Global Adventures

2008-11-21T06:55:00.000+03:00

2008-11-21T06:50:00.002+03:00

With facebook I am not sure how much longer I will be using this site as it is hard to keep up everything. But here is another picture this time from When Joy came to visit and we went to Angkor Wat.

2008-10-15T05:50:00.002+03:00

Heather was asking for photos of the house. office and what not. Here is our roof top open area. It is covered and has a small bar. We also have a grill up on the roof as well. Kinda nice area to chill, read a book or have a beer.

2008-10-14T08:48:00.002+03:00

OK so here is my office/residence here in Phnom Phen. Not to bad really. We have a nice office area downstairs and the rest is living quarters for the guys when they come back on weekends and holidays from the field as well as my room. We also have a nice roof top terrace with nice views. More pictures to follow of the house.

2008-10-02T01:08:00.002+03:00

Well tomorrow I head to the corporate office and then late that night I head to Phnom Phen. I have been busy helping to get Heather settled here at her folks house. We had to get some carpet, fridge and what not as she is taking over the game room. She will be finishing her degree. Also she will be coming to visit in January most likely.

I have a had great if not busy time here in the states. I sure cannot wait to get back at some point and buy a house.

2008-09-19T21:32:00.005+03:00

Here is the 1978 Fiat Spider a buddy of mine rebuilt for me so that I could give it to my father in law for his birthday. She is so fast and so smooth. Thanks Ben for all the hard work. You too LaJane!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-19T21:32:00.002+03:00

We have twins!!! Twin Coopers. They have to be some of the funnest cars I have ever driven. The bonus to this story is the 37 miles to the gallon they get. I can't get enough of driving them. The dealer even drove them 3 hours down from Albuquerque for us at no charge. If you have not had the chance give them a try some time.

2008-09-18T19:37:00.003+03:00

Well folks sorry for the time between these but we have been hectic with the move.

So we are currently in New Mexico visiting our dear friends Benjaneer and Linda. We have been eating Mexican food and driving both Ben's and our cars. Currently we have more cars here at his house than does he. We have the 1978 Fiat Spider, 08 Cooper and 08 Cooper S. Picts to folow as well. Ben has the 944 Porsche, 928 Porsche and his Suburban he lovingly calls the "Moose".

We should be off in aboout a week to visit Colorado Springs before heading to the folks house in Nevada.

Picric is doing well and is enjoying the time she has with Aunt Linda and Uncle Ben, not the wild rice mind you.

I think later this week we are going to visit White Sands. We drove through the range up into the mountains earlier this week to see a really cool lodge that over looks the valley below and the sands. The lodge had previously been visited by Clark Gable and Judy Garland and there names are carved in the tower there as well.

2008-09-02T07:00:00.003+03:00

Well for those not in the know I have been given the opportunity to work in Cambodia and I am taking it. I had previously had to turn the same position down twice due to bad timing and previous commitments. This time I have nothing in my way and I am off to a new and big challange as the regional manager of a great non-profit organization named GoldenWest.

Heather will be headed back stateside to help her folks out as her father is currently going through some very rough cancer treatments. Also she will take this opportunity to complete her college degree.

We are both very excited about everything. If any of you are travelling through Southeast Asia drop me a line. I may be able to make time to see you. I will be working mostly in Cambodia but also will have work in Vietnam as well.

Cheers to all and keep in touch!!!!

2008-08-22T12:46:00.002+03:00

Moving can be difficult especially on a pet. Logistics and what not for moving can be not only a hastle but also quite expensive. For this reason cooking and eating your loved ones may be the answer. Eating your cat can have some great benefits. Firstly the nutrional value. Secondly they will be a part of you forever, be it in your bones, musle and tissue. May I suggest roasting. Also in a stew with carrots, potatoes, thyme, sage, salt, pepper, onions and some garlic. Any way you cook it your animal will always be a part of you.

2008-08-09T22:45:00.002+03:00

OK so the other morning there I was laying in bed staring straight in the eyes of my lovely wife when I said, " man you wouldn't beleive the dream I just had. People just couldn't get enough of my nippleless chicken breasts." Thats when Heather almost peed the bed. I said, "yah well I had a restaraunt and was the only one in town that sould nippleless chicken breasts. They are so much juicier and less chewy."

The End.

2008-08-05T07:45:00.003+03:00

I was just reading an article where a pro poker player was listing his top 5 favorite steak houses world wide and it got me thinking. What are my top 5 restaurants so far in all my travels period. Here they are. Feel free to comment back with your thoughts. Bon apetite!

Not in any order.

1. Sala Rim Naam, Bangkok, Oriental Hotel

Why? Well this restaurant is in what is widely considered one of the the top three hotels in the entire world. To get to the restaurant one must go through the long beautiful halls heading past some really nice facilities such as the river buffet and the jazz bar until you get to the gardens. Look for the teak barge. The barge looks as if it is hand polished each and every day and gleams i the lights of the city. Once aboard you are boated to the other side where the restaurant awaits you. Once in side you are seated in the floor and served like a king as servants bring you food on their hands and knees. Oh and it has the best show in town. The meal is set and the only thing you have to pick is a cocktail from the beverage menu. Cheers.

2. Metropolitan Grill, Seattle

Why? A true steak house. I love leather booths. Over the top service that makes you feel like a celebrity. Service is not just from the standard college kids but also from the more seasoned older wise gentleman that can help you to pick a fine wine from there vast list. This is the type of see or be seen type establishment I have always dreamed of pulling a fine car up in front of. Steaks served to perfection. If you can dream it they will make it.

3. Chez Hans, Cashel, Ireland

Why? Even the Dubliners that know will drive the several hours to this countryside small town to enjoy the food as well as the local Bru Boru theatre. The restaurant is in an olde church. The service is absolutely perfect. The food...............well all I can say is holy mackerel! Melt in your mouth delicacies. Sweet desert wines. You name it. Some of the food is simple. Yet it is not over done. Just taken to new levels of happiness with a little sophistication on the side.

4. Ruth's Chris Steak House, Anywhere

Why? Well most likely because as we travel every time I get back to the US I look for the nearest one of these restaurants. Best reason is every time and anywhere I go I can guarantee solid service and killer food. I have to admit I live a little high on the hog especially when it comes to food. I enjoy being catered to and pampered. I get all of this and some each and every time. And normally they have a great wine menu to boot. The sign to me of a good wine menu is whether or not they have a good Hungarian desert wine, specifically a Tokai.

5. The Village, Pohnpei, Micronesia

Why? OK close your eyes and picture this. OK close them after you read this. A long house with a woven roof, open sides, high up in the canopy on a steep slope over looking the lagoon of a beautiful island. Now add to this a huge mangrove crab and some beer. This is one hell of a romantic location whether alone or with friends you will feel as if time has stopped and not left you behind. Instead it has allowed you to calm your mind and soul and just breathe and eat. Cheers.

