Thursday 6 October

Hello All:

Today was the day I was dreading, my qualifying physical. Failure to pass the physical would mean no job. The day started with my Manager picking me up at my hotel, imagine that FAA! First of all, about the hospital. The place was empty. Take a look at the web site. Very nice! For a hospital that is.

http://www.royalhospitaluae.com

We were greeted by the Flight Surgeon's personal nurse, I filled a form and was personally interviewed by the Doctor. He was the same age as me and asked me many questions and it was followed by a thorough physical exam. We talked about Iraq because that is where he was from. He fled two years ago. He said if you ask anybody with hindsight being 20/20, almost all would return back to the days of Saddam. For fear of their lives most proffessionals have left the country. He is for Obama.

So far so good. Stepped on the scale and I have actually lost weight since being here! Then off for the laboratory for more testing and drug test. I need to note if illegal drugs are found you go to jail for 4 years! Hearing test, Eye test, EKG, and the a interview that consisted of a psychological assessment, believe it or not I passed! Good for one year. I was there for 4 hours. I will start training soon! The most difficult thing will be to understand the pilots and ground crew must speak English, only every other word is. Grand Air crews sound like Walter Cronkite compared to these guys. Russians and East Indians.

The weekend starts tonight but I have no plans for tonight. Think I will just hang out here at the hotel and watch a movie. Plan to get up early and head up to Dubai and check out the souks (markets) need to get there early or I will not be able to find a parking space. I will probally check out a mall or two as well. It take about 45 minutes to get there. Take a look.

http://www.dubaitourism.ae/


Take Care
Mike