Pictures
January 31, 2008 | Filed Under Main | 2 Comments
For those asking about pictures, I am going to try and set up a Flickr account for all my Dubai pictures.
As for Kuwait, there really is nothing to see yet. I am in a hotel in what is called the Kuwait Free Trade Zone. It is basically an industrial park. Seen one – seen ‘em all. This little wedge of cars and concrete is squished between a university (somewhere beyond those walls…) and the one of Kuwait’s ports. I’ve watched as big cargo ships pull in and large trailer trucks of cars and sheep roll out. But not together. The cars and sheep…
If I get to stay in one of the apartments I saw, then there will be plenty to look at. Once you get toward civilization, it may indeed look like Beirut… just without the gunfire.
Added to iPod
January 30, 2008 | Filed Under Music | No Comments
Because I am stubborn enough to stay logged on for fourteen hours over a two day period in order to download something new.
Stew – “Something Deeper Than These Changes” I liked the title. This is an acoustic, singer/songwriter record. The tunes are very relaxed and simple, but the lyrics are sharper. The words are about life in sort of a late evening, early morning phase. Very mellow, but very detailed.
Cat Power – “Jukebox” She has a great voice and is really coming into her own. This is a solid collection of songs.
Wednesday
January 30, 2008 | Filed Under Main | 2 Comments
I could smell the sea air this morning. I think it’s imperative that I always live near the water – whether it’s Sandy Hook Bay or the Arabian Gulf.
I am an official resident of Kuwait now. I got my papers today. The final piece of processing was Monday when I was fingerprinted. There had to have been 30 of us standing outside a non-descript building in the cold at seven in the morning, waiting for the Ministry’s office inside to open. Inside, more lines, more stamping and more paper. I’ve never had my finger prints taken before. I find it amazing how many pieces of paper with my name, picture and prints are now floating through the halls of government here.
It has now been a full week since I have had any alcohol. No cold sweats yet.
For those in the New Haven area…
January 28, 2008 | Filed Under Music | 2 Comments
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals will be playing TOAD’S on February 22nd!
I urge you all to go and celebrate my birthday for me.
Tell her I said ‘hi’.
Winter
January 27, 2008 | Filed Under Main | 5 Comments
We are in the winter months in the Middle East as well. Winter means periodic rain and possible snow (it has snowed in Baghdad and Tehran this month). It means temps at the mid-50s to low 60s – heavy coat weather in these parts. And it means grey. Grey skies - all the time. In three weeks, the sun has been out twice. None of those crisp, cold, clear days we have on the East Coast. Just a dull, heavy feeling. Add to that the cold I am trying to stave off and the fact that I can’t download music from the connection in my hotel and you can understand why I’m in sort of a blue funk right now. As expected. The “stranger in a strange land” feelings were a bit acute this weekend. It doesn’t help that my hotel is near the office which is isolated from all life. Nowhere to go. And the gym only has two treadmills and some weights.
Thus most of my days are spent in front of the tube, watching election results and the play by play from DAVOS, as well as catching up on movies I had not seen (Junebug and Hustle and Flow) and movies I never wanted to see (like Kiss Of Death – David Caruso and Nick Cage. Shudder…) I think I’ll switch to reading this week and see if that helps.
Headlines!
January 24, 2008 | Filed Under Main, Politics | 5 Comments
Sure, you read it already in all your papers. But it is MORE fun when the front of the Arab Times screams:
“Lies Led US to Iraq War”
well - Duh!
935 false statements? Was that per minute??
Work
January 22, 2008 | Filed Under Main | 6 Comments
I was kind of nervous going to work this morning. I haven’t worked for three straight weeks, and THAT hasn’t happened since I was in my early 20’s. I’ve rarely had two weeks off in the time since. Not that I’m looking a gift horse in the mouth, mind you. It was very relaxing to do nothing for a while. Still – doing the jacket and tie thing always makes me feel edgy…
Again I was walked around and introduced to people whose names I will not remember tomorrow. This is especially true when you have never heard these particular names before in your life. At my old job, most people adopted first names: John, Sharon, Alex, etc. Not here. It will take some time… which I have.
