If you build it...

...I am watching Field of Dreams. No real meaning behind the title but one of the best movies ever made!!!

Just writing to say "hi!"

So this weekend is my first triathlon. I am actually really anxious about it (Darin says that is a better way to say "nervous"). Last weekend we did a practice run at the course so I know that I can complete it. I keep telling myself that I am not out to break any records and that this is just to set a baseline for myself. I will then really start training and try to beat my previous race times. Another funny thing about triathlons is that you wear a "triathlon suit". For those that are not aware, a triathlon suit is a skin tight, one piece suit with a butt pad. Sounds attractive, huh? It makes me feel like a penguin! All part of the fun. Hopefully I will have some pictures after the event. Wish me luck!

Also, thanks to a new friend who has started reading my blog, I feel obliged to make a correction to a previous post. ;-) Apparently, there were over 10,000 people at the Lenny Kravitz concert. Thank you Elif!

I hope that you are doing well. Talk to you / see you soon! I come home on the 17th of December and will be staying until the 26th. Can't wait!!!!!

Christmas Plans and South Africa

Hi!!! I hope that everyone is doing well.

First of all, I have finalized my plans for Christmas. I will be flying into Chicago on the 17th of December and staying for a few days. I will then go back to Sherman to spend Christmas with the family! I am really excited because everyone is going to be there! I will be a great time. I then leave for chicago again on the 26th and fly to Paris for New Year's on the 27th. I can't wait to see everyone! Let me know your plans and we will get together for dinner or a drink.

South Africa...AMAZING!!!

I will put a few pictures here for you to see. I have also posted more pictures on Facebook.

It was an amazing trip and we learned a lot about the culture. We ate worms!

Also went shark cage diving and bungee jumping at the world's tallest bungee! Holy crap, that was amazing!

We were also exposed to some of the more "raw" South Africa. We went to a town that felt like it was right out of a Western movie and hung out with some South African "hicks". Many of them had lived through apartheid and were very willing to tell us all about it. Very interesting stories. I will tell you about them when we go for that drink! We also did lots of hiking and a bit of caving. That was fun.

In other news, I am training for a triathlon at the end of November. That means that I have to do something that I haven't done in over 18 months...run! I am struggling a bit with that part, but I will get it. No worries. It has been fun to train.

Type to you soon!

It's about time!!!

First and foremost, I apologize for not updating sooner. I can't belive that it has been so long. A lot has happened since I last wrote. I have been diving off the coast of Oman, saw a Lenny Kravitz concert in the most beautiful concert venue in the world, spent a couple of days in the Turkish countryside, and...led the pack in the bike club (see the last post)!! Good times.

Let's see...

A few weeks ago, some friends and I decided to take a dive trip off of the coast of Oman. It is amazing. The landscape changes from sandy desert to rocky mountains in a matter of a 90 minute drive. Crazy.

The diving was really great and the water clarity was very nice. The water temperature was actually quite cool and we had to wear wetsuits.

We saw all sorts of fish and wildlife. It was really nice.

I have spent the last two weeks in Turkey. I was there for work, but was able to go to a Lenny Kravitz concert. It was awesome. It was a pretty small venue with only about 2,500 screaming people. The concert took place right on the Bosphorus and the view was breathtaking. The pictures aren't great because they are from my blackberry. Sorry.

I was there for a week of work, then spent some time in "the village" with some friends. This part of Turkey is not like Istanbul at all. It was lush countyside and everywhere I looked there were sunflowers. It was really nice.

Oh, and no one spoke a word of English. It was very relaxing. We barbequed and at great Turkish food, hung out with old men and played backgammon. In Turkish villages, they customarily have a place where all of the men sit and drink tea (chai) and coffee (mostly tea) and play card games or read the paper while talking about gossip and the local news (I think). It was really great. My friend Shaun and I went and drank tea and played backgammon. Good times.

