tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72017952011-10-02T22:10:30.106+04:00Things happen when they happen....darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.comBlogger2341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-67044376628403252342011-08-25T07:16:00.000+04:002011-08-25T07:16:51.025+04:00

We enjoyed our two week trip to Alberta and B.C.  The weather was great and we visited with many friends and family.  My friend Keith, in Calgary, took some photos of us in the basement of his home.  It looked like a real studio and I think that the photos turned out great despite Sophia being a bit cranky! Meanwhile we're starting to pack up for the move to our new house on Sept. 3  This

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-54258269693235821572011-08-02T09:06:00.000+04:002011-08-02T09:06:26.064+04:00

August has rolled around and we've enjoyed some great summer weather.  Our vacation to Alberta and British Columbia starts on August 5.  It will be an adjustment to only have a two week break compared to a month or more when we lived in Abu Dhabi.  We'll sign mortgage papers this week and pay the remainder of the mortgage balance.  We move in a month from now and we have to pack up some things

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-53563846015083030482011-07-17T09:15:00.002+04:002011-07-17T09:41:26.326+04:00

Half the year has gone by already and much has happened.  It's been wonderful watching Sophia grow, express emotions, babble, and try to stand and walk.  Her sleeping patterns have improved greatly but Mom and Dad aren't getting enough shut eye. Michael's sciatica and disc problems are bad and a MRI appointment scheduled the day before we leave for our summer vacation will likely reveal the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-39891603815459291582011-05-22T23:18:00.000+04:002011-05-22T23:18:02.420+04:00

Hi everyone!  We finally created Sophia's latest video (see below).  She turned one year old and it's been a wonderful time watching Sophia grow and develop.  Spring is in full swing here and Sophia has spent some quality time outdoors in our community garden and front lawn.  Sophia's Grandma Gain will visit for the first time in June so it will be a special visit.  Our two week summer vacation

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-73753967105634353682011-04-05T18:10:00.000+04:002011-04-05T18:10:16.231+04:00

Hi everyone!  Below is Sophia's new video.  She turns one year old on April 23 so stay tuned for her special birthday video.....

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-50458889921956589022011-01-05T10:04:00.000+04:002011-01-05T10:04:25.163+04:00

We had a wonderful Christmas with family in Edmonton.  Sophia's first Christmas was memorable and I've just finished making a video about it.  It's been cold and snowy which made it a winter wonderland.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-22331549062778023702010-12-28T12:24:00.000+04:002010-12-28T12:24:01.530+04:00

Season's Greetings to everyone!   Check out Sophia's latest video or watch it here. She amazes us every day with something new! We've spent the last two months establishing ourselves in Regina.  It's the capital city of the province of Saskatchewan which is located in Western Canada.  A snowstorm hit the city the day after Michael arrived and a few more storms hit before we Christmas.  

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-36633609012797164022010-11-14T11:39:00.001+04:002010-11-14T11:39:18.455+04:00

Apologies for not blogging much but the last month was a bit busy. We somehow managed to make the fairly smooth transition from Abu Dhabi to Regina in October. It was difficult to say goodbye to some wonderful friends. We've been in Regina barely three weeks and we have experienced two major snowfalls. Quite a change from living in the desert. We expect our 22 boxes of household items from

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-13749175975571690782010-10-22T14:50:00.001+04:002010-10-22T14:50:57.225+04:00

Come on in...the water's fine!

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-70910923003110135282010-10-20T08:19:00.001+04:002010-10-20T08:19:56.868+04:00

Jes hangin at da villa wit my peeps, yo

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-2165174068367160342010-10-06T11:11:00.001+04:002010-10-06T11:11:57.561+04:00

Just thought I'd check in with all my fans. I'm working on sitting up and rolling around these days. I'm having lots of fun with my new friend Lily. Soon I'll be moving to Canada. See you soon!