2008-07-28T22:43:00.003+03:00

Heather and I saw the movie "Hancock" today. Not a bad movie. A unique take on the superhero crazy world these days. Everything seems to be super hero this or comic book that. But Hancock goes a different way with it all. I do agree though with what many have said in the media that without "Will Smith" this project would not have amounted to much more than a flick like "Sky High". Although not "Batman the Dark Knight" it deserves a look at the local cinema. I have always liked Jason Bateman and he has done well recently in picking good projects to get involved with.

I really look forward though to the next works by Angelina and Brad. Brad's movie is based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story "The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons". Angie stars in the Changeling. Both have Oscar buzz to them. We will just have to wait and see. Brad's movie trailer can currently be viewed on Apple.com trailers section.

2008-07-26T22:57:00.002+03:00

Headed out today for lunch and a movie with our good friend Justin. We had lunch at Chili's which had some of the worst service I have ever seen. Oh well. All was made up though by the new Batman movie "The Dark Knight". What a heck of a good movie. Do not wait for video if you have the chance to see it on the big screen. I was very impressed by the last movie which started the series off anew. The job that Heath Ledger did of bringing the Joker to light was amazing. Everything honestly about the flick was amazing. It sure did not feel like a 2.5 hour flick.

The two movies I am really looking forward to next summer are the Star Trek movie and GI Joe. I am not normally into the Star Trek flicks but the darker path they are taking and the story being based while Kirk is in the academy should be cool. The casting looks superb. See the cast list at www.imdb.com and search Star Trek. The character Sylar from Heroes plays young Spock. Also the casting of the GI Joe movie leads me to beleive it should also be a huge blockbuster. Only time will tell.

Right now Heather and I are sitting in bed watching the HBO series Carnivale on DVD. Not too bad. Heather likes it though.

2008-07-21T10:49:00.003+03:00

Well we are keeping busy getting things ready for the big move stateside. Hopefully we will have the biggest thing, Heather's SUV, sold here very shortly and then we will not have anything to big to worry over.

Weather has been real bad here this year due to the lack of rain earlier this year. Dusty as heck almost daily. The heat is no real biggy as we are use to that. The dust though is a pain in the ass and covers everything here almost like a lite snow.

Congrats go out to my sister as she has brought a new baby into the world. I think my mom is beside her self and dancing around all the time till she gets the little bugger into her arms.

Looks like I will get the chance to visit my good friend Ben here shortly when we move back stateside. Picric and I will most likely head straight there and relax a bit before moving on up to Colorado Springs. Also we had to order the cars from Albuquerque as they still had some slots available for order. Denver said it was going to take 90-120 days which we were not ready to wait that long to get our cars.

2008-07-14T08:09:00.004+03:00

My apologees for not writing in a little while.

Well here is the deal. I am currently living in Kuwait as a house husband as my wife finishes the final 2 months of her contract. Once completed we are on our way back to the states. Yes our travelling the world is coming to a hault and we are looking for a somewhat normal style of life. You know the kind. A house, jobs, cars, bills and who knows...maybe a kid or two.

We will be moving to Colorado which I am excited about. Supposedly Colorado Springs has more days of sunshine than anywhere else. This means I am going to get back into mountain biking. This is a long time love of mine but due to the places I have lived the past 7 years it has just not been possible. Also if anyone knows of a good beer league softball team in the area let me know.

As for a job/career for me.....well I have no real clue. EOD jobs in the area seem non-existant unless a Bomb Appraisal Officer (BAO) job opens up and I can swing it. I am looking at HRO, recruiting, lower or middle management, Safety, Sales, wine taster or calendar model. We are following Heather's career as it is a much more stable option. I may even just go to school for a year or two.

To combat the gass prices we are getting a couple of new Mini Coopers for our cars. They get 38 miles to the gallon on the highway. I am ordering them tonight hopefully. They will take 2 months to get made and shipped to the dealer.

Also Heather and I just got back from our vacation with her folks to Ireland and London. Had a great time. Heather and I also went to the Louvre in Paris enroute back here to the middle east. Weather was off and on rain but all in all a great time. Heather has more on this and other stuff at her blog. See links this site.

Well I guess thats it for now. Sorry for the lapse and I will try to do a better job of posting.

2008-06-07T08:11:00.002+03:00

Well I am now here and am running around like a chicken with my head cut off. So much to do to get this project up and running. I have to get housing established in some villages out in the middle of nowhere. Purchase all the gear and equipment. Set up rosters and leaves for all local and expat staff. This to name just a few things.

Right now I am down at the gold mine where we have work as well shadowing another project to see how things are running. I got the chance to go out and scout the line of the project which is a very long 100Km plus new power line we have to clear of all UXO and frag to a depth of 2 meters. Pretty dense in places, open in others. The biggest concern is we are starting in the middle of the rainy season. We will trudge through as best we can. Should be quite the challenge.

I just wish my wife was here with me. I miss her a great deal. She is my rock. And with all the water here right now I need a rock to climb on so as to not get my boots all muddy.

2008-05-27T10:05:00.003+03:00

I got a new watch yesterday. I have been looking at it for some time now. I like the features of this watch where if you touch the button on the side and then you touch the face at various points you access the features of the watch such as altimeter, barimetric, compass, chrono, thermo and alarm. Reviews are hit and miss on amazon.com. I decided I just could not find anything else I liked and picked it up. One warning I will have to look at is that folks say not to send it through the metal detector too many times in the airport, which is fine as normally you have to take it off and put it into a bowl that you get on the other side.

My favorite watch is still the Corum my wife bought me for Christmas/birthday.

Given the cash, the next watch would be either a Panerai or another Corum.

2008-05-26T15:03:00.001+03:00

Well things are coming along, albeit slowly. All I am waiting for is some paperwork and then I can book my tickets. Only bad thing is that they are gonna cost a pretty penny being so last minute. Give me another week and I will be taking picks in Laos for you all and will post them at the earliest convenience. Also based on when and if I have internet. :-)

Cheers all!!!

2008-05-20T17:37:00.002+03:00

This picture is for Mrs. Pants. This is a picture of Radju, the gentleman that works for us around the house. Radju is from Bangladesh. He is such a great help seeing as the house is so big. He helps also keep the cars clean with all the dust we get swirling around here.

2008-05-20T17:29:00.002+03:00

Here are two carpets Heather and I have picked up here for our future home in some state or another.

2008-05-15T12:22:00.002+03:00

Well folks the time has come to move back home. Back to Laos. I have been given the opportunity and this time we are not passing it up. We have turned down a few times opportunities in Cambodia due to bad timing or due to commitments. This time we have nothing to stop us.

I have accepted a position as a Project Manager and will be based out of Vientiane. I am off in a matter of weeks and Heather will be a few months behind me. We will have a nice house with a spare room. So anyone interested should take full advantage. Actually the houses, cost to size ratio, are incredible.

Heather will be taking the time to finish off her degree and start on a masters. She also will take some time to get involved with a local group or two and do some volunteering.

Well thats all the news thats fit to print. Cheers all and keep in touch.

