Last night I got a text message “Tomorrow Holiday.” That was it.
At breakfast, there were rumors the King had given everyone another day off. Sunday was National Day, so this would give us a four-day weekend. I figured I would go to work just to be sure and maybe use the pool.
The guards were on duty, but no Bangladeshis came to open the buildings, including my office and the gym. I waited for twenty minutes. Two confused Saudis arrived. I wandered to the car dealership to get routine stuff done. They are closed too.
On my compound, we have a new crew of Nigerians. They have been in kingdom for three weeks. They were waiting for their bus. I sent them back to bed.
You get this sort of nonsense in an absolute monarchy. If they had told us last week, I could have gone to Cairo for a beer.
Wow, I just said ‘My kingdom for an extra day off’…who thought someone could actually say that, and mean it.
Some years ago, my best friend and coworker was from Taiwan. She had trouble keeping track of U.S. holidays. Eventually she decided that if she arrived at work and no one else was there, she would just turn around and drive home.
She also used to ask me to explain American dirty words to her. She was so funny and cute. I miss her.