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-6745481666853142352010-09-18T00:14:00.003+04:002010-09-18T00:25:27.780+04:00

I should have googled our new rental house's address earlier because I just found some nice photos of it. It looks very cozy despite us not having seen it in person! The realtor told me the old fireplace works so it will be nice to use in winter for ambiance. I'll arrive in Regina on Oct. 25 to pick up our 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring, register and insure it. Other errands to do that day are

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-17973506210421970482010-09-11T15:55:00.002+04:002010-09-12T21:49:12.600+04:00

Check out the latest video of Sophia. She is darling and is much cuter in person. We managed to find a house to rent for a year. We were able to get a screen shot of it (or see photo below). The realtor says that we could move to another house if we don't like thus one. Despite not having seen it we like the area from using Google Earth. I drove around the area and it's close to my new

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-1694158282414476202010-08-02T10:57:00.000+04:002010-08-02T10:57:16.953+04:00

Hi everyone!  We've been in Canada for one month now and can't believe we only have less than one week left before we head back to the desert.  It's been a busy time in Edmonton with some big changes in store for us.  Details to follow.  In the mean time below are links to the two videos of Sophia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUb5MJZTvJI (part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYI4tVjCbSQ (

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-51498747997728458492010-06-28T08:44:00.001+04:002010-06-28T15:50:07.000+04:00

Hi everyone. Check out the latest video of Sophia Kestrel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH8jgdFVB_U. We fly to Edmonton on June 29 for five weeks. Stay tuned for video of her in July. - Posted from my iPodTouch

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-65691196190434415062010-05-22T17:13:00.001+04:002010-05-22T18:02:18.879+04:00

We finally got around to making another short compilation of video clips staring Sophia at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKhjLSm7NPU She is darling but you may want to adjust your computer's sound around the eight minute mark. - Posted from my iPodTouch

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-14719892464309444822010-04-30T12:21:00.000+04:002010-04-30T12:22:06.909+04:00

Three short clips of Sophia Kestrel's first week are at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEH99cqsD0E. She's darling and the video doesn't quite do her justice. - Posted from my iPodTouch

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-85498007384382623592010-04-25T08:51:00.000+04:002010-04-25T08:52:03.674+04:00

Not much time to write but I posted some photos of the baby on Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=220780&id=733446398&l=1d3861a2e6. Mom and baby's homecoming is Sunday evening hopefully. - Posted from my iPodTouch

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-51331729900955383202010-04-18T13:19:00.000+04:002010-04-18T13:19:11.556+04:00

It was another hot, windy and dusty weekend here so it was uncomfortable to spend much time outdoors.  Darcy and I had taken a few walks along the Corniche to stretch our legs.  It's quite difficult for her to get comfortable sitting and sleeping now.  Darcy looks as lovely as ever and the pregnancy has been fairly smooth so far.  The photo below was taken about a month ago or so. We are

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-47547253138360579782010-03-27T18:13:00.000+04:002010-03-27T18:13:12.301+04:00

Darcy and I are both nervous and excited about the baby coming in a month from now.  We've looked at dozens of names on websites and books but few have caught our eye.  Hopefully we'll get some inspiration when it's born.  But we'll need to choose a name quickly if it comes to that point as the baby can't leave the hospital without a name on the birth certificate. I've been really sick with an

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-82884120054904539612010-02-20T20:02:00.000+04:002010-02-20T20:02:30.191+04:00

The building next to us is finally getting its windows cleaned.  It's been one year since ours were last done.  The little platform that the cleaners used has been rusting outside so I guess these simple repairs take time around here.  Maybe we shouldn't complain as a friend of ours says his building's windows have not been cleaned since he moved in almost three years ago. On Tuesday we attended

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-72427267069980254042010-02-06T22:21:00.000+04:002010-02-06T22:21:20.190+04:00

It's been a stormy weekend but it's nice to see dark clouds in the sky.  However, our windows that I cleaned after the last big storm are now muddy again.  Our building's windows haven't been cleaned in almost a year now.  A friend of ours says that his building's windows have never been cleaned since he moved in 2.5 years ago.  Alberta's Premier paid a visit to Abu Dhabi recently and signed some

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-32858861671357978332010-01-16T21:21:00.001+04:002010-01-16T21:55:59.894+04:00

Yikes - it was Halloween since I last blogged!  I'll use the old cliche that much has happened since then.  I'll start by saying that Darcy is pregnant and is due around April 24.  We're both very excited and a bit nervous.  Call us old school but we decided not to know the gender of the baby.  We want it to be a surprise and we don't think it will be too hard to buy gender neutral clothes for

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-66371739688176408412009-10-31T22:52:00.000+04:002009-10-31T22:52:20.817+04:00