2008-05-03T17:17:00.003+03:00

Our softball team after bowing out of the Middle East Softball Championships in Dubai.

2008-04-30T11:41:00.002+03:00

My management Kung Fu is strong. How strong you may ask. Well Green Belt Six Sigma strong. HAHAHAHAHA

I have been working on my certifications on line for the various levels of Six Sigma. Not a bad course. I always say face to face training is better but I had no other alternative. Luckily my wife is very good at the Six Sigma precesses. What I don't get online I get from her. Her management Kung Fu is top notch.

If you too want to check out what six sigma can do for you go to www.sixsigmaonline.com.

2008-04-28T07:38:00.003+03:00

The sand is sure blowing around this morning. Visibility is almost nil. The best part of this is that almost no one is on the road making for a calm and easy drive in to the office.

Just a few short months till we meet the in laws for our much needed rest in Europe.

The video attached here is of a demo shot we performed on a couple submunitions. Another day another dinar. Of course the normal saying is another day another dollar but the dinar is so much stranger right now. Exchange rate is currently at 1 Kuwait Dinar (KD) = 3.77 USD.

2008-04-20T12:17:00.003+03:00

Ok so I have a bit of a side job right now that has potential. I deal in bombjammers, counter surveillance and surveillance technologies. One of the really cool items we represent is the microdrone UAV. The UAV is small and easily flown with as little as a day of training. It can fly via waypoints or by the guidance of the operator using video goggles. The system is used worldwide right now by videographers and aerial photographers. The police in Germany are using it to fly over brawls after football matches to help identify the hooligans and later bring them to justice. To learn more visit:

www.microdrones.com

www.bombjammer.com

2008-04-20T12:03:00.002+03:00

We have gotten almost no rain this year at all. This means the summer will be very very dusty. We are already seeing the difference from last year. This week temps should go to 40 degrees Celsius.

Not a whole lot new going on here. I have my Yellow Belt and am starting on my Green Belt in Six Sigma. Heather is still putting in time working on her degree program as well as writing her book.

To kill time when I get bored I go online and price Porsches for when we move back to the states. I so love driving them.

2008-04-13T09:58:00.000+03:00

Just a picture of me at the SOFEX (Special operations Forces Expo) in Amman, Jordan.

2008-04-13T08:33:00.003+03:00

Well the softball tourney went well. In that I mean we drank quite a few bottles of wine and cans of beer. I think we came in at 4th out of 8 teams. Not too shaby. Over the course of 3 days we played something like 7 games. Three of which were seeding games the others were tourney games.

For those of you who have not heard of or seen Dubai all I have to say is wholly crap. The whole city is gorgeous. Skyscrapers everywhere and not standard looking ones either. They all are works of art. And now they have the tallest building in the world which is still growing higher and higher in The Burj. They also have lots of islands being built some in the shape of the world and others in the shape of plam trees. Take a look on google and see what they have going on under images. Also they are building the worlds largest theme park supposedly when finished in 5 or so years will be bigger than Disney Land and World combined and have an entire indoor mountain for skiing.

2008-03-26T08:11:00.002+03:00

Well I have passed my yellow belt for Six Sigma and am looking to move on forward to green belt here in the next week or so. I did the whole thing online. For those of you not in the know it is a type of TQM or Total Quality Management course. It is the latest and greatest catch phrase in the corporate realms.

Weather here is starting to warm up. Funny hearing the Kuwaitis say that as they should be use to it by now. Alot of them leave for the summer as they are not big fans of the summer heat waves. The roads actually are noticeably less congested and open during the summer. Many ex-pat and Kuwaiti alike leave for the summer. Personally, I do not mind the heat so much.

I am off to the special forces and security conference in Jordan next week. Will post picts upon my return. www.sofexjordan.com Should be a good time. I will report on how it went when I get back home.

A few days after I get back to Kuwait I leave yet again but this time with my lovely wife to go and play in the Dubai softball tourney. http://www.dubaisoftballleague.com/ This site shows the field. What a heck of a good field!!!!! Also there is a bar not more than a hop, skip and stumble away. Actually there is a hotel attached to the field with 3+ bars, 5+ restaraunts and a multiplex movie theatre.

2008-03-11T11:10:00.002+03:00

The Incredible Hulk 2008

Ok so Marvel has taken back most all their properties so that they may do the films themselves. They supposedly were not that happy with the Hulk movie from several years ago. They are not redoing the movie but the sequel has a whole new cast starring Edward Norton as the Hulk and Liv Tyler as the love interest.

So here is where the cool trivia comes in.

Also this summer Iron Man comes out with Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark/Ironman. In the Hulk movie Robert Downie Jr plays, Tony Stark. So it will be cool to see them inter weave things a bit in hopes that they start some cross over with several stars/heroes in one movie down the road.

Also the Screenplay for the Hulk was not written by Stan Lee but by it's star Edward Norton. The Hulk trailer is due out in a few short days rumor has it. Check youtube for more once it is out to view the trailer.

2008-03-11T10:55:00.002+03:00

The Box movie

For those of you that know I am a huge Donnie Darko movie fan. The writer/director is one heck of an artist. I just wanted to let you all know that Southland Tales is being released on DVD here in a few days and if you have not seen it you should think about picking it up. It has a star studded cast including Seann William Scott, The Rock, Sara Michelle Gellar and many more.

Also if you have the chance check out imdb.com and type in The Box. This is a new one by writer/director Richard Kelly staring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. The basis for this one is this, if some one comes to your door and gives you a box and says you have 24 hours to make a decision if you push the button in the box you will get 1 million dollars but some one some where on Earth will die what do you do?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0362478/ The Box

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405336/ The Southland Tales

2008-03-11T09:41:00.003+03:00

Last night, at one of the camps/bases here in Kuwait, myspace.com sponsored a concert. Supposedly it was live on myspace.com, which if I had known I would have checked it out. The concert consisted of Jessica Simpson with the Pussycat Dolls, Disturbed and Filter to name a few. We did not go as the camp was a long way for us to drive and Heather would have been the only one to get in as I do not have US base access.

I just wanted to say thank you to myspace.com for doing this for the troops. Also a thank you goes out to the performers for taking the time to fly all the way over here as well.

2008-03-10T17:08:00.002+03:00

Well the other day we helped some beduin folks move their camels across the divided highway you see above. Made for a nice photo. We had to help block the road so traffic could not disturb the camels as they made their way from one side to the other.

2008-03-06T09:07:00.002+03:00

Sorry it has been awhile since posting here folks. We have been super busy with house hunting and what not. Still deciding whether to buy or build. The market the way it is we could get a bigger home on the cheap. But this would not give us exactly what we want. We have seen over 500 homes thus far. I really would like to get this solved by the summer then we can evaluate where we are cash wise to make a plan on when we will be good to move back home.

