DUBAI.... Desert, Sand, Camels & more.......

It's been a long time away. Traveled thousands of miles both by car, plane and foot and have experienced so much along the way. Now I am living temporarily in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. in the Gulf region of the Middle East. Never thought I'd see this day living so far away in an altogether multi-cultural land of to be the "rich & famous".
I came here first for one month vacation in March 2007 to find that I would return for other reasons other than vacation or holiday. My idea of Dubai was not what people make it out to be. Its all concrete, skyscrapers going up everywhere side by side, monorails in construction, new International airport to be known around the world as 'THE LARGEST' which is pushing all the camels off their own turf to make way for the "jetsons". I hear the Emirates clan is wanting to create the most fabulous place in the "World". Well I don't see that but the Emirates people want to see that. Its all about MONEY here. I've been experiencing and seeing so much here but nothing that has really made me want to make this a permanent place to live.

The shopping here is ridiculous. Mall after mall after mall, shopping centers more than grocery stores. I never seen so many stores, shops & shopping centers as I have seen here. I am a shopper by profession and in the heart but this is a bit too much for my likes. You go into these fabulous malls and designer name shops ....all EMPTY, no customers. People just walk around looking and taking strolls for exercise mostly just for entertaining themselves. How do these establishments outside the food make any kind of income in retail? I have no idea.

Besides shopping the food here truly SUCKS. I will cook myself thank you. The markets fruits and vegetables look like they been sitting on roadside trucks for days, dried out and diseased looking stuff that makes you wanna eat frozen instead. Unbelievable how these places pass that crap off to the general public. But for the most part this place is 80% of India/Pakistan/Bangledash decent and those people perhaps find it acceptable.

Weather, oh wow amazingly HOT, MUGGY, SMOG everyday and can't see a star in the skies at night. If it weren't that the moon was so white and bright, I doubt that you would see it through the haze and smog. Cool weather begins October which is the month I am in right now. I guess the cool weather being 89 degrees is cool and will stay until maybe April as I am told.

Quite honestly the only thing here I enjoy so well is to see the camels roam freely on the desert sands. I enjoyed the Safari that led me to riding the camel for the very first time in my life. What an experience that was. Let me just say I am happy to be here to write about it. I may have gotten crushed if the camel would have tripped over me after the camel knocking me down with his shoulder while backing up to take photos of another couple on board the camel. Oh my God I was out but my senses quickly said "move" move yourself fast......Thank God for Mohamed who saw it and quickly pulled me out from under the camel as they walked over me. Close call for me.

One thing for sure the entire event was worth the money and the food and entertainment was every bit nice and a "great event".

That's all for now. See you next blog

I'm a Halloweener, Wouldn't you like to be one 2?

Well the time was right, the feelings were perky for me but no one wants to join me for fun tonight....bah humbug. bunch of old farts. Ok guys I'll do my own thing. That's ok, I know how to amuse myself and I can be happy with people or totally alone on Halloween.
So its my happy hour. Let me see what I can muster up for a costume tonight.
I dug out my halloween bag full of goodies and went to town on putting together a costume. (hehehe this is fun) oh man look at this, look what I found. (hehe) I'll start with painting the face, ok that's lookin good (hehe) awwww yes black mascara will do for the teardrop cuz don't have any black paint. Ok clothes...yes ok here we go...these are clowny looking and this top goes good with the stripes. A little mix and match here.. (hehe) Ok this looks GOOD.....I think I'm ready!!!
OH OH there's my instant messenger blinking.
Oh goodie it's my friend from FAR, FAR AWAY LAND...hehehe He's a good one to test!!!
I'm gonna turn on my cam and have some fun....
I sat there just mute and waited but "no text" hmmmm
oh there it is
"aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh....... what is that? LOL

Ok time to leave gotta get to my party. Headed out and while being in this stop and go traffic due to power lines being down from our most recent disaterous hurricane WILMA....I was gonna have me some laughs. Weather's nice everyone has their car windows down....Oh man this is KOOL. hehe
When someone looks my way, I'll just put on this big ole GRIN and yell HAPPY HALLOWEEN. (hehe) Hey this is a riot.....I'm having fun. People are looking at me like ...........whaaaaaaaaaaaaat is that?....The looks I got were amazing enough to make me write this blog!!!
The traffic caused detours and the cops sent me in the opposite direction of where I was going to my friends party.
Ahhhhh crap missed the party. Unable to get there. Area is blocked off. Ahh SH_T....I'm just gonna go home now.
Forget this mess.
I'll go home, peep in the neighbors windows, give a little scare whatever and then go put my webcam on. See who I can have fun with. But first I went to the neighbors to see my dog friends Nilla and PJ. Well, Nilla *the GREAT WHITE SHEPHERD* was cool about it!! BUT not *PJ* (smugface) She ran under the table didn't want anything to do with me.....(hahahahaha) So it was just Nilla and I for the pics....Check out the long tongue on my chin. ISN'T SHE SWEET?