My week long business/leisure trip to London was great!  I visited the Tate, National and National Portrait Galleries, British Library, British Museum, and London Museum.  Plus I did a lot of walking.  The weather was a bit cooler than I expected but at least it wasn't uncomfortable walking around the city like it still is in Abu Dhabi.  I hadn't been to London in over nine years and I met up

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-7479198583184943652009-10-10T21:38:00.000+04:002009-10-10T21:38:22.691+04:00

I'm off to London on October 14th to attend a two day conference.  Then I'm spending four extra days to sight see the city and hopefully meet a friend that I haven't seen in seven years.  I'm staying in a low budget hostel that is close to Hyde Park.  Meanwhile Darcy's last physical day at her job is October 29 and her separation day is Dec. 23.  She's going to use up her remaining vacation time

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-45293355245094464602009-09-20T19:01:00.000+04:002009-09-20T19:01:13.044+04:00

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan has come and gone since our last posting.  EID began Sunday morning so I have three days off while Darcy has the week to relax.  We had wanted to return to the Bab Al Shams hotel where we stayed last year.  However, the rates had gone up significantly.  There was a newspaper article recently written that said many UAE hotels charge more if rooms are booked

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-8614043763563823372009-08-21T22:55:00.001+04:002009-08-22T12:36:30.291+04:00

Marhaba everyone! We've been back in Abu Dhabi for two weeks now and we're back into our routine.  Saturday is the start of Ramadan and one of the nice things is that our work day is reduced to six hours.  I'll leave my office a bit earlier to exercise twice a week and I'll stay late on the other three days.  So I'll end up working more hours a week over Ramadan but still fewer than the normal

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-60512327634594107492009-07-01T20:39:00.000+04:002009-07-01T20:39:39.548+04:00

Well, we made it though another academic year and it's vacation time!  This is our third time flying home for summer vacation and it always seems surreal when the departure day arrives.  A friend is going to drive us to the airport so we'll have plenty of time to relax for our 2 am red eye flight to Frankfurt. Then it's on to Calgary and Edmonton.  So another 24 hour flight home.  Luckily I can

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-42692689635642976322009-06-20T16:52:00.056+04:002009-06-21T09:15:11.424+04:00

Life in Abu Dhabi has slowed down as many people have started leaving for their long summer vacations.  Traffic isn't quite as bad and the mall didn't seem quite as busy on Saturday.  I'm down to four work days until we leave for Canada.  Luckily I have the flexibility of working shorter weeks otherwise I'll lose my time.  Unfortunately Darcy doesn't seem able to take time off like I can.  I

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-35129291190703831972009-05-31T23:18:00.000+04:002009-05-31T23:18:55.843+04:00

Well, another month has flown by and it was a somewhat uneventful month.  But with living here that's a good thing!  We got our visas renewed for another three years and it was a surprisingly quick and painless affair.  I even got reimbursed 100% for the processing fee.  We will have been in Abu Dhabi for 3 years on June 2.  The time has gone by fairly quickly and we've now reached the minimum

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-80398384410565141162009-05-10T22:47:00.001+04:002009-05-10T22:51:46.719+04:00

This week is my first 3 day work week and it feels pretty nice!  I can spend a bit more time at the gym and watch some dvds that I bought years ago in Florida.  The heat and construction noise continue to go up but what can one do?  We went out for dinner last night at the Beach Rotana Hotel.  That's where we lived for 6 weeks when we moved here in 2006.  We couldn't believe how much the skyline

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-7204703412349076592009-05-02T17:19:00.000+04:002009-05-02T17:19:17.919+04:00

The month of May began with a really hot day so summer is just around the corner.  When we get into our car the temperature gauge reads in the high 40s celcius or about 100 farenheit.  My walks on the Corniche may be over until the fall.  Darcy and I start our summer vacation in exactly two months on July 2.  I've been enjoying my three day work weeks to use up excess vacation time. The

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-79170215647752587352009-04-26T22:55:00.000+04:002009-04-26T22:55:44.914+04:00

We attended the three day WOMAD (Peter Gabriel's World of Music, Arts and Dance) concert on the second day.  It was good but sadly security was being selective in allowing people in.  Beside us just as we entered were a couple of guys from Indai, Pakistan or Bangladesh.  An events guy held up his hand to them while we proceeded.  It had nothing to do with them being bachelors as we saw a few

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-31646055588291086212009-04-22T20:36:00.000+04:002009-04-22T20:36:44.257+04:00

