Random pics from our weekend

Just thought it would be fun to post some random pictures from our weekend walking around town, and the amazing Shangri-la hotel on the south end of the island.

The Hotel has a canal & boats that will transport you throughout the property and drop you off at the souk for some high end shopping-including a Starbucks!

We had Greek salads, hot cashews and drinks poolside, just enjoying the view across the pool-The Grand Mosque. We took a leisurely stroll and have now found our new favorite hangout.....and it's not K-Mart.

We are off to Dubai next weekend for a 2 nights stay at the Sheridan Jumeirah Beach Resort. Blog you later

Four weeks in the books

I just got done with week four at work. Things are going very well and I'm start to get a feel for my role here. I'm putting in pretty long days. I have a lot of meetings with the US that don't get started until 4pm. Enough about work though.

I got up at 4:45 this morning to go for my first Abu Dhabi bike ride. I met some guys through a tri club here and they let me tag along. The picture is from the side of the road while I waited for Nick to change a flat. We did about 45 miles from my apartment out to Yaz Island and back.

Yaz Island is where they do the Formula One races. It's an amazing place with high end hotels and restaurants. They also have Ferrari World, which is part museum, part amusement park...and Gail just reminded me, there's an Ikea out there also!

We had a bit of a head wind on the way out and my legs were barking at me very early! It was 86 degrees when I left at 5:20! After turning back I welcomed a little tail wind. We were cruising between 17 and 22 mphs and you could really start to feel the heat. At mile 30 I was starting to hit the wall. The combination of the heat and being off the bike for two months was catching up to me. I pretty much suffered for the last few miles. Once we were out of the city the road was nice. Friday is weekend here, so traffic was light and drivers were mostly courteous.

When we got back to town I had to weave my way through all the construction and traffic. Not fun! I'm really glad I went, but might not go out for that distance again until the weather cools down. Just too hot for this gringo.

So, yup, that is our first camel sighting! Gail came across it at the cultural center.

No big plans for today. Just going to get some pants hemmed at the tailor. Tomorrow we're going to Shangri la. We'll post lots of pics.

Oh ya, we're booked for Australia in September for Adam and Juliette's wedding!

Really looking forward to that. They aren't giving away tickets by the way. $3900 for ours, but they are non-stop, which is nice. It's still almost 14 hours from here. Yuk!

I'll be ready for the vacation by then. We're hoping to do a couple short trips also. Places we've considered are Cyprus, Beruit, Jordan, Greece and India.

That's all for now folks. I'm looking forward to having visitors even though I'll probably have to work. Book your room now!

Mark

Things that have changed

We knew that things were going to change in our lives as we made this huge leap on faith, but we weren't sure how, or how much. This post is more of a list of new things that we are dealing with, both professionally and personally.

1. For 13+ years I worked in Seattle for a great company, but it required me to do a lot of my prep work at night including shaving, ironing and setting out all my clothes for the morning. I got up around five, showered, dressed in the dark and was out of the house by 5:35.

Now I get up around 6:15, make coffee, chat with the fam back home, eat breakfast, shave, shower and dress....and get to talk to Gail in the morning!

2. After bolting out of the house I used to drive to a park-and-ride, wait for the bus, ride to the ferry, wait for the ferry, then sit for over an hour on a very boring, smelly old ferry. The good part of this is I could walk from the smelly ferry to work.

Now, I cross the street and flag a cab, which takes about 30 seconds and take a thrilling 12 minute cab ride to work! Ironically, it's also a 12 minute walk! I tried this once last week and had to take half my clothes off when I got to work due to sweat! I thought, "it's a short walk".

3. When I got to work in Seattle I would say good morning to my friends Patricia, Joe, Bob, Bill, Gary and Troy.

Now, I say good morning to Sury, Rajesh, Shabana, Sixto, Mohweed, Niar and Vijay. All great people and very hard working, friendly people.

4. Most days over the last few years I would throw on a clean pair of jeans, a pressed shirt and some ok shoes.

Now I wear slacks, shirt and tie everyday. Some things were better in the GNW. But I look good! Things are much more formal here.

5. No Salsa! Fridays. Only Patricia...and maybe Joe and Gorms will get this.

6. For lunch I used to have to decide from Sushi, Pizza, Sandwich and Burrito.

Now I look at Shawarma, Falafal, Saj, naan and kabobs. All great!