The house in which we were staying did not have air conditioning so we kept the windows open at night. For those of you who know me, you know that isn't a big deal. I can sleep just about anywhere and don't mind the fresh air...unless there is a rooster involved!!!!!! I managed to pick up a new nemisis while I was there. Not cool. At 5:30 every morning, my good friend would do his thing. Don't get me wrong, I understand that it is a biological thing and he couldn't help it, but this was no ordinary "good morning" cock-a-doodle-do. This was a "I am being strangled by the neighbor's dog and am screaming for help" cock-a-doodle-do.

When we first got to the village on Friday, we sat down outside to have dinner. We sat down for soup, beans, and rice with chicken. As we got to the rice, Devrim (my friends 3.5 year old son asked a simple question. "Mom, what happened to the rooster that was being mean and chasing me around last weekend?" His grandmother, who doesn't speak English, said (in Turkish) "You got the last laugh!" As he raised a piece of chicken to his mouth! It was really funny!!! The food was obviously fresh and homemade. It was wonderful! This is a picture of me and Devrim.

After the weekend in the village, we made the journey back to Istanbul for another week of work. I am now back in Dubai and have TONS of laundry to do!! More soon!

Braveheart and Clipping Shears

So here I am, sitting on my couch eating mango and Nutella (you guess which one I am enjoying more!). Delicious! I just got done with a 40km bike ride that proved to be the most interesting ride I have had since I have been here by far. Check it out...

...The route that I ride is sits among three roundabouts that make up a 10.2 km loop. The roundabouts are lush with gardens in the center and palm trees surrounding them. The straightaways are fairly flat and populated with palm trees that are holding on to their last breath of spring before the heat overwhelms them. All of this vegitation is here because this road leads to one of the palaces of Sheikh Mohammad. What does this mean for me and other cyclists in Dubai? Road to palace = beautiful landscaping + very few cars = perfect bike path!

As I clipped into my pedals tonight, I felt my legs flex and shake as if to ask me what the hell I was thinking after the 80 km that we did yesterday. It was supposed to be an easy ride just to keep the soreness down and keep my legs active...here we go...

...at about kilometer 20, I was just starting to get into a really nice rhythm and feel good about the ride. As I approached the third roundabout, I quickly glanced ahead, to see another bicycle stopped at 12 o'clock on the roundabout. My new rival, having seen me approaching, has started going again and has just now passed the crest of the hill on which the third roundabout sits. Not knowing anything about this mystery rider, I decided to tuck into my drops and kick it up a notch to see what I was up against. I decided not to go all the way around the loop and headed off onto the straightaway to keep the contest fair.

As I got out of the roundabout, I heard the sound of metal striking metal. The clinking was getting closer and closer...I pedalled harder and harder. Clink! Clink! Clink!

All of a sudden, I look over to see not one person, but two! On the same bike! Carrying clipping shears! My new "rivals" were two garden keepers from Pakistan or India and were not rivals at all! One of them was pedalling while the other was sitting on the rack on the back. Their trusty steed was a heavy, steel bicycle that looked like it had come directly from the set of a WWII movie. The clinking that I heard was the old, rusty chain rubbing against the chain guard. They pulled up along side of me, puffed up their chests with pride, sat up on the bike to show a facade of complete composure, smiled from ear to ear and said with only one breath left in their lungs and gasping for air..., "Hello!"

I sat up to match their pose and replied back after a deep breath, "Hello." All three of us inherently knew that verbal communication beyond our greeting was not an option so we smiled at each other as to establish some type of relationship.

I realized that we were just starting to ascend a hill that leads to the royal majlis (look it up) and these men were part of the grounds crew that tend to the gardens and land. These men do not ride their bike for fun, but as a means of transportation. They ride everyday, nice weather and blistering heat. Our little exchange was a fun game for them. I was all done up in my bike shorts, jersey and helmet. They were dressed in their dishdash and on the way to work. I instantly smiled when I realized that I would be the loser in our little race when it was told from their perspective. They certainly derserved to win tonight.