Went home to turn on my cam and see who I can have some fun with. Oh good it's my friend Louloubug. This is her reaction: "OMG" you look like "MICKEY MOUSE WHO ATE NUCLEAR WASTE"......hahahaha
She liked it said was GREAT......
I did my tricks but ended up with no treats. Oh well maybe better luck next year. BYE ALL........

"Get Lost WILMA"!!!

OH NO NO NO.......Wilma we dont' want you here!!! Why didn't you just stay home with Fred where you belong instead of trying to be independant?
WILMA she's nasty. She's being a bitch going out there stirring up all kinds of trouble for people all over these Caribbean Gulf and Tampa Bay inlets.
She is one hell of a MONSTER headed this way. I am living in Sunrise which is Broward County and we are looking at expected winds and rain of a catagory 1 hurricane. That's not good! Were talking winds anywhere from 75-90 mph. It started as a Cat 5 hit Cozumel and Cancun big time heading into Tampa Bay and coming my way. Expected to drop down to Cat 3, and then Cat 2 hitting the Naples, Tampa and Keys area Sunday night then whipping through South Florida bringing along all her tornado friends with her. Gosh dangget Fred!! We wish you had more control over your Wild Wilma and make her stay to HOME where she belongs.
Well this isn't really good times to be writing blogs cuz its been pretty stressful these past few days watching Wilma on the loose. But one day I will look back at my blogs and remember this fearful and disasterous day as I plan to be laying back in some peaceful country sippin cool sweetened "iced tea" and saying boy this is the life...........
No More FLORDIA and no more HURRICANES.
Well everybody enjoy the life
because from my point of view ............
"LIFE IS JUST TOO DAMN SHORT"...........live life but be FAITHFUL TO GOD.

YOWZER......THE "ROCK"

Its Rick? No Rock!
Now if the ole psychic isn't up to her keen tricks again. Had to call my credit card company cuz they slapped me with a finance charge that I felt needed disputing. Well got me a nice deep male voice on the line instead of those squeaky girly voices. I knew that me and this guy were gonna hit it off. While he was searching for my account, I was gibbering with him. I was getting some good vibes from him. He did a nice courtesy credit for the finance charges and I wanted to have his first name just to jot it on my paid invoice. I was gonna ask for his first name but instead I said "hey Rick" thanks a lot for helping me. He said my name is Rock and I said yes I know.....I said you mean with an "O"? He said yes maam........hmmm I'm sorry I was close just a matter of one vowel. He said yes very close. I said are you looking as hunky as that movie actor Dwayne Johnson goes by the name "Rock"? He said "nah" I don't look like him. Well I mentioned "ROCK" is a hottie and I wrote a story in my blog and included his name to coincide with the story. I guess maybe I was making the guy feel bad so I said ok Rock you have a great night and enjoyed talking with ya.
I know too much and this intuition of mine is always surprising the hell outta me. I think I should start putting it to work and make some money with it. I've been thinking for years to get me a mock up "crystal ball" with floating answers and lights inside and then dress for the occasion, hand out business cards and make readings from my place. I mean c'mon I think I could tell a lot of people all about themselves. Who knows maybe I could even hook up with "billy gates" and have him design me some software to really get psychic on people.

"psyche out" woooooo

wooooo eery and all that kinda bunk was just enough to finally cast away an online nuisance....hehe.....my normally polite character just wasn't working and he wasn't getting the message. I think he came online through some unknown discovery and found me somehow. He claims we chatted several months ago. Guess he was bored or in need of something so he sought me out. Next time I'll be more careful who I allow my IM name to.

The conversation was mostly about him and how he is suffering with illness where he cannot work, can't afford medication, is somewhat starving for food and neither his mom/stepdad help him and his stepdad escapes him. Hmmmm sounds like a problem there. I'm not much for solving problems with mystery men/guys but this one I caught on really quick to. When he went on to say he never ever disclosed the issue his father beats him, well my sympathy went out to him and I felt a sense of sadness for him. So he continued to chat with me and I turned it into a "Allah" God conversation in which is where he should seek more comfort and help.
I think he was preying on me......for some financial support or just to get me to fall for his scheme. Well, hmmm let me figure this one out......Okay I said to myself "self" let's use the ole psychic thing on him, let's see who this character really is and where he's coming from.
"hey ummm Hamid, which sign of the Zodiac are you"? he replied he didn't understand....OK......which person are you in the horoscope? I figured one of the two he knows since he's communicating in English quite well. He said "srry"? I then said "which day and month u r born"? He asked "why I want to know"? I said "because I am a psychic reader" he said "its not necessary...pls". he said I will go now, see u".
I said....."ok byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee".

