Mike said he would check at work this morning and let me know if we would try to get my passport stamped today. We called Angela and she said if we went she would like to go too. Mike called and we decided we would go to Hatta and get passport. Angela had talked with a neighbor who does this every month, and she gave us directions and info on how to get there. So at 10:30 am off we went to Hatta. It was a nice long drive. We arrived in Hatta around 3:30 pm, go our passport stamped to exit UAE. Surprise, I didn’t have to pay a fine, they give you a 10 day grace period, I could of waited 4 more days. We then drove about 2 km into Oman and got our passports stamped for in and out. They call this a visa run. The immigration officer joked with Mike about having 2 women with him. Especially since Mike made a comment about yesterday Angela was his girlfriend and now she was his daughter today. (When he called Angela yesterday evening he said hi girlfriend and she told him he had the wrong number. He said wait and quickly put me on the phone.) At the window she said since I came in the same car I guess I can be a member of the family, maybe your daughter. You had to be there, but the officer laughed and joked about it. After getting that straightened out we got back in the car and drove back to UAE. Went on the wrong side of the building, someone told us this side is nationals other side foreigners. So we went and got our passports stamped so we could go back in. Since it was now 4:30 we were hungry. Mike decided he wanted to eat a Tony Roma’s in Dubai. But he got turned around and it took us an extra 30 minutes to get to the mall. We arrived close to 6:30 for dinner. After we ate, we went shopping. I got tennis shoes for golf – little tread, so I wouldn’t mark up the browns. And I had been looking for a purple shirt I could wear here and I found one with Angela’s help. She was glad on the way home that I sort of told Mike to slow down and put 2 hands on the wheel when we were going through a construction area. She said she was glad she wasn’t the only one to do it and wished Luigi (her husband) was there to hear it. We finally got home at 11:30pm. A long day since I woke up at 5am. Tomorrow Mike has golf in the morning. I will try and sleep in. It is Borouge competition. Should be fun, dinner will be provided at 7 pm, so will be a fun social time for me too.

Friday – Mike played golf, said he didn’t do well and that it was extremely hot. He ended up in 5th place, which I don’t consider bad. He won the draw prize. It was 100 dirhams, which is close to $25 in USA. Annika pulled a golf card out of a hat and he said no not that one and it was his. Rather funny. The dinner was nice, we ate outside and there is a nice breeze that comes from the ocean.

Sat. we went to Abu Dhabi. Mike likes to get away from Ruwais on the weekends. Maybe one day we will stay in town. I get scared on the road and make noises that upset Mike. The drivers go so fast and drive dangerously. There are many road fatalities here. I got some paper for making some more floating star cards. We will see if I get them done.

Sun. was origami in the morning. We made three dimensional cards. It was fun and I didn’t mess up this time. Mike asked if there are ever any failures. I told him I am the worst origami person in the group. He thinks the cards I do are good.

Mon. was golf in the morning. I played, but did poorly. I picked up the ball almost every hole. You pick up after 10 shots so you don’t slow down the groups. Maybe one day I will get the swing of the golf club down.

Tues and Wed. was the same as usual – golf in the morning, darts, then Rummikub wed.
We got ready for Oman on Wed night, left early Thursday morning. We arrived in Abu Dhabi before 9:30am to pick up the rental car. They were out of gps systems, so just had are small maps to go by. The border check to leave UAE confused us. We got to the check point without going through immigration, so had to park car and find the correct building, after a few wrong doors, a worker took us to the right place. Thought I would use the bathroom in the Omani border check point. Changed my mind after going in – it was disgusting. We had a nice leisurely drive through Oman. We went to Sohar and drove along the coast line to Muscat. Stopped and saw the sights in several of the towns. Of course the fort we stopped out was closed for renovations, maybe another time.

Had fun in Oman – loved the souk in Muscat. I purchased a few Xmas gifts for family. The mosque was really beautiful. We were going to the museums in old muscat first but they were closed so went to the mosque. Mike had been to the mosque in Abu Dhabi and they provided covering for you, and thought they would in Muscat. I purchased a scarf and the clerks wrapped in around my head properly. We purchased a book that described all the things in the mosque, they didn’t have tours. It seems you get them before you go to the mosque.
We arrived back in UAE late Sat. night. We stopped for dinner in Abu Dhabi. The drive back home seemed to take forever. I think it just seemed longer, because we drove straight back and didn’t stop to take in the sights along the way.

