Posted by Kanga.
We were invited to go out to the camel races.
The camels are fitted with remote controlled robotic jockeys, so the owners follow the camels in their SUVs on both sides of the race track. There are two tracks, 5 kilometers and 10 kilometers.
Posted by Kanga.
We gathered with a large group of our friends at one of the restaurants serving a special Thanksgiving meal, Billy Blues. We didn’t take an official head count, but by the end of the meal, it was somewhere in the 25-30 range. We spilled over into additional tables.
It was not the same as a home cooked meal, but the food was good and the company was GREAT. The restaurant staff were pretty amazing, handling such a big crowd well.
Posted by Kanga.
You never know what you will encounter in the mall. Yesterday, it was a falcon. DaddyBird was pleased as punch to get to hold it for a few minutes.
Here’s the video. You might want to turn down the volume since the sound is mostly children screaming in the amplifying mall acoustics.
Posted by Kanga.
This is not an uncommon site on the streets of Dubai and probably anywhere else in the Emirates. These poor fellows are on their way to someone’s dinner table and not as guests.
This, however, is not something I see regularly. I doubt any of those three guys had a seat belt (maybe the driver, but it’s not a given) or any other safety equipment that would protect them in case of collision. It looked like a pretty rough ride.
Posted by Kanga.
It has been a while and I am certain you have begun to wonder what my crazy cat has been up to lately.
This continues until the tray is torn up into little bits. When we are putting away groceries after shopping, we have to watch anything that is in a styrofoam package because he will snitch it and run off to play with it no matter what the contents are.
Posted by Kanga.
This post is for the folks back home in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. of A. who are used to seeing condensation on their windows when the weather outside is frightfully cold and they have their furnace or heating stove going full blast. The warm, moist air inside their home hits the window that borders on the cold outdoor temperature and ta-da you have condensation.
Here it is just the reverse. The condensation pictured above is on the outside of the windows of the building’s second story. We live in a desert surrounded by sand, but we are also on a coastline surrounded by water, very warm water. So, once that hot, wet air hits the window bordering the cold internal airconditioning, ta-da you have condensation.
Posted by Kanga.
At work this week we had an all staff meeting that was actually very enjoyable and enlightening. Here’s how it went. Everyone sat at small tables, four people per table. Each group was given a pack of cards, a sheet of instructions, a blank sheet for score keeping and a pencil. The instructions described a simplified form of Hearts or Spades. We were to pair up across the table and were given a few minutes to practice and make sure we understood the rules of the game. We were not allowed to speak or write to each other during the game. We could make gestures, but no other form of communication. The instruction sheets were then collected from us (big hint here). Then, we played for real until the horn was sounded. The partners who had the winning score then got up and moved to the next table. We played again. As you might have guessed from the big hint earlier, the instructions varied from table to table. We played a total of three sets each time with the winners moving on to another table.
My partner and I didn’t win the first round (actually we tied, so we had to do a quick tie breaker) so we stayed at our table and welcomed new players. We launched right into the game and our newcomers were confused by who was winning each round. My partner and I enforced our set of rules and simply communicated by pointing to the winning card, whether is was a high card or trump. Our new players picked it up quickly, but we still beat them (home court advantage). This, however, meant that we had to move on the next table, where we met our original competitors. I was deeply into the symbolism of this, so I considered the new table to be a new country and my old competitors to be “expats” who had learned the rules of this new country and I expected them to teach it to me. Not so! We reverted to the original set of rules, never mind that we were at a different table.
After the final set, we discussed the experience. There were quite a few tables where the newcomers had acted like conquerors and insisted on their rules. There were some “host” players who were very confused and just surrendered to the newcomers. Others negotiated the rules and came up with a new way altogether.
I thought it was interesting that our reunion with our original competitors involved no assimilation to the new culture at all. We were like expats hanging out with other expats on a compound or base sticking with our home country rules.
I am pleased that I didn’t turn out to be a conqueror and that while in my home country I stuck to the rules and encouraged the newcomers to assimilate. I preserved my cultural heritage, so to speak.
Some things have changed greatly, other things remain much the same.
Posted by Kanga.
Saturday was my first outing in a week. I’ve been down with a terrible cold and am still not truly well.
Back on October 20th, we had attended a promotional event at the Ford booth at GITEX (big technology expo). They were demonstrating the MyFord Touch system which integrates your technology with your Ford vehicle. Which means that you have a large touch screen monitor to the right of your dashboard that allows you to control your phone, music device (iPod or other player), access the Internet, etc. It is also voice activated to free you up while driving. It is very impressive, but I would not want it in my vehicle. The car is the last place I have without Internet access and therefore the last place I can count on my husband actually listening to what I say without being distracted. For the non-ADHD driver, it might be just the thing.
Because we attended that event we were also invited to the debut of the 2011 Ford Mustang. 
First we rode on the indoor track with a professional driver.
I am so thankful for the helmet. I banged my head several times. Here’s what it looked like from the outside.
Next was the outdoor driving experience. There were two options – an obstacle course timed competition with V6 models and a straight “floor it” with V8 models. I didn’t drive, but DaddyBird did. Here is his rather entertaining first run at the obstacle course. The fellows standing in the foreground are Mali (grey shirt) and Rami (white shirt).
And, then his V8 runs. DaddyBird is in the white car and our friend Mali is in the red one. (The video is somewhat disrupted by the umbrella blowing over on me.)
A fun time was had by all. Guys + fast cars = happy guys.
Posted by Kanga.
Menues usually have a few amusing items no matter how nice the restaurant is.
Appetizing? Stuffed baby chicken.
I didn’t realize sheeshing was a verb.
Living the Travel Channel 