As soon as we established our relationship and as we started to climb the hill, they fell behind. I turned back to them and motioned to come in behind me so that I could "pull" ("pulling" in cycling is when one cyclist blocks the wind for another, allowing the second rider to exert less energy yet travel at the same speed) them up the hill. The "driver" understood why I was motioning and came in right behind me like a professional in the Tour de France. We ascended the hill and as we made it to the gates, we both knew that it was time to part ways. As we smiled back at each other and waved they continued on inside the gates while I turned around and headed back down the hill for my cool down. What a cool experience! As I was going back down the hill, I could not help but to laugh out loud. Only in Dubai...only on a bicycle.

As I was down shifting to start my cool down, I heard a peculiar noise behind me. It was a kind of "whirring" noise like a big 4x4 coming down the road with muddin' tires. I looked back to the sight of 15 headlights screaming towards me in a single line! It was the "Dubai Roadsters" on their Sunday night ride! These are the guys and gals that really take cycling seriously. The leader's name is Wolfie (as in Wolfie's Bike Shop where I bought my bike) and his group is made up of both professional cyclists and really good ammatures. As they passed, the sound of racing tires on the pavement, heavy breathing and shifting gears filled the air...

...The last rider in the group was a bigger guy in a blue jersey who gave me a glance as he passed. As he looked, I wondered how I could handle the group ride. "Could I keep up?" "How fast are they going?" "What is it like to ride in a group?"

Just fleeting thoughts, back to my cool down...

"Wait a minute, what am I thinking?! Let's do this!" I geared back up, stood up on my pedals and started a dead sprint. At this point, my legs were just about to give up. The group was about 100 meters ahead and approaching the second roundabout. I knew that I had to catch them before the roundabout because I would have to wait for a car that was quickly approaching. With everything in me, I sprinted my heart out to catch up. I saw the blue jersey getting closer and closer.

"I am going to do this," I thought.

Just then, as I closed in to about 6 inches from the tire in front of me...it got easier.

"Wait a minute. Why is this easier?" "Am I still pedaling?"

Cue "pulling" that I described earlier. It was amazing! I was in a line of cyclists 15 deep that was going 45 km/hour. All the while, the bike in front of me was now 3 inches away! Holy crap! Because I was in the back of the group, I had an amazing view of the entire line as we approached and attacked turns and corners. It was like the movie "Braveheart" when Mel Gibson is screaming, "As one!...Hold!...As one!" We snaked around the roundabouts, one right after another. It was like watching a continuous set of dominoes. One of the coolest things I have ever seen.

I was able to keep up for about 10 minutes before my legs absolutely quit on me. As I cooled down (for real this time), I watched the 15 flashing tail lights disappear into the night with awe.

I wonder how it feels to lead the group...maybe next time...

Check out the videos of my apartment below...

My crib!

I have had quite a few requests to put up pictures of my new apartment. Striving for the next best thing, I thought it would be better to give you a tour! Here are two links (you will be redirected to YouTube). You may have to copy and paste the address into your browser. One is of my apartment, the other is of the pool. I hope that you enjoy them!

My crib...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNMdUNJ31fM


My pool...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJi4ex3Lw4o


Also, Darin and Rawan came to visit a couple of weeks ago. Here are some pictures. There are more pictures of their visit, sand duning and Istanbul on Facebook. Check them out! And yes, I was belly dancing!

I have Skype!!! So should you!

So one way to keep in touch is though a program called Skype. It is free to download and free to talk computer to computer. I was not sure if I could get it or not (due to the regulated internet in Dubai), but I can and I did. I also have a webcam so you should buy a webcam and download Skype so we can talk for free! Really, check it out and let me know when you get it!

I have more pictures of dune bashing that I will post soon. Great times! Thinking about you!

Videos of Bur Dubai and new car

These videos are where I used to live when I first arrived in Dubai. Check them out. I will take some video of my new place and post it soon. Warning: you may get motion sickness due to my video camera abilities!

Also, here are some pictures of my new car.

Friends

So I think that it is about time that I show off some of my friends in Dubai. These pictures happen to be from an apartment crawl that we had at one of the apartment complexes where some of them live.

Me, Sophie (Austrailian), Malek (Canadian) and Bob (American)

Shaun (English), Marissa (Canadian) and Bernardino (Eh! Italian)

More pictures of friends to come later. I hope that you are all doing well.

I'm Back!!!