Sun was origami – we had it in the morning, since several people were gone. We had a choice of star, holly, or hearts. Mike was told he needed to move out of the camp – since we have an apartment in town also. So we gathered his things and moved.

I spent Mon. morning organizing Mike’s things. He might be able to find them when he needs them. It was golf in the afternoon. I just couldn’t get my club to hit the ball. Mike played tennis in the afternoon and got home just before I did. We went to the camp to eat dinner, they were having their quarterly bbq. They had lamb and shrimp, it was really good. Better than their usual fare.

Tues. was golf in the morning. Riitta played and was expecting her first grandchild. Tarja hit the tree and there was much talk and excitement. We weren’t sure what was going on. Found out while they were discussing what the rules were, Riitta got a phone call saying she was a grandmother to a baby girl. After we finished we had a glass of wine to celebrate. She leaves this evening for home and a visit with the granddaughter. I didn’t get home until almost 1 pm. I was tired so after showering I took a nap. It was dart night, so we went early and ate at the club house. Mike’s team was in the finals at darts, we lost to his team the first game. We only had to get the bulls eye, they got the 4 numbers they needed before we hit the bull’s eye. Oh well it was fun. There were a few new people playing. We had to remind them that they had to pull their darts out of the board after they were through. They don’t remove themselves one of the ladies said.

Wed. is Rummikub. There were only 4 of us to play. One person had to leave, so we started again. I won this time. I will do laundry this afternoon and then think about what to do for dinner.

4th week in Ruwais

Friday was a quiet day. Mike has a slight cold, he slept until 1 pm. But we decided to go with Marek Sat. to Abu Dhabi and hit golf balls and go to a bookstore he found.

Sat. we left for Abu Dhabi around 8 am. I was fine, but when we arrived my neck was sore. I guess I twisted it in the car. I tried hitting the golf ball, but couldn’t swing the club without pain. So I went to the club house to wait while they finished at the driving range. We went to the gold souk, but it was close to closing time, so the stores were not letting anyone in. I did manage to go to the 6 dirham shop(like everything $1 store at home) and get a tension rod for curtains in the kitchen. I purchased the wrong size last time we were there. They wanted to close early. So we decided to try the bookstore. While going there we realized it was the bookstore we had been to the week before. I told Mike I didn’t think it opened in the afternoon until 5 pm. That was the case. So we went to eat an early dinner or late lunch at the Philippine House. I don’t really like it but Marek does. It is ok and the bbq chicken was ok. Since we were done and it was another hour before the stores would open we decided to go back to Ruwais.

Sun. Mike went to work and I went to origami at Jeanny’s house. We made cards with string. Unfortunately, although I was careful I wasn’t careful enough. I cut a few of my strings. Decided I would fix at home. But instead of fixing the mess, I made it worse, but breaking the hole and the threads on one side all became loose. So I will try making another one after I go and get some more paper. Mike really liked the card. I still had to finish the center star. When I got home I started making curtains. We decided to wait until Jan. when I come back to get a sewing machine, since I have been busy most days. So I hand sewed the extra fabric I brought that matched the sheets for the blow up beds. It takes awhile to make curtains by hand, at least for me.

Mon. I decided to try and play golf in the afternoon even though my neck was still bothering me. They decided to play best ball. I did fine the first hole, they used my t shot and chip shot. But after that my neck started hurting again and it made me swing funny and I did lousy for the other 3 holes. Although my putting wasn’t too bad, and I think they used one of my putts too. I am the newest beginner of the group.

Tues. I opted out of ladies morning golf. Mike decided to play some golf after work. So I worked on the curtains some more. Finished the ones to hide the trash can. Then it was time to get ready for darts. We arrived early so we could have dinner at the club house. But everyone was running late, so darts didn’t start until after 8:30. Made for a late evening, but not only was my neck bothering me after darts, now my back is hurting. Guess I am walking or holding my shoulder funny. Hopefully a few more hot showers and heat packs will help. I couldn’t sleep, so got on line and found Trish and Ruth C on facebook and talked to them for awhile. I think the advil finally worked and went to sleep.