Other things we enjoy is call to prayer, the little shops that are everywhere! and the warmth.

Yesterday we went exploring and found a very cool block with lots of Lebanese restaurants. We decided to wander in one. It's funny, because there is a language barrier. But through a series of gestures and one word sentences we were directed up stairs. To our delight, the upstairs was a very nice, clean restaurant. We had been planning a nice small dinner, but we ended up with a full on meal. I had grilled lamb, beef and chicken.

Last night Gail shaved my head! Not to the skin, but it's short.

Today we did a little clothes shopping for work and picked up a soft side cooler for our next beach trip.

I also got on my bike today for a few minutes. I am missing out on a great ride with Craig and Casey today. I'm pretty bummed, but all things happen for a reason.

One of the things that I almost forgot....I used to get up to clouds, now the sun shines everyday! I saw a cloud yesterday, but it passed.

Y'all be good.

Beach day

It is about 105degrees today (with our first showing of clouds)so a dip in the Gulf is in order. With suits, towels, and sunscreen in hand, off we go the the family beach for a little R & R. They have a wonderful boardwalk that runs along the beach, with plenty of open space, little cafes, restaurants, juice bars, Cold Stone, ATM's and coffee houses to name a few. So we decided to go for the gated, secure beach where you pay about $3 each and rent an umbrella and chaise lounges for $7 each, which you realize is so worth the money. Shade is a luxury here and it made me feel all fancy. So you pretty much sun a little, shade a lot, play in water, then repeat. So about this refreshing dip we were about to take, not so much. Water temp is about 90+ degrees, and the deeper you go only drops it very little, at least we are wet. The Water is amazing to look at, but not so good for the eyes...burning and oh so salty! The refreshing part happens as you quick walk on the very hot sand back to your lounge chair in hopes of a small breeze.

I saw more than one lady use BABY OIL, geeze I thought people knew better, & an entire family using Vaseline (never seen that before).

Week Three in the books!

Our chicken connection Gail using a chop stick

Well, I'm through week three and things are going pretty well at work. My progress has been slowed some due to my main trainer in the states being out of work for an extended time. Still I feel like I'm getting a good understanding of how things work.

I am officially a resident of the United Arab Emirates! It is quite a process, but it comes down to is getting my insurance card, then putting in for the residency with insurance card, passport, marriage certificate, blood sample (no really), chest xray,....but it's done now. The good news is, I can now sponsor Gail, who has to go through everything I just did. Should be a piece of cake with my excellent guidance.

Since I had my residence visa I am eligible to go by my post paid SIM card (phone). I have to buy this then the company provides the pda and I'm good to go. They say that everything takes three trips here. I'm finding that to be true. Gail met me for lunch (which was omg good) then we set off to get my card! Now, I haven't really missed having a phone, because people just call you, but it is probably time being that I need it for work and all. So we bounce our way around the building like a blind couple in a maze, but as always end up where we need to be. Did I mention the three trips. We get the paperwork, fill it out and go to the nice man that assigns your queue number.

Gail thinks she should fill out paperwork for a prepaid card as "long as we're here". This is where modern UAE meets Tijuana. You actually go to a three ring binder on a table and pick your phone number from the computer printed, hand torn, pieces of paper. Gail and I looked at each other and just cracked up. We selected our "very special" numbers and went back to the nice man at the counter. I should have suspected something when he asked if I had a salary certificate from work, but blew it off. As Gail likes to say, "to make a long story short" I needed the salary certificate and Gail has a phone now, and I don't!

I spend a lot of time on the phone with the good ole USA, so things don't start really cooking until around 4pm. today I had calls at 4pm, 5pm and 6pm. 4pm didn't show due to a family medical issue, things are ok. 5pm didn't show, but thank goodness, my 6-7 meeting had full attendance. I was back home by then using the house phone.

After a great dinner, (thanks to Gail) we adjourned to the roof deck for an hour of relaxation in the lounge chairs with a little wine and a full moon. Very good things. We're going to try to find a movie on netflix now before calling it a day.

BTW, there are five calls a prayer to day, but there is something magical to me about the evening call to prayer. I'm a ways away from leaving here, but I already know that I will miss hearing it.

That's all for now folks, beach tomorrow!