First of all, I want to apologize for not writing sooner. It has been a crazy time lately and I have simply not had time to sit down and write. Anyway, no excuse. I will try my hardest to get back into a rhythm and write more frequently.

So I have been spending a lot of time in Istanbul lately. It is a great place and I have lots of good stories that I will tell you over a beer when I am back in town. These pictures are from the road between the airport and the Bosphorus.

I will tell you one story. It starts like this...after a long day at the client all I wanted to do was go back to the hotel, grab some dinner and go to sleep. Simple enough request, right? Instead, I get into a cab with a Turk who did not speak a single word of English! I obviously do not speak Turkish, so I told him where I wanted to go and crossed my fingers. About 30 seconds into the journey, he turned to me and said something that sounded like a language right out of a Star Wars movie followed by a circular motion with his hand. I said "Pardon?" which was then followed by another phrase in Turkish that I didn't understand. After that...an understanding! We both looked at each other and I know that we were both thinking, "You have no idea what I am saying, do you?" We both had a good laugh about it (and I am pretty sure that when he answered his cell phone, he was still laughing about it to his friend!) and I ended up at the hotel with my dinner and a bed. It was one of those moments that makes this journey worth taking. I was totally out of my comfort zone and it was great! This picture is of my cab driver.

One thing that I have learned throughout this adventure is that human nature is pretty much the same wherever you go. People laugh and joke, show pride and jealousy, cry and show sadness, and regardless of the language barriers or cultural differences, emotions are the same.

Here is another, "lost in translation" picture! I laughed out loud when I saw this one!

Don't fret, I just don't have internet!!

Hello everyone! Sorry that it has been a while since I have posted. It is not that I haven't been doing things, it is just that I do not have internet at home! I would post here at work but due to the rapid expansion of our office lately (8 people have joined since I started) and the very slow processes over here to get more bandwidth, it would take forever to upload any pictures. As soon as I get my internet at home, I will be sure to update everyone with things that I have been up to (sand duning, BBQing in the desert, shooting shotguns at the local range, etc.). It has been a good time.

I am off to Istanbul again tomorrow. I am going alone this time, so I am a little anxious about that, but I am sure that it will be great.

I hope that you are all doing well!

Oh, by the way, I have heard that I can get Skype over here, so that means that I could potentially talk to all of you for free (if you also have Skype). I will keep you posted.

I hope that you are all doing well. More soon...

Leaving the Oasis

"Where's Waldo?"

Tonight is bitter sweet.


On one hand I move into my permanent place in the Greens tomorrow. I am very excited about finally getting settled in my new place and (yes, dad) finally unpacking my suitcases. On the other hand, tonight I will leave that which is familiar again. The Oasis Court has been my home for the past month and I will really miss it.


I will miss seeing Ahmed at the desk every morning and his cheerful lobby announcement of "Hello, boss!".


I will miss my morning cab ride with Abdul who was always very reluctant to interupt my morning read of the paper to announce the state of the morning traffic or a new restaurant that had just arrived. He was always so curious about the U.S. and would ask about life overseas.


I will miss the nightly swimming crowd. They all had Nike swimcaps and (really) tight swimming trunks, but as Lance Armstrong's book so elequently put it, "It is Not About the Bike." Keep practicing fella's!


I will miss the laundry guy, who I am convinced still does not know the meaning of "lightly starched".


I will miss the smell of curry when I walk out the front door (trust me, that one took some getting used to at 8:00 in the morning!).


This has been a great place to start my new adventure. It is a very humble place where life seems simple and everyone knows your name (maybe because I stick out like a sore thumb!). The people are all very welcoming and kind and I have come to realize that, despite all of the artificial structures being built and the glitz and glam that defines one part of Dubai, there is another part that is very much stuck in the past.


It is a past of inviting weary travelers into one's home for a meal, helping out your fellow man and promoting good will. It is in this very confusing time that Dubai (not unlike all of us) is still being defined. It is a teenager that is stuck between childhood and becoming an adult. It is still trying to find its identity and, just like a teenager some things that are akward and others that are very grown up and mature. Just like a teenager, it is trying to impress the rest of the world with its independence but at the end of the night it gets tucked in by mom and dad. Just like a teenager, it is not sure which way to go next and...


