Hamas Dubai hit...

really interesting read on the drama that unfolded in Dubai...



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7029669.ece

word of the day

word for today is zebiba... look it up... i know at least one egyptian at my work who has one, but his is like a darker spot than a bump...

it shows me the amazing level of devotion from some. there is video of an entire football stadium chanting the Quran before a match to help their team. men regularly go 5 times a day to the mosque, washing their feet, bowing together in unison... we see men from all walks of life, landscapers in the park, drivers pulled over on the side of the road, everyone facing mecca... a lot of devotion... what is interesting as well, is no one is attempting to convert me, no one judging me, no JW's or christians on a saturday morning... a little slice of the middle east life...

random thoughts...

hey all...

long time since i blogged last, for all of you not on facebook, get on facebook!!! :)
i throw most of my photos on there, so you get a good taste of what lorien and i are up to...


pics on this page are from our health club and pool we are always hanging at, and a pic of lorien and i from a night out... black and white theme night, at a bar on yas island...

wanted to post some random thoughts about life here... little day to day things that people might not realize... generally life here is the same as back home, with a few minor differences...

i am out walking tinsley with my friend bruce (texan), and there are bangledeshi workers in the park, staring at us... and i think to myself, have they ever seen two westerners walking a 5 pound chihuahua before??? probably not!!!!

living near all the embassies, we get to see some cool stuff from time to time, like motorcades, or military helicopters dropping into an embassy parking lot...

photo radar everywhere!!!

haven't seen much of the olympics, because i am still trying to see who has the international broadcastting rights, but i have found some stuff online, and some live stuff, but of course it is also 12 hours of time difference, so i am not up at 3 or 5 am...

some times, when we are BBQ'ing in our villa, with all our ex-pat friends, feels like home... if home was 25 degrees in the winter, then we are home...

went on vacation to fujairah, on the indian ocean side of UAE... nice!!! scuba diving, snorkeling, general beach laying and poolside tanning... lots of fun...

work is okay, i am learning lots about safety and environmental health, OHS, etc... useful stuff for any future careers...

lorien's parents come to visit in march, getting excited about showing them around town...

got my UAE driver's license, so i can finally drive our car... couldn't before because local law was that if you owned a car, must have a resident visa and license... if you rented a car, you could use your canadian license...

if you are not from usa, england, canada, australian, etc.. you need to take a driver's test and road sign course... you get one try, if not you have to take a driver's course... so if you are from india, egypt, syria, etc.. you need to jump through all these hoops and pay all this money for a UAE license, even though in your home country you might have driven for the last 20 years...

going to go to UFC when it comes in april, very excited about that, as you guys all know, love the MMA...

people here, especially locals, love to cut to the front of the line...
and that occurs in driving or in the supermarket... oblivious more than anything...

someone said they didn't recognize lorien in some photos, because we are getting so much sun!!! we have been spending a lot of offtime at the pool, nice to get some relaxing time...

playing the odd game of poker with friends, not as good as gibsons though!!

went online to the sechelt courthouse list the other day, same names as always!!! oh jack, when will you learn!!! hahaha...

hope everyone is well back home, i am for sure coming back in october, 20 year high school reunion...

more blogs to come soon, and hopefully more pics of random life in abu dhabi...