All is done and said for him.....
don't expect this guy will be bothering me anymore!!!!
Thank U God. (kiss)

"recipe" 2 impress (earns points)

Ahhh huh.....so wouldn't it be great if you could finally do something to get someone's attention or affection? Lemme tell ya how....But first will begin with my day. Today, yes uhuh, great day for a smoothie. Ok lemme see. I have everything onhand to make me a smoothie...Yippee.....one of the best, cold refreshing, nutritional drinks you can slurp while relaxing. Only takes minutes to prepare. zip, zip, zip
Even mom and pop would think your the best thing since "sliced bread"...if you made one for them.......(hehe) hint hint guy friend!!

Today was just that kinda day. A great service at my church to start my day. Feeling really spirited, happy go lucky, just a great day in store.
Went and browsed the grocery store ....oh yeah "great day in store"...hahaha get it?
I find it always a great place to meet and talk with folks. You'd be surprised just how interesting grocery stores can be if you go around smiling and do some small talk while squeezing the plums or grapes or asking just how old is this bread out here? A thousand different ideas. I can spend hours in the grocery store. Pick on a customer and give him or her my favorite recipe and how its prepared. Go to the meat counter, grab the butcher and talk about his meat or bones. All sorts of things can bring conversation and make for a fun filled day.
It turned out to be a big bargain day at the market, popsickles buy 12 pak get 1 free. Buy this get one free.....All these freebies and wow great deals today.
It was a good feeling when I saw a $28.00 savings and ended up with all these additonal items. Far out! So that made my day happy.

Now lets get back to these smoothies cuz its a recommended idea to make and serve to someone you wanna win their heart. I guarantee you will be "top dog" in their eyes after they drink one of these and especially more so if they knew you did this all by yourself.
Lets start with a blender, 1/2 cup of any kind of milk, creme, soymilk, fatfree milk, then a couple 2-3 strawberries (any size) maybe 6 small blueberries, a frozen banana peeled and cut in 4-6 slices and 1 fresh banana all sliced and dropped into blender. Turn on and blend till smooth, don't over do it. The frozen banana prepared ahead of time is the solution to using icecubes. Ice cubes not acceptable because of the milk/creme. After get a fancy glass, I use a margaretta style glass and fill to brim. After can sprinkle a little cinnamon on top, or nutmeg and maybe even sliver some chocolate on top.....I'm telling you serve that with a spoon or straw and your loved ones will fall all over you.
Now of course that is one serving, for 2 or more of course add accordingly.
The secret is that frozen banana. If you have these older bananas that turned old and sweet before you got to eat them, don't throw them away, freeze um for your smoothies in the future. They are sweeter and this gives the sweetness to the drink. Don't need any sugar.

Now doesn't that sound like its worth trying?

Go on make your day, "have a smoothie" you'll see the results for yourself!!!

Constipation VS Diarrhea "wuts worse"??

OH MAN.....being constapated is one thing, cuz all ya gotta do is drink warm water, try some fiber, maybe grunt real hard on the can or just hope in due time all will come out well. YIKES....this reminds me of my friend over there in London someplace. We chatted about his being bloated and uncomfortable for days....maybe weeks (hehe) who knows but he himself....Well I offered a number of solutions and hopefully they helped his overstuffed intestines.
Hey guy......"why don't you just DETOX"???
THAT'S THE BEST WAY OUT.....
You'll not only get rid of the bulk but additionally lose 10 pounds of sludge when you detox... nyuk, nyuk!!

Well this is not my situation. I rarely go out to dine in restaurants for a number of reasons, one being I hate the food they serve!!. Most time its garbage, has hairs, flies, toenails even unknown objects like maybe a chipped tooth, something that looks just like a booger or the bone marrow of some strange animal.....OH MAN getting sick are ya? Just the thought of it churns my stomach. Go ahead barf in your can, then come back to finish reading.

I am a great chef and I know my place is ultimately clean, my hands are clean, my entire house is a sanitary sanctuary. I know what I'm putting together will taste great and if I am entertaining there's no doubt about it.
They'll be eating at a 10 ********** star restaurant. So why am I saying all this? Simply because my friends wanted to repay the favor for bunkin them up overnight due to loss of power in their home from hurricane Katrina. It's their way of saying "Thanks" Ok the thanks is plenty, I'm not really hungry.....go on ahead without me, we'll do something later for staying at my Plush Bed & Breakfast house. Don't worry guys & dolls it's my PLEASURE to have put you up for the night. Glad you enjoyed your stay and
"your amenities were on the house"!