Then I had to start the next visa process. This one is for residency and it – again – requires a blood test and a chest x-ray. Very different experience from Dubai. There I went to a small doctor’s office to have the work done. Here – I was driven to some sort of medical compound with another guy. At one end of the compound, we were rushed to the front of the line with our passports and paperwork, stamped and shown to another corridor to stand in a short line to have some blood taken. It took mere minutes and from the rows of blood filled test tubes on the table, I can easily imagine that they processed 700 of us today alone. Then we were whisked to the other side of the compound, passing a sign near one building that said “Maternity Plant” (I assume that is a loose translation…). Our driver was right behind a bus load of young men from the Philippines. The driver was our guide through the hallways, our passports in hand, speaking the language and pushing through lines. The company is our sponsor and our sponsor makes sure we make it through the processing. The next place – like the one before – was less a medical facility than a rundown DMV office in a rural town. We all got our passports stamped again, got more paperwork, and filed to a back area. We took off our shirts (and my tie and my suit jacket) and stood in line waiting to be x-rayed – the ten men from the Philippines, my sudden companion (also from the Philippines) and this old, white guy(me). Five minutes later, shirts on and passports returned, we were whisked back to the office.
I am finally in a different country.
BTW
January 21, 2008 | Filed Under Main | 2 Comments
GO GIANTS!
Who’d a thunk it?
Kuwait - finally
January 21, 2008 | Filed Under Main, Music | 3 Comments
Got my passport in hand and fly out today. (yay!)
For my last day in Dubai… well, most of the day was spent sitting depressed in my room, doing laundry (4 hours!) and watching George Clooney movies. Later, I went back to Waxy O’Connors for dinner (and beer). Actually, Waxy’s has a terrific chef. His prime rib and roast duck breast are cooked to perfection, the vegetables are always crisp and fresh, and the bread-and-butter pudding is to die for. Pretty good stuff for “bar food”.
Then it was back to Rock Bottom for the rest of the night to see my favorite local band and drink “bullfrogs” (four liquors, blue curacao, and Red Bull). The band – King Gorilla – were in great form and much looser than last time I was there. I talked to the bassist – Mike – and he told me that they were all from Canada (Montreal) and had only been in country for two weeks (like me!). I wish them the best of luck on their stay and if anyone out is going to Dubai (you know you are), definitely look them up. And have a bullfrog for me…
Next stop – work!
Week Two
January 18, 2008 | Filed Under Main | No Comments
The sun was out, so I went back to the beach today. On second look… it was still beautiful. But now I can see the effects of more and more people. Litter is evident. Not big, New Jersey pollution yet – just the small things: bottle tops, plastic wrappers, a plastic bag here and there. With all this talk about religion, for me littering on a beach is sacrilegious. There is no reason for such selfishness. It really boggles my mind…
Also – I didn’t do karaoke tonight. Somehow I keep expecting to find cool karaoke, like in the movie Lost In Translation. I was ready to sing something by The Killers. Instead my choices were either Kelley Clarkson or Kylie Minogue. However, I did go to a club last night. I was on my way to the Crowne Plaza (which is in the midst of some of those brilliant skyscrapers) to check out a band at another pub. In the taxi, I heard that some DJ would be spinning at another joint in the same complex! Once I found that the pub actually didn’t have a band – I went clubbing. Now – I love the music. House, techno, big beat – whatever you want to call it. But I keep forgetting the reasons I don’t go clubbing that often. One: Nothing starts until 11pm. Two: The smoke machines, laser light show and mega-thumping bass has a tendency to kick the crap out of an old, white Irish guy… such as myself. But it was interesting to watch – especially as the only Caucasian in the room. Groups of guys came in. Then left. Groups of girls came in. Then left. Couples would mill about. Eventually, everybody started to stick. But no one danced. There were more guys than girls and everyone picked one of the three bars to cling to… waiting for someone else to dance first. It was just like high school! And since I was getting tired, I’ll never know what the magic cue was that got everyone moving.
If I do nothing with this blog, I hope I can show that people are the same everywhere.