...just like a teenager, we experience many emotions from all ends of the spectrum everyday, but we look to the future with our heads high, ready for the next adventure...

Back from Turkey

First of all, I want to say "Happy Prophet Day" to everyone. Not surprisingly, we do not get Easter off, but we did get today off because it is the Prophet's birthday. Not to worry about Easter though because even though I have to work, one of the ladies in the office is having an "Orphans Easter Celebration" at her place so we are all going over there for Easter after work.

So, you might ask what I did on my day off...well I will tell you that I will no longer have an excuse for bad photography because I bought a digital camera! Good times. I also bought a new piece of luggage. It is a carry on with 4 wheels. Let me tell you that when you are in a region where people have no concept of "me space" (see grocery store story in previous post) it pays off to have a bag with 4 wheels that is not constantly getting stepped on or kicked. I learned this the hard way on my trip to Istanbul.

Istanbul? Yep. It was amazing. I will put some pictures on the bottom of this post from the place where we ate breakfast each morning. Whomever can e-mail me back with the proper name of the body of water in these pictures will get a beer from me when I get home.

Talk about a country with a sense of pride! Holy cow. I cannot imagine trying to drive in that place without knowing Turkish because all of the street signs are in Turkish. I saw a really great car billboard, but I had no clue what kind of car it was because I couldn't read the sign! And speaking of driving, the traffic is horrible! These taxi drivers drive down a street that is probably no wider than my living room at 40 miles an hour with cars on both sides! And the hills! It is like San Francisco. I am not sure how they get their little Euro cars up and down them when it snows! Anyway, back to the pride topic. One of the first things that the client said to me when she was explaining the company was that, "We don't like foreigners." Wow! She did not mean it in a bad way at all, but that tells you how much they love their country. I cannot wait to go back when I have some more time to explore. I plan on staying over a weekend and seeing some of the sites. It is amazing to think about the history behind that country and imagine how these structures are still standing. It was absolutely a great trip. The food was great too.

Here are some of the pictures. I did not have video on my Blackberry, so these are a piecemeal panoramic view from the top of our hotel...

Also, another great part about traveling in and out of Dubai...duty free! You know what that means?!

Answer:

I hope that you are all well! Thinkin' about you.

Trapped at the Airport

So here I sit. My first flight to Istanbul and I am stuck in the airport. My flight is 4 hours delayed and then the actual flight is 4.5 hours long.

I am with my boss, so we have had a great chance to catch up and chat. Oh yeah...we are also hanging out in the Emirates lounge (a.k.a. all of the champagne and food that we can eat and drink!). Don't feel too bad for me (see picture below)

I just got my "e-card" today. The e-card is a credit card like piece of plastic that you swipe to get in and out of customs. It saves tons of time and lets you get through customs without any human interaction! Gotta' love technology. Anyway, I am going to go. More soon!

I found a place!!!

Great news! I have a place to stay!! It is a one bedroom with a study (a.k.a. when you all come to visit, you have a place to stay!). It is in a good location (don't worry mom, it is close to a grocery store) and has a great pool and a gym that I can use anytime. And, if my calculations are right, it is right off of the path that the cycling club uses on their group rides. I will keep you posted on that. Sorry that I do not have any picutres of the place, but when I went to look someone was still living there. Right before I sign the lease (and after the woman moves out) I will have one more inspection to do. I will definitely take some pictures and post them for you to see.

Interesting little tid bit for B.J., today in the elevator on the way back to my apartment from the pool, they were playing "Little Drummer Boy"! I just smiled and laughed inside.

Also, Kipp, I had an arabic version of Red Robin for dinner tonight. It was a "burger" (a beef? patty that was about a millimeter thick) with lettuce, tomato, cheese and an egg! It was not nearly as good as Red Robin and definitely did not come with all you can eat fries. It did come with curry chips though. They were delicious!