Wed. after sleeping in played Rummikub. I ended up with a score of zero. With five players I was in 3rd place. That is the best I have done so far. So I was happy. Maybe next time I will improve again. Angela was saying she wasn’t going home and Annika asked if she would get her passport stamped since the regulations changed. She said she forgot all about it. Made me realize I needed to check the requirements to see if I would have a problem. I got home in enough time to check and get ready for the Texas Scramble at the golf club. Found out that the regulations changed from when I was last here from 90 days to 30 days. I have been in the UAE 34 as of today. I was not playing, but walked the course with Mike’s group. I got the few balls that went out of bounds. There were 2 teams and the teams tied – so there was no winner or loser. Afterwards there was a dinner of fish and chips. Talking with a few people found out the fine for overstaying is 100 dirhams a day – which is close to 28 US dollars. So Mike is now checking to see where the closest border with stamp is. It looks like we will be going to Al Ain soon. If he can get off work tomorrow we will go then. It brings back memories of Korea. You would think I would learn. I did finish my curtains for the kitchen. So now I no longer have sheets on any of the windows. Yeah!!

Another week in Ruwais

Sun. Mike let me have the car. I drove to aerobics and Elaine asked if I needed a ride home afterwards and if I wanted I ride to origami. I accepted the ride to origami, but said I had the car today. I tried to find the Emirates Shopping Center on the way home, but got so lost, decided just to head home and try later. I started hand laundry and had tuna fish for lunch. Got ready for origami and went to class. We made a star or you could make it into a flower. Mine didn’t look too good, so I will try again and put the best one on a card. Around 5 I went to the Emirates Shopping Center to find the laundry service. It was closed, so bought a few things at the store, fruit and drinks. It still wasn’t open, so came home. Mike was home, we decided to hit golf balls and drop of the laundry. I did so so on my golf. Hit a few good shots – he keeps telling me not to try to hit the ball so hard. I think I am just trying to hit it. Oh well. Afterwards I asked to eat at the club house again. We did and there was a surprise inside. One of the Arabs had brought his hawk. Mike and I each had our picture taken with it. He was a very interesting fellow and we enjoyed talking with him.

Mon. was ladies golf in the afternoon. I went to aerobics in the morning and did laundry when I got home. I did fine in golf at first, but after two holes my stroke went wild. Afterwards Mike and I ate at the golf club. We tried the chicken Marsalis – but it was sooooo hot I could not eat it. I had the bread that came with it.

Tues. was ladies golf in the morning. Angele and I played together so the other women could play more holes for their competition. We kept score. I got zero points and Angela got 4, which isn’t bad for playing only 4 holes for a beginner. Needless to say I definitely need more practice. I can’t seem to figure out how hard to swing the sand wedge when I get close to the hole. My ball goes back and forth over the brown (in UAE with sand courses the green is called brown, since it is really brown). Really frustrating and disappointing when I finally get close to the brown in 5 strokes only to take 4 strokes to get on the brown. Then comes the putting, oh well maybe one day. At least I didn’t lose a ball or go in the water today. It is funny you have to sweep the browns, to erase your foot prints in the sand. So you try to walk in each other’s footsteps as much as possible. I cooked dinner tonight. We had the ground beef – which I mixed with spaghetti sauce. Cooked penne pasta and we had a meal. I also cut up fruit, so we had a fruit salad. I made the brownie mix we bought. I egg yolks were bright orange red, so I wasn’t sure they were good, but thought if I cooked them they might be ok. Well after the brownies came out of the oven I had to try them. They were good and I didn’t get sick. Someone told me later that some of the egg yolks are that color, it is caused by what they feed the chickens. I have no idea. Mike was surprised by my cooking.

Wed. we didn’t play games. Wed. is usually ladies game day. Most of the group went to Abu Dhabi to meet with an old friend who moved there. So I hemmed the curtains, only got one done. I got distracted, worked on my origami and read some of the book I borrowed from Jeamy. This obviously wasn’t a memorable day, can’t remember what else I did. But I do remember a nap.

