Yesterday was amazing. Just amazing. I seriously never even left the room. I kept my shades drawn and the air cool. I took a nice long shower and ordered room service. Twice. The food was not good, and was expensive, but it did the trick. I watched movies, sent some emails to a few people I've talked to recently and slept and slept... Almost done with the Princess Bride as well! This morning I woke up early and decided to try driving around this city. Dubai is dead before noon on Fridays, and I was pretty sure Doha would be the same. It is. I travelled up to The Pearl, which is this new development they are constructing; there are a bunch of man made islands, high end hotels, and huge "villas" on the water. I ... read more

I am going to try to keep this short as I'm exhausted, but a lot happened today, so I'm exhausted! I woke up this morning at 5:15 (Dubai time - one hour ahead of Doha) and finished my packing and cleaning from the previous night. I was able to fit all of my stuff for a month into my laptop bag and carryon. Go me!!!! I was also able to catch a cab immediately upon leaving my building at 6, and we made it to the airport with no troubles. I was travelling on Fly Dubai out of Terminal 2. Terminal 2 is a very different place from the main airport; definitely the budget area, but not so bad. Because I had plenty of time, I grabbed an iced coffee and finished my book, The Illustrated ... read more

We played our third league game on Wednesday. Unfortunately, we were creamed again, but we actually played a great team - both skill wise and personality. Many of the girls on my team have never played soccer before, so they are still learning (some of the basics need time to take hold), but it is amazing to see how much they've improved every week. I had a few shots on goal; one of them, I admittedly panicked and probably could have gotten it otherwise. Grrr. Stupid alexis! Sadly, my shin splints which have been bothering me since our first game three weeks ago have only gotten worse, so I'll be taking it easy until they go away. I'm too old to play injured! And they friggin HURT during the game. Bad. One way to ensure I ... read more

I've been threatening to do this for a while now, but I am now prepared to rank the 46 airports I've had the pleasure (or disappointment) to visit. And yes, I made a spreadsheet! Because I don't trust travelblog's column abilities, I am listing the airports from best to worst, followed by numbers which indicate the following: overall score - (times visited), things to do, layout, delays, friendliness, accessibility, cleanliness 1. Helsinki, Finland: 9.00 - (2), 7, 9, 9, 10, 9, 10 - I visited Helsinki airport twice in May 2004; I'd read that it was among the best airports in the world and I was happy to see it was not exaggerated. I remember the polished wood floors which looked freshly cleaned, the friendliness of the customs and ticket agents, and just the general unhurried, ... read more

Once upon a time, in a land far far away from America, there was a little Filipino boy named Hansel* who enjoyed accompanying his mother to visit friends at her work. The women there would gush and pay all sorts of attention to the happy child, making him feel special. Hansel was tall for his age and had large chubby cheeks, perfect for women who loved babies. However, there was an "engineer" named Samar**, tall with long dark hair and white skin. She loved fat babies and despite the ample cheeks on his young face, she was determined to fatten him up even more. Samar liked nothing more than pinching the cheeks of small children and his were not quite fat enough. In fact, that was the reason that he had come to fear her: his ... read more