Back in the Land of Sand

Hello All This is my first post in awhile so it spans alot of time

Karen came over for a visit and we went to Oman for a day, The scenery was breathtaking and the first photo was taken there. In the second photo we went to the Dubai Desert Classic which is part of the European Tour, In the third picture I am sitting with some of my new friends at the beach shack, the next picture Karen and I are sailing at Al Hambra, a lot of fun! The last is a shot of Dubai creek which has a very nice waterfront. There we went thru the souks which was very interesting., loaded with small shops selling everything.

Been awhile since the last post but I have been busy. Went back to the states for three weeks to the States and getting settled back in. Here I sit trying to awake, it is Friday and I had to get off my patio because the sun was too hot, the time is 9:30AM! After two days of rain today looks to be perfect.

Today's post is a reflection of what I have observed over the past week. One hears of culture shock but it has manifested itself in ways I never expected. In my observations the manner people here are treated is deplorable and hard to accept. I feel so fortunate to be born with white skin and to be American! The working people here work on an average of 72 hours a week and alot have no days off, 12 hour days and they are happy to work! They are virtual slaves of their employer and have no personal freedoms, very hard to comprehend. Labor unions are illegal here so they have no recourse for injustices and the pay is criminal. An average worker of the working class here earns less than $300 a month! The fact of the matter is it is not the Emaraties that treat these people so bad but it their own people of higher status. It is hard to accept but I must if I remain here.

The expats here mostly stick to themselves, Arabs are friendly but there are very close-knit. All are related it seems. The Philipino are the workers in the service industries and are hard working but also close knit. The East Asians ( Indians, Bangladeshis, etc) are mostly working construction and in the factories. There is a higher class of Indians that are educated and seem to do quite well.

I plan to travel to the Far East next month sometime, perhaps Singapore, Malaysia, Philipines or Thailand. The airfares are cheap and the opportunity to do this will probably never exist again. I have always wanted to see that part of the world so why not? Have to do some research and find a good deal. Like I said before I have been playing a lot of golf and the game is improving. My partner and I have advanced to the semifinals of a match play tournament and am looking forward to the next match.

Like I said before I have an extra bedroom and would welcome my friends here. I would suggest a stay of 8-14 days because of the distances involved. The trip is a long one but it is an eye-opener. Taxis are cheap but if you want to rent a car I have a good connection, all you need is an International DL which is available at AAA. Interested email me.

I am missing my friends and family, but you have got to do what you have got to do. The job is great and outperforms the FAA by leaps and bounds. Traffic is very light but hell I am retired. I count my blessings I fell into this job! Inshallah I will be back in July for Gull Lake. In July this is not the place to be! 115 degrees with humidity 80-90%. The winters here are perfect 65-70% Sunshine and a light breeze. Work till 3, go golfing, finish under the lights, real nice.

Had an interesting weekend. Went to the Al Hambra Fort Hotel Pub for a couple of beers and meet a friend of a friend who invited me to go to an Arabic Night Club. The club was really sad and after one beer I wanted out of there! He was driving and asked me if I wanted to visit a friend of him. I said why not and we took off the sands! I thought I was in trouble! We end up at a beach shack on the Gulf. Inside were a half of dozen Emarities partying, playing cards and having a good time. They made me the guest of honor and the rest of the evening went well. All because I took a chance and trusted someone. I have come to learn here people all over the world are good it is politicians, tyrants, and other of the like that screw things up.

Till I post again please send me some feedback and questions!

Hail to Victors!

Hello All
Today is the third day of my five day break and it is hard to handle. Decisions, Golf, sailing, fishing, shopping, do not know what to do! Weather is perfect. Played and won our second round of a match play yesterday, I parred the last hole to win.

My partner Len, ( with the red hat) from Wales managed to defeat Kevin, an American ( in the blue shirt and his son) we were up 4 holes at one point but the lead narrowed to one till the last hole. A lot of fun. As you can see the skies are clearing up and you are able to see the nearby mountains easily.

Woke up early this morning and had breakfast then went back to bed and slept till noon. Tring to decide what to do today, perhaps go to Dubai.

In the photo posted you can see some of the construction workers here, it is no wonder building here continues at a hectic pace. they pay these workers $250 a month! The mall they are building across the street is quite large and should be quite nice. I am thinking of putting a store in there. I will need someone to run it and I will pay more than $250 a month! What I am thinking is a store selling exclusively American goods. From everyone I have talked to it should work nicely. I have by far too much time on my hands and need to expand my horizons.

