Drinks and Nibbles

Tom,6 ( Graham and Liz's son) Richard,9 and Roxanne,10 (Ross and Lisa's kids) They bring me a lot of joy.

Graham(Scottish) and Chris ( Londoner)

Ross and Lisa (Australian's Gold Coasters)

Liz and Paula (Scot and English) with Martin, Paula's husband, and Alex

Opps got Ross and Lisa twice.

Bassam, Martin and Alex

Hi All,

9 Jan. 2010

If you haven't read the previous 3 posts ( Alex's visit, Alex and Al Ain and Alex in Dubai) click on older posts ( at bottom) and read them first then return to here.

We returned from Dubai and I had to work. Alex hung around the house on Monday as he wasn't feeling too well to be away from a bathroom for long. I made Chicken Picatta that evening - and although I had to use red wine instead of white - it turned out well as evidenced by the lack of left overs and clean plates. The next day Tuesday, I took Alex to work with me where I introduced him around and he was able to practice some of his Arabic - English is so universally spoken that even the locals slip into English at times. Alex was surprising them with his speaking skills and they were very appreciative of his efforts.

We came home and prepared for a party I hand planned with some of my friends - Liz had done the same a few weeks ago and called it Drinks and Nibbles (implying no dinner will be served) and I copied her.

There are new people in the pictures. Graham, Chris and Liz have been in my pictures before but Ross and Lisa - maybe not - Ross works at SEHA which is the governing body of the government hospitals of which Mafraq is one. Ross is an IT systems analyst/ project management guy. His wife and kids arrived a few weeks before Christmas. Relative new comers , they still have their heads on a swivel. The kids have just started school 2 days before and are happy to be back into a regular schedule. Lisa is happy to to have them out of the house as well and involved in activities.

Basam is my friend from the hospital who I mentioned in the Alex's visit blog. He's single and missing his dog he had to leave behind with friends.

Martin and Paula are people I met this summer briefly at the pool then again at Liz and Grahams party. Martin is a "retired" Royal Navy Captain. He now is training the UAE Navy. He can't be too specific about what he does but we have had many a conversation about the pirates off the Somali coast and how they have gone about trying to police the area when he was on active duty. Since Chris and Graham are both in the shipping business and how their operations are being affected by the pirates, it leads to some lively discussions on how to identify and deal with the pirates. Graham is the fleet captain responsible for all the ships in the companies line and Chris is a finance guy who leverages world markets to the advantage of the line.

Another interesting thing about Martin is that he also taught navigation at USNA, Annapolis for 2 years. Alex and he hit it off right away. I asked Paula what she did in the US to keep herself occupied and Martin interrupted with "Longerberger Baskets" She laughed and said she owns at least 50 baskets and has traveled to Dresden, Ohio for the factory tour etc.. They lived on the Yard on Hospital Point. They have two kids Emily 13 (going on 25) who is with them here and a son who is 17 who lives in England and lives with Martin's brother as he is in his last semester of high school.

I had made 3 different types of dip and cooked some kielbasi up on the grill when everyone was here. Along with the rum, 2 types of beer red wine and whiskey, there was plenty to eat and drink.

Next day was Alex's last full day. Chris and Graham took him downtown where he caught a cab over to the Abu Dhabi Mall and bought a ticket for the Big Red Bus - a tour line that you can get on/off of at various stops along the way of interest. He then caught a cab for home after this. I had given him my cell phone so we were able to keep in communication with each other from my office. I also gave him a map to show the cabbie how to get to our villa- and he needed it - but Alex had to navigate for him as he was out of his element - must be only a downtown driver as Alex said he was unfamiliar with the area completely.

That night I made seafood pasta with the huge shrimps Alex and I bought the first evening he was here at the fish market. I'll be eating the leftovers tonight.

Thursday 7 January finally rolled around and Alex spent the day working out, laid by the pool and packed. I was home at 3:30 and we enjoyed out last hours watching a move and having cocktails. At 6:30 the driver arrived and we loaded him up for the trip to the Dubai airport. My Head of Purchasing, Noora Al Mansouri, had arranged a driver for Alex (have I mentioned I hate driving in Dubai). I logged on and was assured his plane had taken off and followed it until it's arrival in Atlanta. I spoke with Alex this morning and his journey did not end until 3:30p that afternoon as his flight to Baltimore was delayed 2 1/2 hours for de-icing in Atlanta, then when he arrived his baggage was 2 flights behind him and was being delivered Friday evening shortly after we were to be done talking as the driver was enroute with his bags. All he had to do was collect them from the gate when he called. He was exhausted - and has duty both Sat and Sunday.

It was wonderful having him all to myself for those 9 days and I miss him terribly already. The good news is that Christine arrives in 61 days. And yes, I am counting.

Love to all

Scott