Keys to the house we want to have are as follows:

3+ bedroom
large open basement for Irish style bar and poker table
2+ car garage
not cookie cutter but something unique
eco friendly where ever possible: Solar, in floor heating...........
5 piece master bath with walk in closet
library
gourmet kitchen

Also keeping me busy lately is getting ready to play in the Dubai Softball Tourney here coming up in April. Heather is accompaning me to the UAE to help root us on to victory.

Setting up the monumental and historic trip to Ireland this summer for Heather, I and the In-Laws is a fun and busy task as well. I actually get a kick out of setting up and doing all the logistics and planning for these kind of trips. Looks like heather and I will have a day in Paris as well to go and see the Louvre.

2008-02-18T08:37:00.002+03:00

Well we are getting ready to celebrate Liberation day here in Kuwait. This means loads of shaving cream and silly string. Cars driving up town will be on the attack from other vehicles as well as packs of kids. Vehicles battle as they drive and stop at red lights. Some cars have every window and the sun roof occupied by persons armed and firing away. Makes it hard to see sometimes as the stuff covers your windshield.

Other than that Heather and I are just getting ready for our 4 day trip to Dubai in April and our 2 week trip to Ireland and London with the in-laws in July.

Weather is almost perfect these dasy as it is neither hot nor cold right now. Had a wicked dust storm this weekend. I wish I would have had the video camera with us as we drove to a friend of Heather's house this weekend for a birthday party. You could barely make out the cars coming at you at 75 yards. The traffic lights blew all over the place dancing about in the air.

I pass the time these days either swimming and watching sports, looking at house plans and looking for lots to build on or playing the XBOX 360. Softball practice has been delayed until March due to the fact the field is being used until then. Then we have to get ready for the tournament.

2008-02-08T23:23:00.000+03:00

Some days 13,000 pounds of explosives is enough to make a guy smile. I love my proffession.

2008-02-06T11:50:00.000+03:00

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL SOFTBALL TOURNEY

Anyone interested in joining us this April it appears Heather and I may be there for 3 nights and 4 days. Dubai is a heck of a cool place. All the city is clean and impressive. Now boasting the worlds tallest inhabited building. Dubai supposedly has more than 75% of the worlds big cranes. This is due to the ever expanding and building of this incredible city. As you fly in or out you can see the two sets of islands forming a palm. Also you can see the islands forming the world being formed. If interested drop us an e-mail or comment back here. I most likely will be busy with softball the whole time but much beer will be flowing on and around the field. Dubai is not a dry country.

2008-01-29T17:03:00.000+03:00

If you have not seen this yet then go right out to amazon.com and order it. It is pretty darn funny stuff. Basically it is a few Arab Americans doing stand up comedy. They have toured all over the Middle East and are going to be in Washington DC this March. They are originally from LA area. If you have seen it post a comment below! Cheers all.

2008-01-29T16:28:00.000+03:00

WOW an old one here. This is my class photo from Huntsville after the US Army phase of EOD school back in 1992.

Weather here in Kuwait is getting much better. Slowly but surely we are drifting out of jacket weather. Another 30 days and it will be about perfect out. Been hovering around 15 Celsius lately.

Not much new going on. Work and hanging out at the house. Playing some cards and softball is back in session. We have practice for our international travel squad once a week and pick ups start in two more weeks. That will be twice a week. And I sure need it as I am a bit out of shape.

2008-01-16T11:43:00.000+03:00

WOW it is -4 Celsius here this AM in Kuwait. It is so very cold and there are no heaters here in the office or the classroom I use so I pretty much stay in my jacket all day long till I get home.

2008-01-14T14:02:00.000+03:00

Charlie Wilsons War

If you have not seen this film then get right out there to your local cinema and see it. Heather and I really liked it alot. Based on a true story about a congressman who got the ball and money rolling into Afghanistan to fight the Soviet threat. Philip Seymour Hoffman is in it as a ballsy and cool CIA guy and Julia Roberts as a rich and powerful lady from Texas.

If you haven't scene the preview for the following movies then go view them on line.

10,000 BC
The Dark Knight
Hancock
Hellboy 2
Semi Pro
Speed Racer

2008-01-12T16:17:00.000+03:00

View from the ancient city of Jerash down onto the new city of Jerash. Previous to Jerash this was the ancient site fo the city called Antioch. Yes where according to Monty Python came the Holy Hand grenade of Antioch. If you have no idea what I am talking about go and rent Monty Pythons The Holy Grail.

2008-01-12T16:06:00.000+03:00

The treasury of Petra as seen in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is just a small part of the ancient city. To see it all they say takes 5 days. We had only one in Petra. This place was truly amazing.

Besdides Petra we also saw Mt. Nebo, Dead Sea, Jerash Roman ruins and the crusader castle of Kerack(?).

What a trip and what a country. The people are some of the kindest we have met in the region. I highly recommend visiting here. There are just so many sites to see. Ancient cities and old biblical locations abound.

To see more go to Heathers blog, see links this page, for lots of video of the trip.

2007-12-23T17:33:00.000+03:00

OK so we did the holiday gift giving thing a bit early. this was due to work schedules the next few days.

My wife is damn cool though as can be seen in the gift she gave me this holiday season. See above. It says "Don Shula, HOF 97, Herb Eisele was a great coach. I learned a lot from him". Pretty cool huh.

For those not in the know on this my great grandfather gave Don Shula a scholarship to college and was his college coach for football at John Carrol University in Cleveland, Ohio.

2007-12-23T17:24:00.000+03:00

Here is a picture of the basement in the new villa we now have. We are co-renting this property with Tera and Devin Noel also from Kwaj.

2007-12-17T08:05:00.000+03:00

Devin is getting pretty excited as his wife is moving here in just 2 short days. Then our family here at the villa will be complete. Picric however is going to have to learn to live with another kitty. She is a bit spoiled and is not the greatest fan of anything else that steals peoples attention.

In another week some guests will be visiting us for the New Years. And soon we shall be atop Mt Nebo looking upon the promised land.

Happy holidays to all of you out there and have a great New Year!

2007-12-10T12:00:00.000+03:00

If you liked the movie Donnie Darko then may I suggest you check out the newest Richard Kelly film called Southland Tales. This sophomoric release seems to be following it's predecessor by not doing super well at the box office but will more than likely be another cult classic. Donnie Darko opened poorly and most folks never heard of it till DVD. Now it is on the imdb.com all time top 100 list. Not too shabby.

This new film has quite a star studded cast as well. I suggest checking it out if it is still at your local theatre!

2007-12-10T11:53:00.000+03:00

I seriously love my new phone. There are few things I would do different or expect on a newer model but all in all it is pretty sweet. The touch screen works well and is super fast. The video quality is crystal clear. Phone clarity is excellent. I have used it to call all over the world and have had no issues with sound at all. Mine is unlocked so all I had to do is throw my chip in from my previous phone here. Everything syncs to Outlook which is nice and pretty cool seeing as the phone is Apple and the sync goes to a Microsoft product. I would definitely recommend this phone to anyone out there.

