Friday, November 6, 1998 - 12:25am  -- Paris, France

I'm back!  Just arrived back from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this morning at 6am on a flight, which had a stopover briefly in Jeddah.  I was actually bummed because I wanted to stop in Jeddah for a couple days and do some scuba diving- it's supposed to be phenomenal- untouched marine territory on the Red Sea- but I didn't have the time.  It takes a couple days, well 24 hours at least, after diving to fly.  I had enough time to work, then hit the markets with a local Saudi friend.   I was able to buy a really cool Afghani rug, as well as an antique Bedouin window.  It's made of wood and hand designed and painted.  It also has all the original hardware for closing and locking the window.  It even came in a frame, which is new and built out of cedar.  Here's a closeup of the design:

Antique Bedouin window

I'll hang this on my wall- it makes an exceptional piece of folk art.  Well, it's not recommended to take pictures in Saudi Arabia, but I couldn't resist:

The Gang, holding a copy  of 'Arab News':  Steve, Tom, Alain, Motaz	Arab market in central Riyadh	I want my Corn Flakes...	Gentlemen greeting  in front of a mosque

So this weekend is relax, as next week and the following weeks are mostly travel.  Heading to the States next Thursday... psyched.  My friend Eric Barros (pictured below) is a killer DJ, and tonite he's got his Paris debut at a club called Folies Pigalle- heading there now... should be a rockin' time.

Ok.  The Halloween party was crazy.  Had about 60 people in my place.  Absolutely nuts.  the apartment was completely full.  Many people dressed up, to my surprise, even a few of the french folks.  The neighbor upstairs was a complete dick- he came down to bitch at 11pm, before the party even got going.  We appeased him a bit by turning down the bass on the stereo, but it was very clear he wanted nothing to do with what he called this shit American holiday.  He threatened to call the police a couple times, but didn't have the guts, so after 1am, didn't bother us anymore.  Otherwise, lots of friends came, we had a cool DJ, it was raining a bit outside, but inside the drinks flowed, people danced, and in general had a great time.  Marko got lucky, but then, he always does....

So here are some highlights:
 

Tristan... 'nuff said	Joan, Steven and yes, I was Napoleon...	Willy from  Canal Jimmy	Guess which one's the DJ?
A guy from Microsoft legal (shortly afterward, my corkscrew disappeared...)	The Gang from work	Napoleon & the Angel	Annabel tells yet another guy to  bug off...
Mitzi gets down	One scary dude...	Ibrahim (I was never there, not  drinking your nonexistent  vodka...)	Steven leading the  Comedie Francaise troupe...

Tomorrow I leave for Saudi Arabia.  I'm only going for one day, which is fine.  Will return on Thursday.  After that, I have a week of travel in Europe, then on to the States for a week and a half.  I need an america break anyway...