Last week was the Red Bull Air Raee along the Corniche.  This coming weekend it's WOMAD!  The performances are free and they are about a 30 minute walk from our apartment.  Temperatures will get close to 40 Celsius or about 100 Fahrenheit so it will be hot!  The last performance will feature Robert Plant!  It would be nice to see him even though it will likely happen late on Saturday.  Luckily I

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-62008117676579429082009-04-11T23:15:00.000+04:002009-04-11T23:15:30.528+04:00

Darcy and I had a wonderful time at the new hotel on Sir Bani Yas Island for her birthday two weeks ago.  It will rank as one of our special places along with Jasper and the Everglades.  The weather could have been better but it was interesting to experience tremendous lightning storms.  It rained a lot but apparently not as much as in the northern emirates.  We still managed to do four outdoor

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-85008521302082358052009-03-14T15:34:00.001+04:002009-03-14T17:57:46.669+04:00

Welcome to our 200th blog entry!  I don't know if many people have been following our blog since we started it almost five years ago but we've had some exciting times.  Darcy posted our first story way back on June 4, 2004 by announcing our engagement.   I wonder what the next 200 blog posts will be like.  Hopefully this global repression won't be around but the deepening crisis is worrisome. 

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-74162136554678185492009-03-08T08:38:00.000+04:002009-03-08T08:38:56.986+04:00

It's only been a little over two months since our last long winter break but it has seemed longer than that. The birthday of Islam's Prophet Mohammed is on Monday but Sunday has been declared a holiday for most people to make it a long weekend. We're going to go back to the public beach on the Corniche. It's been about four months since we were last there! I guess the weather was too cool. I'm

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-53472911811036840092009-03-07T19:18:00.001+04:002009-03-07T19:18:19.828+04:00

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-86227339311309287142009-02-28T01:35:00.002+04:002009-02-28T12:41:56.897+04:00

Wow!  Where did February go?  I haven't blogged in a while but the monotony of work and seemingly short weekends have continued to speed up the passage of time.  I've spent this weekend recuperating from a bad cold.  I seem to get them two or three times a year due to the awful climate here.  Dust storms, humidity and breathing in cold and moldy smelling air at work play can play havoc on your

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-59864587409920164942009-01-31T08:10:00.012+04:002009-01-31T22:04:10.565+04:00

This weekend had a change of pace as I went with a friend to Al Ain's annual Aerobatic Show.  It was pretty fun and well organized most likely because it was not run by local outfits.  It was really hot out and I got a bit of a sunburned neck despite wearing my sunhat.  I should have brought sunscreen.   Darcy stayed home and baked yummy biscotti.  It's warmed up the last few days which hopefully

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-88886365761069315182009-01-27T08:51:00.001+04:002009-01-27T08:51:19.737+04:00

This rolled in a few minutes ago. One second it was clear, the next you couldn't see across the parking lot.

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-43420236621332583242009-01-17T06:51:00.000+04:002009-01-17T22:43:14.286+04:00

The winter break continues at my work but I've made some progress with getting projects done.  The weather has been beautiful (for me at least).  Day time highs are in the low to mid 20s celcius or about 75 farenheit.  Nights are a bit chilly and I had to wear a windbreaker once.  But it's so nice to be able to open the windows and not!  I just finished reading a book and have moved onto

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-83888899251090306672009-01-10T01:14:00.000+04:002009-01-10T12:03:36.930+04:00

The Israeli/Gaza conflict has obviously dominated headlines here and it really made its presence known here this weekend.  Shopping malls had large donation drop offs for goods, a 7 hour television telethon raised 86 million U.S. dollars and large, peaceful demonstrations took place in four emirates.  We watched the 4,000 person rally that started close to our apartment on Saturday. The global

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-27343082225284020872009-01-03T01:25:00.001+04:002009-01-03T15:41:48.745+04:00

Darcy and I had an enjoyable New Year's Eve by going to two parties that night.  They were withing walking distance so it was very convenient.  It was nice to visit some people that we hadn't seen in a while.  Darcy cooked a wonderful dinner on New Year's Day as we had company that night.  We've been spoiled with having many days off over the last month so it will be tough to get back into the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-43958344948371220392009-01-01T06:51:00.001+04:002009-01-01T06:51:31.311+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-2437673379023961352008-12-31T17:23:00.001+04:002008-12-31T17:23:25.925+04:00

The fog never really lifted today. I took this picture about 5 20 p.m.