2007-12-06T08:12:00.000+03:00

I really wish we could have made this going away party for Steve, Teresa and Griffen Fuchs (Fox). Best of wishes and luck go out to them on their journey to Texas! Does this mean the end of the Criminals?

Speaking of softball the big Middle East tourney in Dubai is in April if anyone is interested. Our third baseman believe it or not is an old Marine buddy of Steve's.

2007-11-29T10:06:00.000+03:00

Freezing cold today. It is definitely jacket weather once again. I even had to turn on the heat in the car today. The mornings come close to zero Celsius during winter here.

This weekend we are having some military folks over for an EOD operations planning meeting as well as to enjoy some food. Should be a good time.

Still working out the kinks but looks like no matter what we are going to Jordan for New Years. they have alcohol there and even make there own beer and wine in country. We will see some desert castles, Petra and many other cool ancient sites. Pictures will be posted here upon our return as well as on my myspace page.

This weekend we should be getting our tree and putting it up. So send me, I mean us, presents to place under the tree.

Merry Christmas all!!!!!!!!

2007-11-19T10:29:00.000+03:00

Amman, Jordan is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world and is where we may go for a long weekend if Benjaneer comes to visit us.

2007-11-19T09:41:00.000+03:00

Well my apologies for having not posted in a few weeks. We have been knee deep in moving our household. We now reside in a villa with Devin & Tera Noel, also from Kwajalein. Although Tera will be following soon as she takes care of some stuff state side first.

Work has been busy as of late as I am teaching a month long school starting in January. Lots and lots of power point presentations!

Also we are hoping that Benjaneer will be coming to visit for New Year here. If he does we think we will be going for a 4-5 day weekend to Jordan and see Petra. For those not in the know that is the cave temple type place from Indian Jones and the Last Crusade. They also have a collusium and many other neat things to see and experience. The dead sea may be a bit too cold to play in though.

Weather is chilling off fast and they say in the morning next week it could dip to under zero celsius. Thursday we get our first rain in almost 6 months or more.

Well thats all the news thats fit to print for now. Cheers all.

2007-11-04T17:11:00.000+03:00

Here is a house we would be interested in if we could buy right now as opposed to next fall. Nice English Tudor built in 1927 on a wooded lot. Price is $497,000.

Today in Kuwait......this morning the radio said it was 56 Farenheit outside. Looks like we are moving into the colder season here. Workwise I spent the day in the desert doing a recon on a piece of ordnance. Tomorrow we go back to dispose of it. Right now it is 5:10 PM and Heather is still at work. I am just about ready to cook dinner so it is hot and on the table once my little princess arrives home.

Well that's it for today. Check back again later for more exciting news.

2007-11-01T07:26:00.000+03:00

Anyone who buys me this for X-mas is my new instant favorite! Cars I am looking at for when I get back to the states include the Porsche Carrera, Maserati GT (seen above) and the Project Eagle Lotus, coming next summer to the car shows.

I have sold my Porsche so we can put more money away for the house which we hope to get next fall in Colorado Springs. See below. So now I am back in dream mode.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!!!!! Cheers.

2007-10-29T12:15:00.000+03:00

This is the reason why we are in Kuwait! Above you will see our goal. Built using ICF, concrete, saves at least 50% on heating and cooling. The locale for this grande lodging will be Colorado Springs.

What do you all think????

2007-10-24T17:13:00.000+03:00

The weather here is starting to chill off. By New Years it will reach down to 30 degrees farenheit. Very welcome after a hot summer. Although I did expect the heat to be worse than it actually was. Maybe if you flew straight into the heat it would be bad.

My kid sister is going to be having a baby! Congrats to you and Josh. I suggested Lager Larry as a name but I am not sure they are going to go for it. Josh is a big micro brewer and I hear one of the best in all of Lansing.

Looks as if Heather has just gotten home and is begging me to go to dinner with her on the town. Who am I to turn down a free me and a hottie. Guess I must get going. Hasta burrito, thats good bye in Mexican!

2007-10-16T12:46:00.000+03:00

This looks so freaking funny. Movie comes out in February and is about an ABA team called the Flint Tropics. I just saw the teaser trailer and holly cow you gotta check it out. Just do a google search as not sure where the best place is to grab it yet. I love anything with Will Ferrell in it!!! cast includes Will Arnet and Woody Harrelson.

2007-10-14T23:22:00.001+03:00

Since we have some Kwaj friends that are moving here we are looking to maybe move to a different villa that we could share with separate floors. Devin is here and Tera will follow. Devin and I looked at a couple of nice villas. The one we are leaning on if we can get the right price has an outdoor covered pool and bar. Nice huh! Will let you know if we move and how the search goes. Picts to follow.

2007-10-14T03:11:00.000+03:00

Well Ramadan is now over and we are all celebrating Eid. The restaurants are now open during the day and a hungry man can have a meal without having to go all the way home for it. In celebration of Eid all Kuwait businesses have a long weekend which means so do I.

Had a nice meeting with the new incoming EOD folks for the Army and started to say goodbye to the friends we have made over the last 12 months as they ready themselves to demobilize back to Florida.

Well it is just past the one year mark for Heather and I now. We have just started year number two. Best part of the end of year is contract bonus time. Worst part will be taxes in the Spring.

We are looking really hard at property in Colorado Springs as we decide what we are going to do home-wise. We may buy property now and then start to build the house next fall. We are not sure and are taking our time with this so we get it right the first time. Any pearls of wisdom are appreciated here.

Well that's all for now. Miss you all.

2007-10-08T13:19:00.000+03:00

The Sweeney Todd trailer is available at yahoo movies. Looks to be pretty good.

Also go to iTunes and download the Southland Tales as this really looks to be a killer flick. From the creator of Donnie Darko!!!!!!!

2007-10-06T23:00:00.000+03:00

Well my poor Spartans lost tonight because they had no defense. Lets hope the Lions have better luck against the Redskins tomorrow.

Had a nice gentlemen over the other day from Kurdistan along with a close friend who works here in Kuwait. Saw some great photos of his family up in Kurdistan. Lots of green grass, fir trees and mountains. Not what I expected from the northern portion of Iraq. Kurdistan though is internationally recognized as a federal entity now though. Not quite the same as recognition as a country but is a start for them.

The skies are over cast as of late leading into rains probably in a few short weeks to a month.

Sounds like some jobs are going the way of the dodo on Kwaj as well. I have heard some lay offs in Logistics and at the bakery. They say possibility of more TBD. Lets all hope none more follow as I have many friends there and have not ruled out a second tour!

2007-10-02T18:51:00.000+03:00

Well while on my ass I have been working on the plans for next summers vacation with Heather's folks to Ireland. Lining up hotels, doing logistics and budgeting. Setting up time lines so we can make it to everything we want to show them and/or see ourselves. I really get a kick out of doing this kind of thing.

Heather and I take it in turn to each year to have say of where we go on vacation. Next year is Heather's. Then 2009 is mine. I am looking at Croatia, Belgium, Luxembourg and Estonia to name a few for my choice. Anyone interested in coming in 2009 let me know.

