Another Day

Hello Everyone!

Today was a challenging day. I have been training for three days now and all is well. It is amazing how you can begin to understand people speaking English when only every third word is. Started the day at sunrise to take a few photos and the sunrises and sunsets are amazing. We are at 25 degrees north latitude and the high for today was 95 with 80% humidity. You tend to limit your outdoor activity.Showed up at work at 7AM and trained for two hours. Took a half an hour break and trained again for two hours. End of the day. Took the back road to my new apartment that I haven"t moved into yet. The painting crew was just leaving. There were about five Indian guys there finishing up. The quality of the work was mediocre at best but I wasn't paying for it.

If you can imagine it I not Karen had to pick out my new window treatments! I know I will receive a few negative comment concerning about my interior decorating skills when she comes over but as long as the frige is full and the TV works who cares! My new golf course and clubhouse is as close as Brandywine is to our home.

Went to the new radar site and messed of my rental on a rough road, called the agent and he took the car for repairs, no questions asked! I am still trying to decide if I should rent or buy. I am hearing a lot of horror stories about mechanics here from my co-workers. Somebody tell John he could make a killing here and give him my blog address

Went shopping today take a look at my new sofa.

Take Care
Mike

Just Another Day in the UAE

Hello All

I had the day off today and slept in. Weather forecast clear and 100 degrees. Decided to go golfing. There was nobody on the course. My game is starting to come together at last. The game here is all about course management. Your sand game needs to be good. The greens are slow but tricky. Hard to read the greens.

Not much to report. Yesterday I went out to a local airport near where I will live. One of the pilots asked me if I wanted to go flying, a gratefully accepted but did not bring the camera, sorry. We flew around the city and had a good look around. He let me fly and land the airplane, it has been over ten years since I have flown a airplane but it all came back. I think I will start flying microlight aircraft soon, alot of fun, the airplane has two seats but outperform a Cessna 152. 100HP rotax up-front and very responsive.

Please post your comments on the blog, I will enjoy the feedback.

Take Care
Mike

Weather Forecast this week
Ras Al Khaimah International, UAE
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Local Time: 11:51 AM GST — Set My Timezone Lat/Lon: 25.6° N 55.9° E (Google Map)
Tropical Weather: Hurricane Omar (North Atlantic) Tropical Depression Sixteen (North Atlantic) Tropical Depression Twentytwo (Western Pacific)
Current Conditions

Ras Al Khaimah International


Astronomy Hide
October 16, 2008 Rise: Set:
Actual Time 6:15 AM GST 5:47 PM GST
Civil Twilight 5:52 AM GST 6:10 PM GST
Nautical Twilight 5:25 AM GST 6:37 PM GST
Astronomical Twilight 4:58 AM GST 7:04 PM GST
Moon 6:46 PM GST 7:42 AM GST
Length Of Visible Light: 12h 18m
Length of Day
11h 32m
Tomorrow will be 1m 27s shorter.

Extended View
Full Moon, 97% of the Moon is Illuminated



Ras Al Khaimah International,
102 °F / 39 °C
Clear
at 11:30 AM GST

(Click for forecast)


5-Day Forecast for Ras Al Khaimah International Customize Your Icons!
Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday
Clear
102° F | 75° F
39° C | 24° C

Clear
100° F | 73° F
38° C | 23° C

Clear
95° F | 71° F
35° C | 22° C

Clear
96° F | 68° F
36° C | 20° C

Clear
95° F | 69° F
35° C | 21° C
Clear Clear Clear Clear Clear

My New Apartment!

Today Graham and I took a look at my new crib. This place exceeded all my expectations! What a place! The first photo is the view from the master bedroom. The master suite is just that, a suite. Full bath, dressing room, balcony, and the room itself I would estimate is 20x30. Cable, telephone all built in. If you look in the distance there is a large building located on the beach. The brige you see in the the middle of the photo leads to the Fort Al Hambra Resort...real nice!

Road Trip!

Today I decided to go up the coast road to Ajman. Ajman is located 65km south of Ras Al Khaimah on the Persian Gulf and has one of largest boat building yards in the area. And has a nice resort called the Kempenski. So off I go! Got side-tracked because I stopped at the Bin Majid resort which is ten minutes from my hotel on the beach. Took a look around and decided to take a swim in the Gulf, the water is crystal clear but warm. A lot of Russian and German folks on vacation, not pretty! From there I went back to the hotel to change and resumed my road trip, stopped at Al Hamra, I wanted to check out the complex where I will be living. Al Hamra is about a 1/2 hour drive to work but there there is everything, 5 star hotel with restaurants, beach, pools, golf course. driving range, brand new shopping mall, and grocery store that sells pork! All within walking distance. Looking forward to moving in and getting out of the hotel.

I took the coast road E11 south and enjoyed some great scenery. Stopped at the Baraccuda Beach resort only to find out there is no beach! Only a pool! Go figure! They have a web site if you would like to check it out. www.barracuda.ae

On to Ajman! Reaching the outskirts of Ajman I went into the mall and took a look around. Stopped at Dunkin Doughnuts for a coffee. Malls are the same around the world. Picked up a few things at the attached Meijer-like store and went into town. Although most of you have never heard of Ajman, the city is ten times the size of Toledo. All new! I drove along the harbor and stopped at the Kempenski Hotel, what a place! Mostly Russian and German guests. While walking around the grounds I took a few photos that I hope you enjoy. For about $500 a night you too can stay there!

I left there and started to headed back to RAK. I took a couple photos of the desert and ended this trip. I plan to do this type of thing every Friday because the traffic is light and the driving easy. Maybe Abu Dhabi next weekend!

Last night I was invited over to my co-worker Rassie's place for a evening of music and darts. Rassie, the guy without the shirt, is a South African and has been here for 8 years,great guy, he has been very helpful in getting me accustomed to the local scene and customs. Julian, the other guy in the photo, is English and has been here for about 6 months. Then another controller from Abu Dhabi center came over andI quickly discovered all controllers come from the same mold. Controllers are special breed, but we all have one thing in common "Safety above all"

Take Care
Mike

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

The Good Life

These are some more photos that I took in Dubai. Thinking of going up there this weekend for a day trip but I am really looking forward to moving into my new quarters. I will have a 30-40 minute drive to work but at $1.25 a gallon I will tough it out.

Some things that I have learned...Most of the laborers here are from Pakistan or India, or Bangladesh, they earn $200 a month. Working 16 hours a day 7 days a week, for three years, they are able to take their first vacation home. Working in 125 degree heat at 90% humidity. Unreal!