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-25696316046141200562008-12-28T10:18:00.000+04:002008-12-28T13:41:21.877+04:00

Christmas Day got off to a slow start as Darcy's workplace did not allow their staff to go home until 2 pm.  So I spent the day at home waiting for her to come home.  But I had fun tracking Santa Claus's night journey online.  We had a delicious turkey dinner that did not take nearly as long to cook as last year.  Darcy and a friend baked cookies earlier in the week and we've pacing ourselves

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-68778973162495102732008-12-25T08:40:00.001+04:002008-12-25T08:40:46.253+04:00

Foggy and Cool-almost seasonal!

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-23162268781832464932008-12-18T09:53:00.001+04:002008-12-18T09:53:28.069+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-40038860897659292292008-12-13T09:34:00.001+04:002008-12-13T21:50:59.693+04:00

Well, it's the end of our vacation.  The old cliche of not knowing where the time went is true.  But I'm well rested - although don't ask me when I have to wake up at 5:30 am tomorrow!  I managed to exercise a bit by taking walks along the corniche, going on my bike using the indoor trainer, and doing some yoga.  So it's back to tackling projects and putting out fires at work.  Darcy's alergies

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-55848818072428578462008-12-07T04:52:00.003+04:002008-12-07T18:45:21.492+04:00

It's been almost a week since our 12 day vacation began.  This year the UAE's National Day and Muslim EID break come almost right after each other.  So many people get an extra long break this year.  The fireworks were okay but they did not come close to rivaling Dubai's.  The media/gov't (they essentially are one and the same here) reported that Abu Dhabi's fireworks would be the biggest ever.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-87753694591401006072008-12-03T00:06:00.001+04:002008-12-03T00:06:40.067+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-11432150715028205972008-12-02T21:41:00.001+04:002008-12-02T21:41:10.520+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-3650075383212119782008-12-02T17:46:00.000+04:002008-12-02T17:47:02.400+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-53148775355703019742008-11-28T10:41:00.000+04:002008-11-28T23:20:36.796+04:00

It's the weekend again (last one for November?!) after another terribly busy week of conference going and putting out fires at work.  We had U.S. Thanksgiving Day dinner with friends followed by playing Wii's Guitar Hero game.  Lots of fun!  Unfortunately my hockey team continues to lose.  Maybe it was from listening to the game online at work for the first time this season.  Next week will be

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-22848566293394744152008-11-23T17:47:00.001+04:002008-11-23T17:47:14.040+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-66188514299320405742008-11-16T08:15:00.001+04:002008-11-16T08:15:16.234+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-74061193904804016072008-11-15T01:00:00.000+04:002008-11-15T13:31:57.527+04:00

The weather continues to cool off and dry out so night walking is more enjoyable now.  We have a hunch that either our apartment or the entire building's electrical outlets are defective.  We've had to buy a second portable vacuum cleaner, a third coffee grinder, and a second floor lamp because of electrical problems.  The motors and lamp simply shorted out and now our upright vacuum's motor was

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-71112908969662439382008-11-13T19:13:00.001+04:002008-11-14T00:46:28.917+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-65070728731746174292008-11-07T09:44:00.001+04:002008-11-07T19:54:35.118+04:00

Another month flew by and we're now into November.  The month got off to a good start with the election of Barack Obama.  I'm cautiously optimistic that he can make headway with issues in the Middle East.  Unfortunately the UAE's major snafu with national ID cards has worsened.  We naively thought that using the Post Office would save us time.  It did not.  Two weeks later and the bureaucrats

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-79115547855323102782008-10-24T10:05:00.000+04:002008-10-25T21:46:35.103+04:00

The weather has definitely cooled and dried out over the last week.  So I've done a few walks along the Corniche at night.   The big news event this past week was the sudden announcement by the government to change the deadline for skilled expatriate workers to register for the new national smart card from 2010 to Dec. 31 of this year.  UAE nationals had until the end of 2008 to register for the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-18736099103201726352008-10-13T21:05:00.000+04:002008-10-13T21:12:05.235+04:00

In my last post, I told the story of meeting one of the Saluki contest winners, who was tired and very sweet and came over to lean on me. Karima caught a picture of that moment, and gave me permission to post it here, so here it is:

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-25723578501536314012008-10-11T15:41:00.000+04:002008-10-11T22:08:16.618+04:00