So one of my co-workers in Chicago just sent me an e-mail. He is from Turkey and has been in the states for several years. He said that when he moved to the states he was told that he would go through stages of adjustment. First is the excitement phase when you learn new things and are over whelmed with everything around you. Next is the homesick phase when you start to miss the things that you had back home. After that is the frustration phase when you really start to take notice of the differences in cultures and way of life. Finally, is the normalization phase when you continue to learn more and start to feel at home.

I think that these words of advice are probably right on. I spent some time thinking about these phases and where I think I am. As with everything, I would imagine that there are many overlaps and redundancies in the phases, however I think that I have a little bit of all of them!

I still find myself learning something new everyday (today I learned that, in this region, you cannot choose your benefit plans at work).

I also find myself on the verge of tears whenever I hear the right song on Itunes or re-read the cards that my parents very sneakily placed in my luggage!

On top of that, if someone invades my personal space one more time, I think that I might just snap! Needless to say, the concept of "personal bubble" is non-existent over here. The other day, I was in the grocery store and this guy came up behind me and started touching my back with his folded arms full of fruit. I would move forward, he would move forward, I would move forward, he would move forward. I thought that I could turn this into a little game and stepped to the right. He stepped forward. Now we were almost even in the line. I thought, "Oh, hell no! Not a chance that I am going to let this guy in front of me because I am afraid of his fruit!," so I stepped back. Now he was practically wearing my clothes! Just one of those things, I guess.

I am not convinced that I am in the last phase yet. I still think that I have much to learn and I don't quite feel at home yet. I am sure that once I stop living out of my suitcases, I will feel better (I know Dad, I should have un-packed when I got here).

Anyway, when are you all coming to visit?! Let me know, I now have a study where you can stay! Miss you.

Yin and Yang

So as I spend more time here, I am coming to realize that there are great dichotomies that are able to co-exist and flurish from each other. Let me explain what I mean. For example, I am sure that you all have heard about the 7 star hotel or the islands that they are making in the sea. These are great accomplisments that are extremely costly to create. On the other hand, you do not hear about the workers that are being paid the equivalent of pennies per day to construct these and other tourist attractions.

Another (not so sad) example of this yin and yang are my adventures over the past two days. Last night I went to a little, modest, Sweedish furniture store called IKEA. Obviously, there is some Western influence in play here.

It turns out that IKEA is HUGE here. That place was so busy that it was kind of hard to get around. I imagine that I will probably have an IKEA showroom for a living room once I get a place to live because it is a very cost effective option. After the visit to IKEA, we went and ate some dinner and then went to a mall. When I talk about their malls, I am not talking about American Eagle. They have all of the brands that are on Michigan Avenue plus some that I have not ever heard of (that is how I know that they must be designer!)

The other side of the equation is evident in my adventure that I took this afternoon. I went to a place called Deira. This area is the old city center that is right around the mouth of the creek. The area is filled with different souks (markets). This is where the gold souk, spice souk, and textile souk are located (see more pictures below). The really cool part about the souk (besides the gold...Mom, bring some extra cash when you come!) was the way that you get there. So there are these little water taxis called dhows that go up and down the creek from one side to the other. So you get on the boat with about 20 other people and the driver pulls away from the dock. He then comes around and collects the 1 dirham fare that it costs for the ride. That is the equivalent of 30 cents! Darin, it reminded me a lot of the water taxis in Baltimore, only much cheaper. When the boat pulls out, don't be surprised if you run into another boat or the dock as that seems to be par for the course. Those boats must be made of really good wood, because they are constantly running them into things. Luckily, they do not go very fast so everything is safe. Good times!

Once across the creek, you are met with stands that sell fresh juice and snacks. I got a fresh mango juice that was really good. Then I started to wander the streets of the souks. These are open air markets that sell everything that a tourist could want. The spice souk was probably my favorite. The spices just sit in brown sacks for people to smell and purchase. The smell was amazing. The smell of some of the shop owners was not so amazing however. After wandering around the souks and being asked if I wanted to buy a good replica of a Rolex about 1,000 times (B.J., remember the "Rolex" that I brought you back from Kuwait? Same scenario.), it was time to return to the other side. I boarded another dhow and made it across safely. Then I took a walk along the creek. It was a beautiful day and lots of fun.