It was a struggle to say NO, they insisted and I refused & I came up with hundred excuses why I can't or don't wanna go with them. 2 against 1.....
!@#$%^ I LOST!!@#$%

I'll just make the best of it and yeah that's it I'll share a dinner with her and that will get me outta eating too much crap food. Well we arrived and the place was jammed packed with lotsa old folks....
Guess food is soft here for those OLD GUMMERS......hehehe
I'm sure I won't like anything on the menu and then I'll slide by saying I'll just have a tall glass of ice water with lemon wedge please and I'll be just fine.
Again, they weren't settling for any of my ideas. OK, OK guys, yes Shari I'll share a meal with you. I'll take the salad you eat the soup.....(in my mind I'm thinking easier to find things in salad but not in the soup......you know what I mean? So then comes the dinner. We shared 1/2 broasted chicken, potatoes and green beans. I took the leg and she kept the rest. A few roasted potatoes and a few green beans. I really took my time eating so I would fill up fast and push the rest to the side. There really wasn't all that much so I actually ate it all.

MISTAKE...I knew it...I knew it...I just knew it!

Hey Patti was it good? Did you have enough? Ummm yeah I'm full. Uh yeah was good......(what could I say, they were doing a nice gesture)
Suddenly the ole stomach started to churn and I thought "oh no" I don't believe this......."oh I hope I can make it home" I don't use public toilets unless its a do or die kinda situation. Well, this was a boarderline case.......
My stomach was playing with my bowels and suddenly I felt the urge and spoke up and said are we ready to leave??? She said no.....Why? Cuz I think I need to go to the bathroom but not here!!!
Their eyes lit up like oh oh.....
I nodded my head yep.....and said I think I'm have the "hershey squirts".....
he looked at me and said you have the WHAT???
I whispered......Rog, I have the "hershey squirts" What's that he said!!!
I gave him a look and said.........Take a Guess OK?
She said we just ordered desert can you wait till were done? OMG ......ummm yeah ok I'll try. As my ass started to feel like exploding
I just squeezed tight and hoped for the best......
We finally left and got to their place and I ran for the john.....Ahhhhhh relief.
That's the last dang time I go to that restaurant.....
If its not a TEN STAR restaurant from now on then forget it.......
I'm not going!!!
At a time like that I woulda preferred "constipation verses diarrhea"..........

What a ....SHIT STORY!!! (oh well)

THE ROCK

gee, I guess everyone will be thinking about the famous actor Dwayne Johnson, from "the Scorpion King" well the story doesn't surround him at all.

I wish it did but "no such luck". Now he is a rock ...... SOLID ROCK

It was Tuesday night and I'd been waiting on my friend to slip over and finally fix my toilet. No it wasn't backed up it needed a new gismo inside the tank. For 6 months I've been having to remove the tank lid and wait for the water to fill and then pull the lever up to keep in from running. Finally Rog come by to replace it. I removed the lid and he said "hey what's that (rock) doing in there"? He reached in to take it out and I yelled.......hey leave that in there!!! lookin strangely I said that's my ROCK. I found it in the lake in Montana and I didn't know where to put it so I thought it would help conserve water when I flushed. hehehe......he didn't know what to say back so I reached in and took it out to show him what a unique rock it is. Hey Rog, see those footprints indented there? could be from some kinda small animal and look at that granite embedded there. Now this is some special rock and I lugged this thing around in the car until I got home from my out west journey. Its something to keep forever and this is the best place to keep it. Its in a small lake of its own so we'll just put it back in there when your done fixin my toilet.

I could just see what was running thru his mind......hmmm now I know she's not all there!!!

I like my rock and I liked the idea of conserving water and its a good place to keep it. Its not the kinda rock you would put on a table for everyone to see cuz they would just look at it and say "what the hell is this"??

The moral of this story: "don't leave your rocks out for people to see, put them in a place where they'll do the most good!!

POOLIN AROUND

Wow, never thought I could ever get so bored with absolutely nothing to do. Today is "bore day" What should I do? I don't feel much like doing anything!! Ok then take your sweet ass across the street and go to the pool and hang out there. hmmmm good idea. Gosh where did all the people go? Nobody here just me and some guy. Hey??? do you mind if I land next to you on this chaise? He looks up and makes a sound Uhh...then he grabs his things off the chaise and I flop myself down and start yackin away. I hope you don't mind but I'm sooo bored and I just need to talk. He was a good listener and then I realized the person was not only deaf but equally mute. I only thought me and some cute Italian could talk with our hands in Italy, (especially if you can't speak their language) WRONG.....

Afterwards we both ended up in the pool making conversation. We talked about everything under the sun....hehe "get it?" this is Florida where I'm poolin.
Can you imagine talkin about a nudist camp and trying to figure out how to do it with your hands only? Come to think about it, IT was quite a challenge. I never laughed so much playing "charades" in the swimming pool. Well we ended up getting pretty good at it and we had one heck of a conversation.

I'll say one thing, being deaf/mute made me realize that he was just as much fun to talk with as anyone else on this planet. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that
"God created us all equally"!!!