2007-10-01T15:39:00.000+03:00

Well surgery is over and let me say it has been a real pain in the ass. I am laid up for a week or two more and then it is back to the olde grind stone.

Devin Noel from Kwaj is moving here and will be staying with us till he and Tera get their affairs in order. It will be so nice to have some folks around we know from Kwaj.

2007-09-25T08:18:00.000+03:00

Due to paperwork not being done my surgical procedure has been postponed till, hopefully, today. It seems the insurance company and the hospital insurance office do not like to talk to one another very much. Supposedly they only talk via fax and will not chat on the phone so if something does not go through they have no way of knowing. Wish me luck.

2007-09-21T09:39:00.001+03:00

One thing I am doing right now is working to acquire my Yellow Belt in Six Sigma. I should finish this cert in the next few weeks and then will move onto my Green Belt and then maybe Black Belt.

For those whom don't know it is a TQM type certification that seems to be the big thing these days in corporate America. Having the cert may not get you a job but it gives you a serious leg up. The Black belt though may just land you a job as on Monster.com there are many places looking for Black Belts.

2007-09-21T09:31:00.000+03:00

Well looks like I am outta work for two weeks as I have a small surgical procedure done. Going in tomorrow and will spend one night in the hospital and then two weeks bed rest at the villa. Nothing major. No worries.

The hospital here we are going to is cool as heck. They even have suites where you have several bedrooms for your guests, plasma TVs and even a jacuzzi in one of them. A friend of ours had is child delivered in one of these suites so the family could all stay with for several days.

2007-09-20T12:07:00.000+03:00

Well Ramadan is into full swing here in Kuwait. The roads are dead during prayer times and packed just before and after. I think everyone should experience the driving here at one point or another in their life as it compares to nothing else on Earth.

We have a few guests staying with us this week. Ross is here from Afghanistan for a class at Arifjan. He he yet another of the transients we get from ITT in Afghanistan. Also we have with us Devin Noel. Devin is moving here as he has transferred from ITT Afghan to ITT Kuwait. If I remember correctly he and Heather will be working together.

The car is in the shop getting some new shoes and a cleaning and then we are going to put her up for sale. She has been fun but it is time we tried to optimize the money we put away so we do not have to stay here forever. I will buy another Porsche in the states though! They are just so nice and fun to drive.

2007-09-10T17:06:00.000+03:00

Kilossi Castle just outside of the city of Limassol in Cyprus.

2007-09-09T16:43:00.000+03:00

We had a nice time in Cyprus this past week. Had the opportunity to sip some beer and wine which is something foreign to us here in the dry nation of Kuwait. Some of the many sites included the birth place of Aphrodite, Temple of Apollo and the divided city of Nicosia. Always fun, we drove on the wrong side of the road. The weather was actually very, very humid. Though beer usually made it bearable. Surprising was the number of Russian tourists that were there. As expected almost no Americans as it is quite an out of the way kinda place as well as a distant flight for most from the US.

2007-08-22T08:07:00.000+03:00

Well just over a week till we head on vacation. I so could use a beer right about now.

This is the start of our weekend after work today. This is the last one that will be Thurs/Fri. Starting next weekend it will be Fri/Sat. Also next week is Heathers last as a server Admin. When we get back from vacation she starts as Information Assurity. She is pretty stoked about it.

I think tonight we are off to my favorite Italian place here called Ninos. The bread and everything they make is amazing. It is nicely situated along the coast on a sea wall right in the heart of Kuwait City. It is one of the few restaurants that is actually filled to capacity almost every night.

2007-08-19T08:20:00.000+03:00

I guess we had a 4.3 magnitude earthquake the other night and Heather and I did not even notice it. Probably cause it was after midnight and we were fast asleep. The newspaper says people went into the streets in case there was a second larger one so they were not in the house when and if it happened.

Weather is the exact same here almost every day for the past 2 months. Not a drop of rain. Sunny and hot. The only difference is the amount of wind we have blowing.

Soon the roads will be packed as all the Kuwaitis off on vacation for the summer come back home. The roads will almost double in the number of cars on them. The schools start back on the 8th of September and then a few weeks later is the start of Ramadan.

During Ramadan there is no eating, drinking or smoking in public. All restaurants, even fast food, are closed till dusk. Work hours are shortened as well. Each night the roads are busy with people going to family gatherings for dinner and feasting throughout the night. Once the sun starts to rise they again begin the fasting throughout the day until the evening. At work we have a Ramadan free room set up where the Westerners can sit drink coffee and eat out of the eyes of the locals.

2007-08-17T13:12:00.000+03:00

Well Heather will be starting her job in the next few weeks and we need to use her vacation days so we are going to go on vacatiuon in the next couple weeks for 5 days to Cyprus. We were looking at Rome but last minute to there is too hard to get set-up and too expensive. Cyprus is a quick cheap flight for us from here. Looking forward to enjoying a beer at the pool bar and seeing some ruins. There looks to be alot to see and do there. Some say wine was first made on the island. Lots of Greek history and mythology is based from Cyprus. Should be pretty cool. We will post some pictures as soo as we get back.

2007-08-11T16:28:00.000+03:00

Well today is Ascension day so I am off work. Three days in a row. Gotta love it. Today is the day the prophet Mohammed ascended into heaven.

Just surfing the net and working on a myspace account. More to follow on that. Still trying to figure the whole thing out. I have tried a million times to change it from Port Charlotte, Flevoland to Kuwait. Not sure where they got the Flevoland from. I have contacted them to see if they can fix this for me.

Oh and anyone winning the lottery I would like a new Maserati GT. Go to the website and build your own. She is so damn hot looking.

2007-08-03T21:18:00.000+03:00

Official government weekends are changing here in Kuwait. Currently we have Thursdays and fridays off. Come the 1st of September we go to Friday and Saturday off. All other Islamic countries have already changed to this schedule other than Saudi Arabis from what I am being told.

Other than that it is fairly hot here but I seem to be getting use to it as I really do not notice it anymore. Temps average during the day at 130 F.

2007-07-21T07:38:00.001+03:00

Here is a picture of me in my dishdasha that I wore at a coworkers wedding party. Weddings here are totally seperate and this was the all guys reception. The woman have a seperate hall and reception with no guys. As soon as you walk in they have staff with large jugs of perfume and everyone gets some on their wrists on the way in and out. Once inside you work your way to the groom and his father to give your congratulations and get a picture with them. After that people mill about saying hello to one another and take advantage of a very large buffet of food. Staff with tea and sweets move around the room and if you need anything you just wave them over. It was a very nice evening.

2007-07-18T10:59:00.001+03:00

The first ever EOD movie is starting to film in Jordan and will make it's way over here to Kuwait for a little bit of filming as well. The movie I hope does not turn out to be a disappointment. The cast has changed and now stars the following:

Jeremy Renner, from 28 Days Later, SWAT and North Country plays the EOD team leader.