Yesterday we bought a Bose portable speaker system for my iPod Touch.  The Bose store also gave us a free carrying bag.  The sound is great and it's so neat now to have all our music on our iPod (backed up of course!) and hear it on such a small system! It was not cheap but it's definitely worth the price. Today we went with friends to visit the annual ADIHEX show.  There was still the heritage

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-43362046260856328132008-10-11T14:57:00.005+04:002008-10-11T19:05:19.772+04:00

Today we went to the Abu Dhabi Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition with our friends Rob and Karima. Not sure if we posted last year, but we went then too. The show combines heritage displays, camel and horse auctions, Saluki beauty contests, falcon sales, weaponry, and hunting and camping supplies. It takes up the entire exhibition hall, and only runs for one weekend. Visiting the weaponry

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-43372445692415869012008-10-02T17:00:00.005+04:002008-10-03T13:37:18.329+04:00

Yesterday the weather was finally clement enough for us to venture out to Abu Dhabi's new public beach on the Corniche.  The opening of this beach has not been without controversy.  First it was free and open to all.  Then it was segregated into "bachelor" and "family" sections to prevent harassment.  Finally an entrance fee was instituted...with men being charged double if they were not in a

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-7444733345045563692008-09-29T10:31:00.012+04:002008-10-02T19:47:54.986+04:00

Not much exciting to talk about. We're into the second day of our EID break and it's been nice to sleep in, browse the web, watch movies and read.  We've made no plans for the week so we don't have to rush to do anything - very therapeutic!  We'd like to visit the new public beach on the corniche but we'll have to wait until EID officially begins (Oct 1 hopefully). Then we can have a picnic

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-68874862860497505722008-09-24T18:14:00.000+04:002008-09-24T22:58:56.204+04:00

I don't know why this shortened 4 day work week has seemed so long.  Perhaps it's because of our relaxing trip to the Bab Al Shams Hotel last weekend.  It felt like being in an old Arabian fort.  Darcy posted lots of photos on Facebook.  There were hardly any *hardships* desptite it being Ramadan.  We could still drink (non alcoholic) poolside.  The Al Hadheerah restaurant was very nice but the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-19522140168902164532008-09-20T18:04:00.001+04:002008-10-02T19:46:45.022+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-56456153399032462292008-09-20T18:02:00.001+04:002008-10-02T19:46:45.023+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-43909546258721968022008-09-19T14:40:00.001+04:002008-10-02T19:46:45.024+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-73015867149649394892008-09-18T10:45:00.002+04:002008-09-19T09:52:46.368+04:00

It's the end of another hectic work week.  Darcy has been unwell for most of the week by a stomach bug.  I've not been 100% either but hopefully she will be well enough to relax for two nights at the Bab Al Shams Desert Resort Hotel this weekend.  We leave on Friday and the dust and sand storms are supposed to subside by then.  I've been able to work slightly shorter hours during Ramadan and

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-54333939864337944822008-09-13T22:02:00.000+04:002008-09-14T00:01:47.315+04:00

Luckily I've been able to work a couple of normal 6 hour work days during Ramadan.  Unfortunately I also caught a cold.  There are a lot of sick people as fasting all day and a lack of sleep for a month can wreak havoc on your body.  Not much exciting news has happened here besides finding out where I can get our vacuum cleaner serviced.  It's always an adventure to find a store here because

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-51133782031364270112008-09-11T23:20:00.001+04:002008-10-02T19:47:16.850+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-5713078817194596782008-09-11T11:25:00.001+04:002008-10-02T19:47:16.850+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-59268441133952925082008-09-09T07:31:00.000+04:002008-09-08T23:20:38.193+04:00

We're into the second week of Ramadan now and we were invited to a friend's house for an Iftar dinner.  It was delicious!  Unfortunately I can't remember the names of all the dishes and drinks.  We went to the mall last weekend and many stores were shut down during the afternoon.  Most open in the morning and then shut down around noon or 1 pm.  They they re-open around 6 or 7 and close around

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-35144601963037496102008-09-06T16:46:00.001+04:002008-09-06T16:46:39.024+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-61291785014832382192008-08-30T21:58:00.004+04:002008-08-30T23:14:44.614+04:00

Getting back into my daily morning stretching routine and having a few TCM and chiro treatments have helped my back and left leg in the last two weeks. I have to drive to Sharjah on Sunday - ugh! It's about a two hour drive but the traffic is horrendous. I hope that I make the right turn off to take the shortcut. Otherwise I will be very late. We were invited to a brunch at a hotel here. Most

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-733150130895156972008-08-27T10:16:00.001+04:002008-08-27T10:16:51.293+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-92035864474349400362008-08-27T09:27:00.005+04:002008-08-27T17:40:46.616+04:00

HCT annual conference 2008. Tried to rotate this photo after sending it and it just didn't work...sorry...you'll have to look at the screen sideways!

