Back in the Blog Saddle

I have been away from the Blog for a long time. I am sorry if you came to visit and there was nothing to see that was new. I use the site to stay in contact with family and friends back in the states and while I was there I lost the instinct to blog. I am back now in Dubai and I can type run on sentences again.

Christmas was too much to really digest. And yes, I mean that literally and figuratively. The food never stopped.

Entire seafood plates of shellfish all unpeeled or on the shell
A pork bonanza plate: shoulders, hips, ribs, rump, sausages, slices, the fat, along with boiled greens
Beef steak and potatoes
Squid steak
And that was just in Lisboa, Portugal!

While home I ate at all my favorite places.
$5 and 5 minutes and had the best burger I have had in 7 months at Highlife Burger (extra cheese with lots of Tapatio)
Sat at the counter of Pie and Burger and threw back a double there as well
Throw in Z Sushi (twice)
Hub cap size pancakes with SisterK8T, DJZ, Buzz and Camile
A Chili Relleno platter with pork sopas on the side
Dad’s “gnarly” tuna fish sandwiches and chowder
An army size casserole of macaroni and cheese with ¾ inch ham slices on the side (w/ Em, long story)
Pan seared Salmon steaks
And that wasn’t even any of the Holiday Meals!

Anyway, my stomach is not what is important. I had Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas day breakfast and Christmas day dinner with family and it was beautiful. Awesome food and awesome people. Many new members were part of the clan. Camille, Jacob, Tessa, Olivia, and Parker. (aka: bag of bones, Jake, Tess, Jim’s head, and the Tomato.)

The flight back to Dubai really kicked my ass. I will not go into too much detail but I just will say the digestive track stopped working. I lost a few pounds. BigSister Kelly and Nick showed up and we hung out for a few days in Dubai. Can’t say enough about seeing family in The UAE. Craziness. I was not a 100% but we had a good time.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minster of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai decided that to show solidarity with the Palestinian people there will be no outward signs of celebration in public at new years. All outdoor live music was cancelled. No one was allowed to make noise outside. Especially at midnight. OK. The hotels freaked. Abu Dhabi did no such thing. The Emirates Palace had a huge Latin name in house for a big concert. They let it go. We kept it “real” in Dubai. My only question was, where has the love been for the Palestinian people for the last 50 years! But I digress.

So we were mellow on the change of the year only for a new reason to spring upon us to again stop being outwardly happy. Sheikh Rashid III ibn Ahmad Al Mu'alla, the ruler of Umm al-Quwain, one of the Emirates of the UAE died, so the entire country just took 7 days of morning. Flags at half mast, the radio went from Hip-hop to all no verbal elevator (lift) music. Great. Don’t celebrate his life, just keep to heavy and the glass half empty. He was probably a really cool guy, but since there are only 5 photos of him that have been released over the last 20 years, so who really knows…

Alright. Many more stories to tell. I need to keep them until later so I can keep up the word count on the blog. Gotta go. I will be back soon.

BrotherBill