Ralph Fiennes, cameo, from English Patient, Schindlers List and Quiz Show plays a mercenary.

Brian Geraghty, from We Are Marshall, Bobby and Jarhead plays one of the team members.

Anthony Mackie, from We Are Marshall, Million Dollar Baby and Manchurian Candidate plays another team member.

Guy Pearce, cameo, from Time Machine, Memento and LA Confidential doesnt have anything listed I can find.

The writer Mark Boal was the embedded reporter that did a story for Playboy magazine on EOD.

The director, Kathryn Bigelow, also has directed Point Break, Strange Days and K-19: Widowmaker.

Well thats everything I have for now on the flick. Again I hope it does not suck!

2007-07-16T09:44:00.000+03:00

Weather is about 115 degrees each day here now. Actually it is not that bad as it is a dry heat. the biggest pain in the but is if you go shopping you go straight home. If you park anywhere that is not covered for any length of time the car gets so hot inside I do not want to touch the steering wheel until the AC has time to cool things off. So food needs to be driven straight home. It is a good thing we had covered parking installed above our two parking stalls. I also have covered at work as well. Just when we are out and about that it is a big deal.

Not much new other than that. We may be looking at going to Rome, Italy for 4-5 days in September for a weekend break. Ramadan is in Spetember as well this year. Not a bad time to leave for a few days. During Ramadan all restaurants are closed during light time hours and there is no eating drinking (even water) or smoking in public or even at work. You have to be hidden in your home for any of those things.

Next summer we take Heathers folks to Ireland for a couple weeks. Should be a good time as they are pretty cool to hang out with and a good time.

Well thats about it for now. Sorry nothing to exciting but all we do here is work, rest and save money so we can buy a house. :-)

Take care everyone and keep in touch,

2007-07-08T09:04:00.000+03:00

Well we have just dropped our friends Tera and Bill at the airport so they can head back home to sunny Afghanistan. It was nice having them by for a visit and glad we could help them out as staying on post means a cot and a tent.

Went and saw the movie Transformers yesterday and I just have to say WOW! One heck of a good movie. I was worried they were going to make a kiddy flick or the CG would be crummy but this was actually really well done. I will definitely see it again while on the big screen.

Heather and I are doing well and so is the cat. Just working and saving cash these days. Also have been planning a big trip with the in-laws to Ireland next summer for about 2 weeks. Should be a heck of a good time.

Well take care all. Drop me a line if I have not heard from you in awhile. Stay safe.

2007-06-26T10:14:00.000+03:00

Well all is well here in the great big hot sandbox. Very dusty today outside.

We have 2 house guests from Afghanistan right now, both of which are friends from Kwaj, Bill Weaver and Tera Noel. They are hear for classes with ITT. Had dinner with them and Jim Davis just the other night.

Last night I went to a wedding for a friend whom I work with here in Kuwait. When I get the photos off my cell I will post some of me in my dishdasha.

2007-06-16T08:14:00.000+03:00

Had dinner the other night with Jim Davis at Wasabi restaurant. He is in town for a little while for work. Next week we will have two more guests from Kwaj coming over from Afghanistan. It is nice to see old faces and chat about what's going on as well as stories of the past.

Weather lately has become a bit dusty. The winds have been picking up but they say that they should die back down here in the next few days or so. Not too hot yet but that is on it's way.

Heather and I had a great time on vacation. Got the chance to see the folks. I had the opportunity to play some cards at Foxwoods. I did fair. Nothing special. Cash games I pretty much broke even as I was bored and started drinking. The tourney I finshed just out of the money. The pay out would have been pretty good as over 150 had entered at $340 each. I just couldn't buy rent or lease cards and had to make everything work just right. Caught busted on the river. Oh well thems the breaks. One odd thing though was they would not let me talk to anyone or the pther players left in the hand. I like to chat and see if I can get a reaction and they said that you cannot do that. Kinda odd as I see them all the time on TV do this. I have done this in Vegas before too. Oh well.

Not a whole lot else to say right now. Take care all and keep in touch.

Congrats to Travis and Grace on their new addition!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-05-21T12:28:00.000+03:00

DETROIT -vs- TAMPA BAY, 29 May 2007

We will be at this game I think 5 or 10 rows behind the Tigers dugout if I read everything right. So if any of you are watching the game on TV keep an eye out for us. I sure wish I could take in a Pistons ball game but this will work. With the way things are going it looks like Detroit could win the championships in the MLB, NBA and NHL this year. Yes I do not expect much from my Lions.

2007-05-20T09:48:00.000+03:00

HOLY MACKERAL! the weather over the past 3 days was absolutley crazy. The dust storm came in and we could not see across the street. Driving was the true adventure as no one likes to put there lights on here and you could not see more than 60 yards out in front of you. It was like living up north in Michigan and having a near white out of swirling sand instead of snow.

Soon we will be back in the states. Boy am I ready for the break. I have been busy as heck as of late.

2007-05-14T10:22:00.001+03:00

Due to something having come up I will not be going to Vegas but instead will be headed to Boston. Anyone in the Boston area that would like to meet up for a beer drop me a line. I still will be visiting the folks with Heather for a week first.

Not a whole lot else to say. The weather is slowly warming up. Soon all that is green will be brown or dust. They say we are poised for one of the hottest summers in a long while. The hottest month should be August.

2007-05-14T10:22:00.000+03:00

2007-05-05T12:23:00.000+03:00

The Dubai softball fields. There were two of them with some of the best groomed grass I have ever played on. The fields were adjacent to several bars that you could seriously fall into from the stands. Great venue. Great tourney.

2007-05-04T09:40:00.000+03:00

And now for a bit of trivia.

One band that I have been listening to as of late is 30 Seconds to Mars. The music is really cool and the videos are even cooler. They spent some serious time and money on them and they are really worth downloading to watch. Especially the newest one.

Now for the trivia part. When Heather and I were watching the videos we thought the lead singer looked familiar so we looked the band up. It seems that the lead singer is none other than Jared Leto from the TV show My So Called Life. He also was in many movies to include Alexander. See www.imdb.com to find out more about what he has been in. His brother is also the drummer.

Anyways really good band check them out if you have not already.

2007-05-02T10:27:00.000+03:00

Injuries to myself, and at least three others, had us limp to a win and end up over all in 4th place. After sliding into 2nd, and being safe, I ended up with a sore as heck thigh. We had no subs so I was to stay in this game and the next one. I ended up batting quite well though. Got a triple and the rest were all singles. Batted about a 650. Took a bit getting used to sliding once again. The tournament was a total blast though. We were in C and had 8 teams. There was an A and B as well as one womens bracket making for about 30 teams in Dubai. Teams came from Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi, Qatar and Bahrain. We also had one team from Europ and the USS Stennis.

VEGAS once again. I will be heading to Vegas to play some poker and maybe enter in the 1st tourney of the World Championship of Poker. Going to try and play my way in as the entry fee is $5000. A bit to high to drop for a tourney. So I will try a satellite tourney that morning to try and get in last minute.

