Xmas dinner

I had dinner at the Al Bustan Rotana with several colleagues on Christmas Eve.  The food was great.  The turkey was juicy.  The company was pleasant.  And I didn't have to do dishes or clean up after.

Xmas present

I must have been even better than I thought this year.  Santa upgraded my bike.  I got a Scott Aspect 20 plus a cool helmet and some other gear (much better than the Giant I was looking at before).  I've really missed biking, so I'm going to be out most morning before the sun comes up riding around the university.

Christmas Presents

I've been pretty good this year (The fact that I live on campus in the middle of a desert in a dry emirate that has no bars is completely beside the point.).  I'm so sure that Santa is going to bring me exactly what I want (and deserve) that I stopped by one of his out-sourced workshops at the Dubai Festival City mall.  I'd love to get a new road bike, but I really don't want to ride on my own on the hard shoulders of any of the roads in the Emirates.  So...I'm looking at an offroad bike.  I'll be able to ride on the roads around the University City and there are a lot of sand lots I can cycle in.  I have a friend in Dubai who does some really serious looking mountain biking, so I may give him a call when I'm in better shape.

At any rate, I love this bike.

Of course, this being the UAE, I said, "I'll take it with me right now (so you don't have to deliver it on Christmas day). I need some shoes, too. I need a size 10 or 10 and a half.  I'll also take a helmet and a bunch of other stuff"

The elf said, "Sorry, we have only size 12.  If you wear heavy socks, it should be okay."

"Gee, I don't think so.  I'm going to spend US$1,000 on a bike and you don't have the shoes to go with it."

I'm hoping that, by Christmas, they will have what I need.

A friend told me about this website last week.  It's cool.  Some of the vocabulary is really hard, but it's a good way to learn vocabulary.  I like it because it has links to the sound files as well, so you can learn how to say it as well.  If you use it, you can feed needy people.

A Charlie Brown Christmas tree

I put up my Christmas tree this morning.  I'm sure Christmas will pass quietly this year.  I'd like to say that I've been good this year, but that's not true.  I'm expecting a lump of coal in my stocking.

I will certainly miss my family's company this year - my older brother in particular has often provided me with memorable Christmas dinners in recent years.  I expect that the closest I will come to a Christmas dinner this year will be a Chicken Whopper at Burger King.

Perhaps I should look at roasting a couple of Cornish game hens and having a few colleagues over for dinner.

Hatta "Water" Pools

I've been to the Hatta Water Pools several times in the past and there was often a fairly large pool and lots of running water.  I thought that my friends would find it interesting.

  Unfortunately, the pool was almost dry and there were only a few tiny streams.  They didn't believe me when I said that there were often a lot of fish in the pool.  Fortunately, the falaj running along the road had plenty of small fish in it.

Dubai Creek Dinner Cruise

A couple of days ago, I went on a dinner cruise celebrating a colleague's birthday. Getting from Sharjah to Deira in Dubai took one and a half hours. However, the cruise was really pleasant. The weather was perfect - cool but not cold - and the food was quite good. It was nice to get out with friends for a cruise that lasted about 3 hours.