What I need to know what do we still make in America? Give me some ideas.Another idea is bringing big SUVs here., they love them! For myself I would like to bring an Element here for my own personal use, can't find them here! The Element would be ideal here, if that isn't possible I will probably buy a Exterra. The off-road scene here is really big and I would like to partake.

My circle of friends is growing larger and we are all in the same boat. The Arabs stick pretty much to themselves and the expats the same. Right now I am stuck with the dellema of which golf club to join, right now I belong to Tower Links, located in town and Al Hambra which is here where I live. The social life at Tower is much better and I have most of my friends there. But if I party there I need to take a taxi home. Then take a taxi back to pick up my car in the morning. The courses are both quite nice and the greeen at Al Hambra are much faster becauce they irrigate with purer water (less salt). Both courses have nine holes that are illuminated so play during the hot months is possible.

If you look at the photo that I am standing alone you can appreciate the size of the sand traps that are here, although the sand behind me is a waste area, you can ground your club. My sand game is getting quite good! The hole behind me is a long par 5 and has mangroves on the right and trees on the left. You need three good shots to make the green. And let me tell you EVERY green is well defended with traps. All the traps are as deep as you are tall.

Hope some of you visit and play.

Take Care
Mike

Long Weekend

Hello Everyone

Been awhile since reported. Happy to say I will be coming home to Toledo for the holidays. Has been quite cool lately 70's. Rained again last night, quite a thunderstorm, streets flooded again because they have no sewers. They pump all the sewage into tanks and then a truck pumps it out, nice.

Right now I am on a five day holiday Friday-Tuesday, nice! Practiced at the club this morning and am getting quite good at the short game. I will probably do the same tomorrow.

This place is so interesting, looking forward to the opening of the mall across the street. They say it shoud open up by the end of the month. I walked thru it today to see the progress and they still have alot of work to do. There must be 300 workers on the project, when I walked through the mall they were all on break, about two hours I imagine and they were all laying down taking a nap.

This place is so different, but nice.

Mike

Happy Thankgiving!

Hello All and a Happy Thanksgiving

The weekend has begun here with a torrential rainstorm. I am at home now and from what I hear this the place to be. The Arabs have no idea how to drive in the rain, not to mention the blowing sand and slippery roads. It hasn't rained seriously in months and the area is prone to flash floods and the roads become very slippery. Right now we are experiencing some severe lighting and the sattilite TV just went out. I am sending this blog out by modem so that is not a problem. I can just imagie what the roads are like.

I am hoping you all are or have had a good Thanksgiving, I usually have to work anyway so it is not a big deal. However I miss going to Chuck and Belma's place after work for Turkey day dinner. It has been raining heavy for over an hour and it will be interesting to see the aftermath. The street is flooded and fortunately I live on the third floor. We could get some serious flooding.



Looks like I get my check ride on the 11th of this month. They are in no hurry and neither am I, no pay raise and nothing changes except I have to work the boring afternoon and night shifts. They finally nabbed me at the beach today and I was informed I must buy a membership for close to $3000 a year, from now on if I want to go to the beach here I must now pay about $30 a day. Should have slipped the guy a 20.

Enjoy the attachments

Take Care
Mike

Hello All

Just some more photos that I have uploaded. Things are going well and I have a big tournament today. The annual Serco Open, sponsored by my employer. I am playing with a Canadian and two Britts., should be fun. really didn't do too much today, went fishing, took a walk to the beach, made lunch and took a 4 hour nap.

this is really a nocturnal society. Took a taxi into town and went to a couple of clubs and had dinner. Came home and am back at the computer.

As far as the job,; it is going well and hope to be checked out this week. The hardet part for me is to say feet when issuing an altitude. I have never said feet for over 30 years and old habits are hard to break, you see the Russians use meters and that is the reason feet must be used. Go figure!

Last night I was invited to visit the home of one of the pilots I talk to every day. Alan and his wife Shandra are very nice people and he a captain that flies a B757 for RAK Airways. Their villa is walking distance from my apartment and we had a great time.

Living here is very interesting and fun. There is so much to do but you need to be respect the culture. Living here you come in contact with so many different cultures. Chinese, Russian, Arabic, German, British, Itialian, African, Etc. I can count on one hand the number of Americans I have met. Not a bad thing!