Economics
January 18, 2008 | Filed Under Main, Politics | No Comments
Fascinating to hear about the economic woes in the US from here.
Senator McCain proposes saving the economy by cutting corporate taxes and extending a corporate tax credit for buying equipment and research and development… Um, did that already. That has been in place since 2003. Dub-A- Huh? wants to give everybody rebate checks. DID THAT ALREADY! Don’t you remember getting your – what was it? - $260 check from Unca Sam? Boy, did we go wild that night…
Once again our leaders look like products of crack and hard liquor. YES – there will be a recession. NO – bandaids won’t fix it. Why? Because every article I read about these “sub-prime loans” says, “Hmmm, the math looks pretty dodgy on this.” And yet every bank – EVERY bank – invested billions and billions of dollars into this pyramid scheme.
But no one will be fired for this malfeasance. No heads will roll. The pain will be borne by you and me – the little guy. Can we start that War Crimes Tribunal now?
Added to iPod
January 17, 2008 | Filed Under Music | 2 Comments
Today, I went to the movies and saw I Am Legend – which was good, but I still like The Omega Man better. I also finished my first book on this journey. I read Into The Wild. This is an excellent, well written and thoughtful story. Maybe I’ll see the movie, but I worry about Penn glorifying McCandless. Nature bites anyone who thinks they’re Her boyfriend…
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers – “As It All Began: The Best Of” Tracks picked by Mayall himself from 1964 to 1968.
Jeff Beck – “Wired” and “Blow By Blow” Actually, I thought I had these already. My favorite of his solo work.
Guano Apes – So I’m watching the German music video show (as opposed to the Russian or Arabic or International music video programs) and they are showing this kick-ass, live performance vid by a metal band with a woman shredding away on vocals. The song is called “Lords Of The Boards” from their album Proud Like A God. It’s on iTunes but it dates back to 1999. Don’t know where they are now. “Open Your Eyes” is also a good track.
Tom Jones and Neil Diamond – Not together. Just a smattering of the old 60s singles: “What’s New Pussycat”, “Sweet Caroline”, “Delilah”, “Solitary Man” and a few more. Come on! This stuff is classic!
stuff
January 16, 2008 | Filed Under Main | 2 Comments
Yes, it is incredibly sad that our daytime TV crap oozes around the world. There is no reason for any innocents to have to suffer through “Dr. Phil”, “The View” or “Rachel Ray”. However, it IS a good time to see Cartoon Network in other parts of the world. You can’t imagine how bizarre it is to watch Courage, The Cowardly Dog dubbed into Arabic.
Also - new definition: Clubs bands should no longer be called “cover” bands. They are “copy” bands. A “cover” band suggests that the group is doing a version of a well known song. With modern technology what it is, the band I saw last night merely copied the song note for note with little or no variation. Therefore - a “copy” band. (However - they were still very good.)
Remember - you heard it here first…
Tuesday
January 15, 2008 | Filed Under Main | 5 Comments
Another grey day in Dubai. And my visa (and passport) nowhere in sight. No one knows why - “it has never happened before”. My guess is that it has something to do with a finance job and a theater arts degree.
And it is raining again. But not just raining. Pouring. Buckets. Not only is the beautiful, upscale mall attached to the hotel leaking like a sieve, but so is my “living room” area on the 22nd floor. Luckily my bedroom is dry. (Who knew that two weeks in a hotel would be such a strain?) I spoke with my boss in Kuwait and he suggested I find a bar to get drunk in until they work this all out. Not a bad plan…
Since the roads in Dubai flood really quickly, I am also pretty land-locked. I decided to spend my hours playing pool at the bar in the hotel across the street. Wading through the soggy streets, I went over to the Rock Bottom. Most of the local rags - including Time Out Dubai - disparage this joint because it has no class. But since when did that matter? The food is… edible. The drinks are cheap and there are three well maintained pool tables. There are three adjoining rooms and a number a screeens showing soccer. This afternoon, the evening’s band was rehearsing - trying out versions of U2’s “Desire” and Marilyn Manson’s “Beautiful People”. This seems like the place to be since I can’t swim to Waxy’s.
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