Thurs. Mike had off. We were going to play golf in the morning, but Mike has a cold and we didn’t sleep well with his snoring. Instead we went and played in the afternoon. I did great the first two holes, except for getting on the green. Mike had me hit four or five balls when I got close and went over, so I could gauge how to hit the sand wedge. I will see if that helps. Then he thought I needed to put some wrist into my swing. Not a good idea. I ended up hitting the mat which hurt my wrist. Mike said I was casting. If you are a golfer maybe you know what he means. We saw Lars and Annika playing too. It was getting dark and I had had enough after 4 holes, so Mike played some more and I put my things away. Sat with Lars and Annika, Annika said you are not supposed to try to put wrist motion into your swing until you have golfed for at least 6 mos. So we will see if it confuses me to go back to my original swing or not. Since I was staving we ate at the club house. I really like their pepper steak – you can have it as a sandwich or a steak with gravy. Either is delicious. We went home and watched some burn notice. The slingbox is a little off, so it isn't the best way to watch tv. I may just have to go to itunes and buy some shows. We will see.

Yesterday (Sunday) I did the dishes. I only used one small squirt of dish liquid. Got the dishes cleaned, but the soap bubbles still came up the drain pipe. Stopped the drain for a little while and then ran water as I finished draining the sink. That worked, no more suds coming up the drain. I then went to aerobic class. I walked there and arrived a little late, but missed the warm up walking part. Since I walked to class figured I didn’t miss anything. I got a ride home after class.
Ate lunch, warmed up left over pizza. Then started the hand laundry, you can’t do it all at once, you run out of cool water. So I have gotten half of the items cleaned, the rest will be done tomorrow.
I got picked up by Tarja. She was waiting for me at the side and I was waiting in the front. I looked out a few times, but missed her. She got out of her car and found me. I will remember to wait outside next time. We went to origami class. Enjoyed making the wreath, next time I will make a star shape. Jeamy told me to take some of the tea bags home, so I can make another design. I did, so I can make some more cards. Tarja told me that tomorrow is ladies meeting and before the meeting they go bowling. In the evening is golf. So tomorrow may be a busy day too.
After class I decided to cook dinner. Started the chicken and was beginning to get the pasta ready, when the internet people came by to connect our apartment. I stopped my prep work and let them work. I am so excited I now have internet in the apartment. Yeah!!!! They finished about 5 min. before Mike got home. So we just had chicken, coleslaw, and canned fruit for dinner. It was the first dinner I cooked in Ruwais. No great meal, but not bad. I got on the internet after dinner and Mike went to camp. After Mike got back home we decided to see if sling box worked. It was downloading something, so decided to go for walk. We went to the tennis court area and walked, then got home and watched on iTunes Burn Notice. There was nothing on the sling box. Need to start recording things, so we can watch during our evening.

Monday – I walked to the rec club and went bowling. I did really well for me. For practice, I got a spare and a strike, but then it was downhill. My first game I got 114 and second game just 69. My excuse is my arm was getting tired. After we finished bowling we went to an area in rec club and had our meeting. They are planning a party in Dec for spouses too. But we will be out of town then, I will be in the states. Afterwards, several (8) ladies went to lunch. It wasn’t bad, but some of the food was very hot. I walked home afterwards and will see about finishing the hand washing. I went golfing in the evening with Tarja, Jeamy, Annika, and Angele. It was ok. They invited me to play golf the next morning, so I will try. Angele and I said that we would play by ourselves, so that we wouldn’t hold them up. That evening Mike and I ate at the camp. Food so so.

Tuesday – I got up early. Why did I say I would play golf at 8 am? Angele and I played several balls from where we landed, but it was so hot by the time we stopped we were drenched. We went inside the club house and had coffee and water. After cooling down we played pool. Of course, the team I was on, Tarja and I, lost both games. Annika won both the golf game and pool – she was the big winner. When Mike got home we went to the store and picked out curtains for the apartment. Of course we only had 6 choices, and 1 didn’t have enough to make curtains. The one we picked only had enough to do 1 curtain, so the blue will be in the living room – hope it goes with our blue couch. The maroon will go in the bedroom. It should make the bedroom dark at night, so maybe will be easier to sleep. They will deliver Oct 8 – the same day as the furniture. It will feel like Christmas. We went to darts, had dinner there. I choose spaghetti with meat sauce and Mike had the pepper steak sandwich. The spaghetti was not made with tomato sauce, but wasn’t bad. But Mike let me switch meals with him. The pepper steak wasn’t too peppery and it was delicious and filling. We played 3 games of darts and my team won. It was a shock. Angele was team captain and didn’t feel up to the task, but she did a great job. The team captain has to throw one dart at the board and the person closest to bull’s eye starts. Since our team won we all got a free drink. I was told you had to have a drink, so I ordered a Heineken and took one sip and gave it to Mike. I drove home since he had had a glass of wine with dinner.