Mark

The Big Bus Tour

View from Sky Tower

Shark boat above, Gail Chillin Grande Mosque

on the upper deck

Gail and I have been waiting all week to hop on the big bus tour. We scheduled it perfectly (on accident), just enough time to buy our tickets and run up to Starbucks for a coffee. We sat upstairs in the open air under the section covered with some tarp like substance. Yes it was hot. Yes it was sandy. And, yes it was very windy. But what the heck, we're tourists today!

There are several stops along the way where you can jump off and be a tourist, then jump back on the next bus that comes along.....in an hour. Because it's summer they don't do the half hour runs. An hour in 110 degree heat with sand whipping up off the desert is no fun, so we stayed on and took in the sites for the first hour. They provide earphones and a running dialog about the sites and history of Abu Dhabi.

At the Marina Mall they park for 45 minutes. We jumped out and headed for Sky Tower. After the ride up we snapped a few pics then rode back down. The view was not as good as it could be due to the humidity and the sand blowing in. Still pretty cool though. On our trip out we saw the kewlest thing ever. It was a jet ski type unit that had a waterproof cockpit shaped like a friggin' shark! When you punched the gas it submerged so that only the dorsal fin and tail stuck out of the water. Then it would come flying out of the water and get almost completely airborne! I want it.

Things kinda went south after the Marina Mall. Next stop was the Emirates Palace, which is unbelievably beautiful. The driver stopped and we jumped out to spend an hour touring. The nice man at the gate informed me that we couldn't go in because I was wearing shorts! I didn't think of that! But he says if we hurry we can catch the bus as it looped around to head to the next location....what are the chance we caught the bus? Zero! But we thought, no worries, there is a hotel down the road that looks pretty cool. We'll hoof it down there and have a cool one as we had an hour to burn. What are the chances that this hotel had no alcohol? 100%

That's where things went south a little. We managed to burn an hour and get the next bus. We did get to go to the Grande Mosque, but as there is no tours after noon, it wasn't worth getting out. We also got to see some new areas of the island. The East Corniche is pretty cool and will be a great place for a ride/run in the winter.

As for work, week two is in the books. I'm starting to feel like I understand my role in the company, and I'm learning a lot. The people have been extraordinary! Friendly and helpful.

Gail and I are in our new home and I love it! The neighborhood is a little less busy than where we were staying, but there are still a lot of places to explore. Shipping is here, so I need to go put a couple of bikes back together.

Blog atcha later....Mark

Our new pad

Here are some pictures of our new pad, yep that's yellow. 2ND bedroom same, just a little smaller but with a very distant water

view. Shipper showed up at 4:15, on time, very impressed. We are staying one more night at our hotel, Mark has a phone conference at 8:30pm tonight, so just easier to be here for the night. It has really been a lovely stay, great staff, and service. I really NEVER thought I would get tired of living in a nice hotel, but it is time to unpack the suitcases! I'm getting tired of eating out every lunch and dinner. We will unpack and go shopping Friday & Saturday (our weekend)we need some basic things and food. Of course all shopping is done by cab, should be fun. FYI Sunday- Thursday is a normal work week here, and lots of businesses close daily from 1-4 pm and closed on Fridays until after 1pm.


This is our building, we are on the 14Th floor corner right in this photo.
And all this for $47,650 USD to rent for 1year.

Moving Day! part 1

So today the 9th of June is moving day....Mark is working, but I have keys in hand and I am so ready to start packing up our 4 suitcases for the big move. Our shipment is suppose to be delivered around 4pm today (hope it's not like waiting for the cable guy!) all 500 pounds of the stuff we thought we couldn't live without. Not really sure what's coming since there was a snafu with the shipping co.

A little history.....we were told we can ship 1000lbs, a rep comes & eyeballs our pile, taking only 5 minutes. this is on Monday, shipper to pick up Thurs, on Tues eve we are told we have 1600lbs, and our additional cost will be $2600. We then weighed everything bikes included---under 500lbs. But Wed, we are still told to downsize our load or pay, so not worth the fight dealing with time differences, so we just start pulling things out...golf clubs(poor mark) TV, iron & ironing board (poor me) and much more misc stuff. Can't wait to see what I get after customs takes what we should not have packed. Pictured is before we pulled things out, what a mess. Obviously we have never dealt with shipping before, it was quite stressful. When the actual shippers/packers finished they said we were definitely under weigh and size. Turns out it's based on a container size, and cubic feet and we had plenty of room. Would have been good information earlier.