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-40610548008818723422008-08-22T11:53:00.010+04:002008-08-22T14:03:08.265+04:00

I hate IE! It crashed as I was writing my latest blog post and I forgot to draft it in Word. So I have to start from scratch again. Of course Word is prone to crashing too so I have to remember to save every couple of minutes. Anyway we’ve been home for almost one week now and we’re catching up on our sleep. It’s been easier waking up for work as I’ve been up before 5:30 am. But I get dozy in

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-25829368467598340792008-08-17T09:50:00.003+04:002008-08-19T12:35:17.999+04:00

Well we're back in the heat and humidity of Abu Dhabi.  Darcy and I had a short but enjoyable time in Canada.  We visited friends and family but unfortunately there wasn't enough time to see more people.  We've been travelling home for vacations for 8 straight years and there is never enough time to do everything that we set out to do.  But it was still refreshing to get away and enjoy being

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-45410288719301285332008-07-21T12:29:00.003+04:002008-12-11T12:43:41.577+04:00

It NEVER Goes above 50 degrees in Abu Dhabi

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-70998757215818942942008-07-20T14:15:00.002+04:002008-12-11T12:43:41.843+04:00

Mmmmm...they taste as good as they look! Testing out my Mobile phone photo blogging utility here :)

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-92159629512120251142008-07-19T12:55:00.008+04:002008-07-24T22:19:16.139+04:00

I had Thursday off to supposedly relax and organize myself but I spent doing much of the latter. I couldn't sleep much last night and I woke up early this morning. Our Internet connection has been terrible today. I've had trouble emailing and many webpages won't load properly. Typical of Etisalat. We pay 189 Dirhams a month ($47 USD) for 512 connection speed and it's crap most of the time. I went

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-76232022333065202432008-07-13T22:46:00.008+04:002008-07-18T20:53:21.241+04:00

We'll be Canada in one week from today.  The temperature and humidity have started to climb so we're lucky that it was temperate for this long.  We moved into our apartment two years ago today - sure doesn't seem like it.  I just realized that this is my last full weekend of being in my thirties - yikes! Poor Darcy is struggling at work with doing original cataloging of Arabic material.  I'm

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-42591059589738741872008-07-06T19:46:00.008+04:002008-07-12T22:29:37.948+04:00

I've spent much of this weekend with making my library more Web/Library 2.0 friendly.  I've been tweaking our public online catalog and creating my library's profile in Facebook.  It's kind of fun work but I really wanted to finish these projects before I go on vacation.  Speaking of which the countdown is now two weeks and counting!  The weather is getting more humid but it's still not as bad as

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-32473012582831024962008-07-01T23:03:00.008+04:002008-07-05T10:46:24.778+04:00

Nothing really exciting happened here this past week.  My hometown football team (Edmonton Eskimos) lost its season opener but won its first home game.  My hockey team (Edmonton Oilers) made some big trades and the team has a new owner.  It's great to be able to listen to (in some cases) live press conferences and local radio sports talk shows over the web!  Last week I had my *consultation*

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-46312304133467087272008-06-23T22:01:00.003+04:002008-06-29T22:52:46.309+04:00

I don't know why time seems to pass so quickly here. Work is hectic and both of us seem like either circus clowns juggling several ongoing projects or fire fighters trying to put out blazes at work. Then the weekends come and we collapse in a heap on the couch and catch up on our various RSS feeds, blogs and emails. Then there are the usual weekend chores and errands and then it's back to work

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-66905218074806946532008-06-15T22:21:00.009+04:002008-06-21T13:14:23.553+04:00

Summer is almost upon us and yet it doesn't quite feel like it. The skies have been very hazy for over one week and the humidity has been very low. But that's resulted in a lot of dust and sand in the air. So I've been battling a cold for ten days but I should be able to resume exercising on Sunday. Luckily Darcy's strong immune system has kept her from getting sick like me. Many faculty at

