Not looking forward...

I’m a Dad now.  That’s a great thing.  I’m headed back out on deployment.  That’s not such a good thing.

This dad thing is pretty awesome.  I never realized how much one little person could influence your life!  He’s a bundle of joy and just so precious you want to hug him all day.

Tomorrow is going to suck though.  Time to head back to my unit and the work that I’m not looking forward to.  The only upside is that we have been so busy the last few months that it kind of slipped on by.  Hopefully the remaining few months will do the same so I can get back to my family.

Daddy?

Well, almost. Sitting here in the hospital waiting for the newest member of our family.

We came in today to induce but Kris is already having contractions and is dilated to about 1cm.  Not far along but progressing!

Headed home...

And that means it’s almost time for baby!

Frigid day in the UAE

Who would have thunk?  With lows in the 60’s at night people actually wear jackets here.

The temperatures have been downright pleasant lately, mid-80’s during the day with a pleasant, non dust stirring breeze and down to the 60’s at night.  If there were more green it would be the perfect climate!

Dubai, UAE

Dubai really is a unique town.  It’s a global city in the fact that it takes its global connections for the city to thrive. 

It is built in the desert adjacent to a salty body of water.  They basis of the growth of the city hasn’t been that it straddled any important trade route or was the seat of an empire, it was oil.

Luckily for Dubai, early on the ruling body realized that oil is a non-renewable commodity and they started investing in what we now call the service sector.  Dubai has built an economy around tourism and service.  Tourism is the base and service is being added on.  The hotels here run from nice to amazingly ostentatious.  Shopping can be done in a modernized souk (air conditioning, food courts, etc) to some of the largest malls in the world.  Dubai has opened an international banking center and the first stock exchange in the Middle East.  It really is visionary.

The history of the city is short, much like south Florida, but it has Arab influences it can pull from that keep it interesting.  So far, it has been an interesting visit.  Couldn’t live here though, too flat and too brown…

Long time no post...

I know, I know.  I’ll get to it…

Another day in paradise

Well, I'm at Dubai International airport getting ready to fly to Bahrain again.  The great thing about DXB is that it has free WiFi everywhere!  I was able to track my progress through the airport using Google Earth.

I'm starting to get settled in here in Dubai.  It really isn't that difficult to adjust because everything here is very Western.  If I long for Chili's I can go to the Mall of the Emirates, if I want some Lean Cuisine I can go to Spinney's and get it (not LuLu's though, but they have great spicy chicken shwarmas!)

The return trip through the Bahrain airport won't be nearly as much fun.  Bahrain's airport isn't the equal of Dubai's, it is like a regional airport stateside, smaller, more crowded but a lot easier to navigate.

Well, I'm off to fly Gulf Air (broke down and got their Frequent Flyer Club card too).