Take Care
Mike

Hello All

It is Friday afternoon and I am getting ready to go to the beach. The winds are nice and steady I may rent a small sailboat at the hotel beach club, and watch the sunset. Clear skies and a nice breeze. 88 degrees and it feels cool in the shade. 30% humidity, the next few months are going to be nice. Woke up this morning and decided to work on my short game, the practice facility at the club is 1st class. Driving range, chipping green, putting green, and sand traps. All this is included in my membership. Finally figured what I am doing and feel more confident after hitting over 300 shots. I plan to play Sunday afternoon, two tournaments, one Wednesday and one Saturday.


Friday is the holy day here and mostly everything is closed. Everything at the resort and the big grocery and big stores are open however. I live about one half mile from the beach and it is quite nice, you are supposed to pay an entrance fee but I just walk in. Nobody questions me.

Got a new rental car, Mazda 6, bigger and better than my previous, cost me 60 dirhams to fill it up. About $16 dollars, They are turning the mountains here into islands, a lot of stone dust in the air and because of that you need to have your car washed every other day. The drivers here a crazy! They all think they are Formula one racers.

I have three days off this weekend and on Sunday I have to get a National identity card. New rule...without one you can do nothing here, buy a car, open a bank account, nothing. I am living in an apartment with several RAK Airline pilots and found out yesterday that a controller from America that works at Dubai lives down the hall from me. Small world!

Saturday I delivered a resume for a friend and then went to the the club to practice my short game. After practicing for a couple of hours I went home and went to the beach for a couple of hours. A bit breezy but nice and warm. Watched TV, over 800 channels! This place isn't bad!

Today I went to get my National identity card. Something we should think about in the States. The real estate market is starting to show weakness, people who bought earlier in the year are realizing losses in their investment. There seems to mirror what happened in the States two years ago. People were flipping homes here making enormous profits. That is not the case now. I played golf in a outing that was sponsored by a real estate company. www.alfaraaproperties.com The real estate market here is going south. The problem here is they keep changing the rules. In the past if you bought a property you automatically received a resident visa, no longer the case, hypothetically you could own property and be unable to reside there. Go figure. Getting ready to watch NFL live Bengals vs Eagles.


I will toss some photos on the post. Enjoy!

Take Care
Mike

Sharjah a nice suprise!

Hello all
Today was very interesting and fun day. Yesterday I called a friend that I had met in the USA through Chuck Boss and informed him I ready to visit. He had given me a open invitation to visit and I called Mohammed. We meet at a local shopping mall in Sharjah. I realise that many of have never heard of this city but you are in for a shock. Quite a place this city is almost crime free. Totally dry, they bulldosed the bars and nightclubs when the Saudis bailed them out financially 10 years ago.

Sharjah is quite close to Dubai in terms of mega-structure, take a look at the photos. The Place is beautiful and of course nice and warm!

My friend put out a very nice spread and the meal was chicken, rice, eggplant ground up like hummas, tomato and cuke salad, very nice! Then we had tea, chocolates, and some really good coffee.

What an experience! I am blessed to know such good people here, We Americans need to wake up. It is the governments that screw things up and not the people. Ours especially under Bush.We all have families that we love and and we are more alike than different.

Mohamed's daughters remind me of mine when they were growing up. They were mischievous and full of energy. Reminded me of mine at that age of 4 and 5. Beautiful family I am honored they invited me into their home.

The last photo is the view from my friend's apartment. 22nd floor and I am had idea Sharjah was so nice. This is 35 minutes from my apartment!

Coming here was the best decision I have ever made except asking Karen to marry me. I just had the guest bedroom furnished. Come over over and visit!

I may take a short weekend trip to Jordan soon . Based on what Mohammed says, Jordan may be a very nice place to visit it is only 3 hours away and looks like fun. I plan to see this part of the world and hope to introduce you to my new home. Very, very, different but nice.


Talking ATC is really different. I really started to have fun working traffic the other day. I felt good because when your trainer comes over to ask you whats going on after an hour of busy traffic, it feels good because it tells me I am almost ready for checkout. They want me to work a couple on evening shifts for familiarization but that's no big deal. What can I tell you this place is awesome!

O yeah, played golf 4 rounds last week!

Take Care
Mike