Off I go.........

Week 3.....

One of the many fruit & veggie markets, rivals pike place. He kneels in front of the oven, kneads, flattens, then flings the bread inside this brink oven where it sticks to the side, in about 1 minute he takes it out with a hooked stick & flings it at you to bag yourself . He sits in this window & does this all day long, making yummy flat bread for 1dirham ($0.27)

So with each day I discover something new, whether a new sight, sound, smell or even taste. Obviously the city has such beauty, the architecture is so amazing that I walk around looking up so much I forget to look at all the little shops on the street level of these buildings. I am reminded of all the little shops throughout Mexico, Japan and the Caribbean, all just trying to eek out a living. Some of the shops are no more than a large coat closet, yet here they are happy to sell you something, anything. Not sure how any of them make a living, because the next block looks just the same, just a change of name and location. You can have anything made or tailored, all very good and reasonable so I'm told, I have yet to do so.

Will probably never get used to the car horns honking all the time, I think it is attached to both the brake and the gas. We cab everywhere of distance, and they are reasonable $2-5usd to most places around town. We would never want to drive here....it's out of control, 4-6 lanes in each direction all traveling very fast to the next light, slam on the brakes while honking, wait, honk then repeat. Heard my first fender bender from my 15th floor room, yep sure enough a couple of cabs bumped, nobody hurt, just some wrinkled fenders, so this stops traffic in 2 lanes....of course lots of honking from behind to get out of the way! even though they can see it's an accident.

As for smells, well you can only imagine, not just talking about the body odors OMG. Garbage dumpsters are everywhere, and dumped weekly, they get pretty funky. With all the little shops comes all the smells associated with bakeries, restaurants from everywhere possible, fruit & veggie stands, spice shops.

We have eaten quite well, and not had a bad meal yet! We have had Chinese, Lebanese, Indian, and Italian to name a few, and yes I am finding something to eat at all. Stopped in a tiny shop yesterday and got sandwiches for our lunch for 11Dirham ($2.99) for both of us. Was not sure what I was ordering I just pointed, chicken with spices,tomatoes, lettuce, some kind of pickled something and a spread with garlic and yogurt rolled in an Armenian round bread...Delicious! I was so proud of me.

Week 2.....

Week 2 has now come and gone, Mark has finished his first work week. All seems to have gone very well, lots of paperwork, learning the layout of the office, meeting all his new work buddies and with that all their names to remember, not an easy feat. He loves his elevator to elevator commute-3-6 minutes, and he gets to come home (to the hotel) for lunch. He will have a 5 day 48+hour work week that is Sunday thru Thursday, with lots of travel in the near future.

We would love to express our sincere love and thanks to all our family, friends and co-workers who have helped, supported and encouraged us on in our new adventure, it was not easy for us. Without all of you this could not have ever been possible. You have all touched our life in many special and different ways.

Happy to say, the jet lag is gone and we are both finally sleeping. This morning was the first night we didn't hear the "call to prayer" around 4:07am.

The Muslim is called to prayer five times a day. The call to prayer is heard at dawn, at the midday, about the middle of the afternoon, just after sunset, and at night fall about two hours after sunset.

The muezzin, a man appointed to call to prayer, climbs the mineret of the mosque, and he calls in all directions, "Hasten to prayer." Many mosques no longer require the muezzin to climb the mineret. Instead, a loud speaker carries the message.

Our Friend Kathryn Quade (from Poulsbo) has been so wonderful in showing us around, helping find our apartment, explaining things, and keeping me very busy while Mark is working. She has taken me to a couple women's coffee meetings and introduced me to many of her friends. She is leaving for the summer (as are most of the women-it's too hot) on Wednesday, I will miss her company.

I go out walking quite a bit trying to get familiar with the streets and shops, so much always looks the same, so you have to use the buildings as guides. I come back a dripping mess, but I do enjoy them. I can't wait until I can go running outside and along the corniche, probably Sept, but for now I am using the treadmill quite a bit.

We have found a furnished apartment in the Vision Twin Towers, a 2 bedroom 1 1/2 bath. It's very nice and we can't wait to move in, any day now. we'll get pictures up soon.