Sounds like I will get one night though to see some old friends while I am there which is pretty cool.

2007-04-21T16:08:00.000+03:00

Well the internet is up now at the old casa del Heather, Tom and Picric.

Tonight and for the next few weeks we have a house guest from Kwaj staying with us while he is in country doing a computer course, named John Tompkins. Heather is in the same course with him as well.

Several days from now I head on out to Dubai for the softball tourney.

Weather is starting to rise. We were up to 34 degrees Celsius today. I spent most the day out in the desert for work. Had a good time. Better than being in the office. Although I do have months of work to do writing classes for this falls class I will be teaching.

2007-04-15T08:18:00.000+03:00

Still no internet at the house. Hopefully this week. We live in a brand new city/region here in Kuwait. Cross your fingers that we have it by the weekend.

I will be heading to Dubai soon and hope to have some picts up of that trip once I get back. I am heading there for the Dubai International softball tourney. Should be a good time. If you are like my mom and super into stamps then drop me an e-mail to ensure you get a postcard sent to you.

Weather here has been pretty crazy of late. We have had varying temperatures. It even hailed the other day while we were heading home from Kuwait City. It was so heavy that we had to, like all the other cars, pull under an overpass and wait it out. Also it was so dusty the other day that when it rained it rained mud. It is one crazy thing to see if you have never experienced it before. Today it is sunny once again and the temps are just right for running around. Soon it will get extremely warm. Like around 120’s, Fahrenheit, each day or hotter.

Hope to know more on our trip back stateside in the next week or so.

Right now we are just opening all the boxes of the household items we shipped to ourselves. We got them this weekend. We shipped them a bit late from the west coast.

The cat is adjusting well and seems quite happy. She has a much bigger house to run around in and explore.

Well I guess that’s all the news that’s fit to print. Take care all and keep in touch.

2007-04-01T11:29:00.000+03:00

Well my apologies for having not posted lately. I am doing this at the office real quick since we do not have internet at the new villa yet.

We are doing well and have moved to our new home. Since this one was unfurnished it cost a few bucks to outfit as we needed everything to include all appliances. It has even more room than the last place though. One thing we do need to get done fairly fast is to get a bed into the guestroom so when folks come through they have a place to stay.

Weather seems to be warming up lately but not too much. It is very comfortable outside right now during the day. It has been about 29 degrees Celsius lately during the day.

On the softball front we had a scrimmage against some guys from the US Embassy. Was a fun time. We need to get some work done prior to going to Dubai this month for the tourney.

Well I guess thats all the news thats fit to print for today. Once we get the internet at the house I will get some more pictures onto the site for you all. Cheers. Stay safe!!!!!

2007-03-19T21:33:00.000+03:00

My biggest one to date. And maybe ever!

2007-03-19T20:46:00.000+03:00

Work has been busy as heck lately as we get things done before the heat rolls in for the summer. Sounds like most folks here leave for the summer for up to 2 months. Many of them go to Thailand it seems. I here come summer that Phuket has a large Arab temporary population.

Found a new villa to stay in and are moving in the next week or so. The Sheihk is assiting us in that operation.

The cat is happy as a clam to be back home with her mother and father. It's like she has been with us the whole time. Surprised she has not went after the small bowl of fish we have in the sitting room rest room. We call them our potty pals.

Well gotta get as work days have been hard and long lately. Drop me an e-mail.

2007-03-16T07:41:00.000+03:00

Well things are hectic this weekend for Heather and I. Our landlord has asked us if it is OK that we find another villa/flat since his cousin really wants the villa we are in. Reason being the cousin has the bottom floor and we have the 2nd and 3rd floors. The cousin has a business downstairs and could really use the extra space.

So house hunting is what we are up to again. We have a lease until the end of October, but if we find a nice place we will move. The Sheihk says he will asists us in the endeavor. Will let you all know how it goes and send picts as soon as we figure something out.

Other than that it is starting to warm up here with temps starting to get near 30 Celsius.

Softball is getting into full swing as we get ready for the Dubai tournament the end of April. The team I play for is called the Yard Dawgs. Should be a good time. Gonna be weird playing with a short fence. They limit the amount of home runs a team can have as well. I think it is 5 per game.

2007-03-10T04:42:00.000+03:00

Kuwait City with view of fishing boats.

2007-03-10T04:36:00.000+03:00

Well this week some friends of delivered there second baby. Congratulations to Heidi and Andrew on their baby daughters arrival. We met Andrew and Heidi as a result of the purchase of my car. Andrew works for Porsche here in Kuwait. Would be super cool if we can get Andrew and Heidi away next year for a dive & fish trip to Kwajalein. They would fit in quite nicely on the island.

2007-03-05T15:52:00.000+03:00

While out doing some scouting for a project at work we stumbled upon this fellow. Actually he is quite small and we saw ones about 5 times his size. The only problem is they are fast and all the big ones were near their holes and we just could not manage to get a good picture of them. They have a very cool tail with sharp barb like spikes for use in defense. This little guy was released and slid back into his hole. As we drove we must have seen at least 20-30 of this guys all over the place sunning themselves.

2007-03-04T16:32:00.000+03:00

Work is keeping me very busy lately as we try to accomplish as much as possible prior to the heat rolling in this summer and late Spring. Come summer nothing gets done due to the heat. Or at least nearly nothing outdoors.

This picture above is of a communications tower as you come into Kuwait city. Picture taken from the sun roof of the Porsche by Tara, an ex-Kwajer whom was here TDY from Afghanistan where she is stationed with her husband Devon.

Softball tournament is coming up quick. I am 8 weeks out from travelling to play in Dubai. Should be a good time. We have two teams from Kuwait going. Supposedly they are at 30+ teams for the tourney. Guarenteed 4 games. Two games for seeding and then the normal 2 losses and you are out format. Will get pictures and post them after the tourney.

2007-02-25T14:16:00.000+03:00

Liberation day is fully upon us. That means it is impossible to go down town Kuwait City without having been involved in at least 20 drive by foamings or attacked with silly string. Tonight will get super crazy. We even saw people get out of the car and surround another car completely covering it in foam and silly string. Flags are up ever where and adorn many cars.

2007-02-24T15:55:00.000+03:00

Well it is Liberation day weekend here. While in town the other night with a house guest of ours we had packs of kids surround us and assault us with spray foam and shaving cream. All through out town at night now this is a very common site. There were packs of folks on foot as well as car to car or SUV to SUV battles as a family had kids out each window and several out the sun roof hosing down other cars.

Also this weekend Heather had accompanied me into the desert to hang with some friends of ours. While out there we had to help some folks with a car problem. For the assistance we got to take some picts of their pet falcon and they gave us a water bottle of fresh camel milk which we drank some of with them.

All in all a pretty good weekend. Actually for me it is a pretty long weekend as I have 5 days in a row off to celebrate Liberation day. Flags are everywhere right now covering town.