Goodbye Dubai!

I just signed a contract with the same company in the US, and will be back in the states before you can say October!

See you all soon!

riyadh, saudi arabia

I'm in Saudi Arabia for the first time for work this week. I'm in Riyadh, which is the capital, and quite a normal city considering the other middle-eastern cities I've been in.

The only difference I have seen was that more of the women are wearing abaya's, and that no women are driving. Oh, and I guess that there is a chop-chop square as well. I'm told that every Friday before prayer the Sharia police will behead a convicted man in front of an open forum. I guess that they give an opportunity to the victim's family to let the guy go free, but that often times that the family chooses to go through with the cut.

It has to be said that I am not scheduled to be here on Friday, so I will not have to make the choice to witness or not...

Here's a photo I found of Riyadh

so lame

So no posts for the last couple months, as they have been the busiest of my professional life thus far. literally the first and only time I've logged 70/80 and even 90 hour weeks with this company on a regular basis. after the next few days my life will get much slower again and I'll have time to go out and have some fun.

But first I'm going to spend a couple days on my July schedule, as I've just been given the green-light to take some classes in Kansas City while I'm home. I'm looking forward to embellishing in all the fruits that the US of A has to offer!

On a local note, we're starting to have some going away parties here in Dubai as Liz has quit her photography-studio job, and is making her exit from the Middle East. Insha’allah I'll go through the same motions soon thereafter!

occupied and non occupied areas

Liz and I decided to spend our latest holiday here in the region. We've been wanting to visit the Holy Land while we're still here within the Middle East. It was no laid back journey as you cannot just fly to Jerusalem or anywhere in Israel from Dubai, so it left for some fun border crossings.

It went Amman -> Jerusalaem -> Bethlahem -> Jerusalem -> Tel Aviv -> Jerusalem -> Amman.

@ the Western Wall


The aftermath of an Israeli chopper, after it rose over the wall to blast this warehouse in Bethlehem.


A car in Tel Aviv - they all look like this.


A Banksy in Bethlehem


Another:


An IPA from Israel


Holding some bread in front of Jaffa Gate


More photos, click here.

abu dhabi air show

I've been pretty busy with the work lately, and haven't gotten out much... Fortunately, it did result in a promotion. So to celebrate a bit, Liz and I went to Abu Dhabi to see an Air race yesterday. We probably sat in traffic longer than we stood on the beach to watch... but we got to see some planes do some cool tricks.