

Amanda was super efficient landing, unbuckling, and getting the camera turned on and pointed at me before I came in.

Now that looks more like the resort in the promotional materials.

Amanda looking beautiful, as usual.

Room service breakfast.  This was a little bit of a disappointment, althought it was nice to eat on the patio in our bathrobes.

Amanda enjoying the view.

Me enjoying the view. (from camera perspective)

Once again, this trip was all about relaxation.

Dunn's River Falls Cruise

The guides at Sandals told us the one off site adventure, excursion, type thing that you must do is Dunn's River Falls and the best way to do it was as part of a catamaran cruise.  It did not disappoint.  The total 180 foot climb is actually very easy as they keep the rocks rough with a good grip.  Our guides were amazing, eschewing the path our group was on often, and litterally jumping up the non tourist routes with grace and ease... all while holding our cameras.

We got some great photos along the way, including this gem.

And I really like this one as well. 

The cruise back to the resort was great.  We sat on the front section of the boat on a webbed net and enjoyed drinks as we sailed out and into some waves.  Every time I went back to the bar they made my rum and coke a bit stronger.  The boat ebbing 15 feet up and down made for a great ride... the rum might have helped enhance this experience, Amanda noted I was in rare form.

 Some more photos...

One of the last nights there Sandals did a weekly beach party.  There was a station where they cut the tops off coconuts, drained half the juice and replaced it with rum.

Back to the resort.

Complimentary Photo Shoot

Part of the Sandals business model is to have professional photographers out at the pool, at various events, and for them to schedule a complimentary private session with you, then obviously sell you a photo package.   It worked.  See some of the results below...

Personally, I think they should have paid us for this one. If I'd shaved and had the sexy hat this would probably be in the new marketing materials.  That isn't actually a Sandals brochure, it is their employee guide book, and we are "reading" the page on HIV prevention and anti-discrimination.

and this one is my favorite.

Jamaica Preview

Just a quick sneak peak at the upcoming Jamaica blog post...

Sandals Grande Riviera, Ocho Rios, Jamaica

River Tubing

Zip Lining

Free drinks, great views.

A bit of eccentric opulence. 

And yeah... that happened.

2013: A Year of Great Moments & Boring Months

Over the course of this last year I've often reflected that 2012 was the strangest year of my life.  Time has had it's effect and dulled the strangeness but it remains a year of unpredictable moments.  2013 has proven to be quite the opposite.

Most people reading this blog know that about 45 minutes into 2013 I asked Amanda to marry me.  

When that happened I knew I'd be heading to Saudi Arabia, so after the initial major life change things started to fold out quite predictably.  

We decided on places we wanted to visit during R&Rs and have mostly stuck to the plan, seeing New York, London, Scotland, & Italy.  We've yet to see Ireland, and we left off some key places in Italy in favor of having more time in the places we did stay.  We definitely intend to go back and spend a few more weeks there... eh... we might spend a few months in Italy at one point.

Ireland got cut out of 'Ryan & Amanda's Crazy Celtic Adventure' because it was just getting too crazy. (I think the first draft of our itinerary had 38 hours driving plus 6 hours on a ferry.

Amanda and I started in a routine of 2 skype days a week, which quickly turned into 2 skype days and 2 scheduled phone calls a week, which has now turned into 2 skype days, minimum 3 phone calls a week.

Life here is very predictable.  I work about 80 hours a week and the rest is filled up with Amanda, working out, eating, & sleeping.  Maybe some reading or video games here and there.  It's not fun and the project can be frustrating but it is getting Amanda and I off to a great start in our marital finances.

So, with the year now behind us I'll offer:

My top 10 moments of 2013...

10.  Drew & Nick giggling like girls when Amanda and I walked up to them in New York.  They were just so happy for me.

9. Beautiful Scotland

8. Tea at Edinburgh Castle

7.  Craft Beer Festival & Avett Brothers on R&R

6. Wicked in London!!!

5. This cheesecake.

4.  Staying in a castle.

3.  Getting to know Saluda's Sweet Tea Pork Chop - really the only reason for Columbia to be.

2. Something I've been looking forward to my whole life, going to the top of the Empire State Building

1. She said yes.