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-14856539346474737092008-06-06T12:00:00.003+04:002008-06-12T23:25:18.699+04:00

My workplace held its annual end of year dinner party for its employees. They had a multitude of prizes to give away and last year I won an espresso coffee maker. Guess what? They pulled my name again and I won a Sony Ericsson mobile phone/walkman! It's a beautiful phone and it's loaded with bells and whistles but I decided to give it to Darcy. Her phone was getting close to 3.5 years old

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-14642185449092188102008-05-25T23:22:00.007+04:002008-12-11T12:43:42.333+04:00

Marhaba! The spring semester has now ended but the summer term begins next week. I'll be teaching a few classes and working on other projects. Darcy is also very busy at work but the days continue to pass quickly. A couple of anniversaries have come up for us. May 30th is the fourth anniversary of our engagement. We arrived in Abu Dhabi two years ago on June 2. It doesn't seem that long

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-3453377445307259492008-05-12T19:50:00.005+04:002008-05-12T22:46:50.258+04:00

It took us a lot longer than we had planned to make the online video of our trip to Turkey. You can also watch it on a bigger screen at our video blog (http://darcyandmichael.blip.tv). Images from the video doesn't do justice but hopefully it captures a bit of what we saw. We bought a few things with the more expensive items being a carpet (of course), drum, ceramic plates, and silk. We

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-70808007980860923692008-05-12T18:49:00.001+04:002008-05-12T18:49:13.196+04:00

Click to Play The sights of our ten day trip to Istanbul, Princes' Islands and Bursa in April 2008.

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-20062316152895967272008-04-11T18:32:00.007+04:002008-12-11T12:43:43.236+04:00

Our weekend got off to a different but exciting start. On Thursday Darcy's employer (Higher Colleges of Technology) hosted an event for all its staff and family members. It was called Desert Evening and it took place in an HCT owned camp about 70 km west of Abu Dhabi. The day became very blustery and it was not fun being in the desert and experiencing shamal-like winds! (ed. by Darcy--

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-54121160549914897542008-04-07T21:49:00.000+04:002008-04-07T21:50:03.171+04:00

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-69875799315092221142008-04-04T18:56:00.004+04:002008-04-05T11:13:44.749+04:00

Marhaba! I've now attended five Arabic classes at work and they've been fun. I don't have the time to do all the required practice but I did teach myself, while cleaning the floors, to count from 0 to 10. It took me about half an hour and now I have to learn how to write the numbers in Arabic. I can say a few simple words in an introduction type conversation. This article is a bit old but

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-37764857594641396992008-04-01T19:59:00.003+04:002008-04-01T20:22:33.246+04:00

I better get everyone caught up on the local news here. I can't believe the excuses some people have against self serve gas pumps! But if you thought that was silly then read this article about carpooling. At least it's not happening in Abu Dhabi - yet.... I'm not sure what to think about not living in a democratic country after reading this article. I guess it could be a lot worse though.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-31495010890109365852008-03-21T14:55:00.007+04:002008-03-21T15:10:15.908+04:00

Marhaba! That's the secular Arabic greeting for hello. I've seldom heard it spoken so I guess Muslims prefer the religious salamalikom greeting. I've started taking Arabic classes at work. After two sessions I can say a few greetings like good morning and good afternoon/evening. There are two classes a week for two hours in total that will run through early June. I don't know how much

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393548083268816321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-2447212019373874282008-03-10T11:25:00.002+04:002008-12-11T12:43:43.784+04:00

The above photo is a reader-submitted picture published in the Gulf News showing current UAE foggy conditions, which are expected to last a few more days at least. I could hardly see more than a block ahead of me on parts of my drive to work this morning, and when I got out of the car I could feel the fog like rain on my face! I think it's lovely, although I'm sure many people are now

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201795.post-2813406539057390882008-03-01T17:43:00.005+04:002008-12-11T12:43:44.724+04:00

So, booking our hotels in Turkey has been more "interesting" than we anticipated. Our first choice hotel in Istanbul, the Empress Zoe, was already full by the time we tried to get a room there (our travel guide advised to "book well ahead"...with 2 months to go we thought we had enough time but apparently not!). We chose another Istanbul hotel, plus a hotel on the islands and a hotel on the

darcyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07472150920054322593noreply@blogger.com1