I hope that you are all doing well. Thinking about you!

Lost in Translation

I FOUND IT!!!! (See previous post about the grocery store) It is a good thing that the airline gave me a dopp kit with all of the essentials in it on the way over here. If you ever get the chance to fly Emirates Airlines, take it!

So I spent the day at a client site today because we just issued a survey to help assess their HR function. It was a very interesting day. The survey was in English and was intended for use in the U.S. Call me ignorant (I suppose that is part of why I am doing this whole thing), but I was really surprised at some of the questions that I got. One guy approached me (very politely) and said, "We are not Shakespeare." Meaning that the language that we were using was not easy to understand. This guy had a Ph. D, so I doubt that he was the cause of the problem here. Bottom line, I guess this just serves as an eye opening experience. I am happy to report that my company is coming out with a survey very soon that is in Arabic, so that is promising.

Another funny story. This one was from last night, and I wish that I had the picture to go with it, but I didn't think of it until it was too late. So I went to a "burger joint" last night (one of my missions is to not eat at the same place twice). This place was an open air kind of place that I would almost equate to a permanent street vendor. For my dinner, I got a chicken tikka burger with fries and a fresh squeezed pineapple juice. It was really good and quite spicy. So as I am turning to leave, I see a picture that they have on the wall with all of their food on it. I immediately focused my attention to the picture of the sub sandwich with a white meat, lettuce, tomato, mayo and mustard. Underneath, in giant letters, read the following:

"Turkish Breast Sandwich"

HAHAHAHAHA!!!! I almost lost it right there. I don't know if it was something in the pineapple juice or if I was just tickled for whatever reason, but I thought that was really funny.

My first day at work...

...was great! We had a great meeting with our team and I learned a lot about their working styles and the vision for this year. Very exciting stuff. I think that this adventure is going to be a great learning opportunity. I have attached a picture from the office window (it is kind of fuzzy because I took it with my Blackberry and the window is very dirty!). The main road is called Shaikh Zayed Road. That road is kind of like the strip in Vegas! That is where everything is located. The two big buildings are called Emirates Towers. That is where (get this) "His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai"'s office is located (imagine his business cards and name plate on the outside of the door!). That is kind of being across the street from the White House. You can also see the concrete "track" that will make up part of the new "MetroRail" system. I thought that I had left the "El" in Chicago! I hope that you are all doing well. More soon...

I'm here!!!

So after a long time spent worrying about how I was going to actually get to Dubai (due to delays coming out of Chicago), I finally made. Granted, I had to stay in a really shady hotel in New York and lug all of my worldly possessions across the entire JFK airport, but I made it. I was flying Emirates Airlines and the service could not have been better once I got on the plane. It was a new Boeing 777 Dreamliner. One of the newest airplanes in service right now. Good times.

As expected, it was really hard to leave. I think that after all of the hoopla about leaving and what a great idea this would be, there was definitely a realization that the "implementation phase" would be the hard part. Actually getting on the plane and leaving was really tough.

I have stayed really busy since I have gotten here. Went to the beach, hung out by the pool, grocery shopping (I couldn't find deodorant anywhere!). My company also had a great party when I arrived. We went out on a catamaran and sailed out by the Palm Islands and had a barbecue. It was a lot of fun. The people in the office are really nice and have all been in my situation, so it is nice to have them to lean on when I need to.

I hope that you are all doing well. The attached pictures are on the beach and the view from my balcony (taken with my Blackberry, so not great quality). I hope that you enjoy them! Write back!

A couple of pictures

Burj al Arab (Tower of the Arab) The Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower) and the

These are the world's tallest building and the world's only seven star hotel. So, do you think that Emerates have some money?!

I can't believe that I will be living here in three weeks!

My first blog

So I have never been a "blogger" and quite frankly didn't really know why anyone would be...until now. I always thought that blogs were for techy geeks who didn't have anything better to do in their free time. Now I realize that it is for ANY geek who doesn't have anything better to do in their free time (read: me)!

I will try to update as frequently as possible. Enjoy!