Wed I got up and went to exercise. It was a struggle, since I didn’t sleep well last night. But feel better now that I have exercised. It is off to get showered and dressed. I decided to do laundry and was doing internet search. While I was deciding what to have for lunch the doorbell rang. I forgot it was Rummikub afternoon. Annika was are you ready; I told her I was sorry I forgot, she was worried I was hurt. Since I don’t have a phone they called Mike to find out apt number. (Mike asked me when he got home if I did this on purpose so he would see the need for me to have a phone.) Left the laundry in sink and went to Jeamy’s house. I should have stayed home. I was the biggest loser, which isn’t bad in itself, but most of the time I barely got to lay down anything. Angele took me home, but stopped at the grocery store first. She wanted to get fish and it is fresh fish day. I decided to get a small bottle of milk and more tuna fish (canned). Tomorrow it will be tuna for lunch. When I got home I finished the laundry and started dinner. Wasn’t sure how cooking penne pasta in microwave would work out, but it wasn’t bad. Mike came home and said curtains were ready and they were coming at 5:30 to hang. The man came around 6 pm while I was cooking dinner. He was talking under his breath most of the time. Don’t think it was because he was happy. The drill bit broke and he had to go get another one. He got the brackets up, dropped the drill from the ladder and when he went to put up the rod found out the rope was not strung on rod. So he left the brackets and started on the curtains in the bedroom. He hung them up and then had to leave to get new rod for living room. Dinner was done, but Mike felt we needed to wait to eat until he left. The curtains in bedroom looked good and it seems like they will block out the light better than Mike’s garbage bags. They might have done a better job if they were of higher quality. The worker came back and put up the new rod and hung the curtains. They drag the floor, Mike felt they were ok. After the man left he said I would have no trouble tacking them up to the correct length. Guess he feels I don’t have enough to keep me busy. We ate dinner and then watched 2 episodes of Burn Notice. Found out when it is on at home and scheduled the sling box to record it. That is about all that happened today.

Interesting reading

Just thought I would share some of the funny things you see.

At the camp the had:

Green Piece Soup - Mike said it earlier said Green Peace Soup, but they were informed that was not the correct spelling.

Coalflower with cream sauce

cabbeg salad

My favorite is the beauty parlor and several barber shops in the UAE are called saloons, instead of salons.

This sign when passing by while going 80 mph was very confusing. I asked Mike what was it no hair? But after passing other signs that weren't worn out, I realized it was no u turn.

Oct. 1, 2009

I lost my mp3 player on Sat. It was a sad day. We went to Abu Dhabi and on the way home stopped to get gas and at the local grocery store. Then went to the camp to eat dinner and get on the internet. After unpacking when we got home found out no mp3 player. Checked the car, Mike went back to the camp. No mp3 player. I had a hard time sleeping, since I was so upset.

Next day, Sun was a work day for Mike. He left me the phone since it was the day for origami. I did the hand laundry in the morning and had lunch. I then decided to wait in lobby for my ride. I noticed a sign said lost sans disk with grey covering. Contact 3303. So I decided to put below my lost item and wrote lost sansa mp3 player in gray case with ear phones, Contact 3004. Origami class was nice. I made card with an oriental man in hat carrying a lantern. It was nice seeing other women and talking to them in English. Two of us were new and never done this before, so we sat across from each other. 3 were Finish, 2 Dutch and 1 form Ireland. Got home and cleaned house. Sweeping the floor is a daily necessity. Mike came home and we went to camp for dinner and internet use. After coming back – Mike went back to camp to drop off dirty laundry. While he was gone the door bell rang, it was the man from 3303 who wrote the lost notice. He had found my mp3 player and that was the notice he wrote. He returned it to me and wouldn’t take a reward. I was so happy. Mike said I was lucky. He also was glad; he had stopped at the bank to get cash and told me to take 50 dirham’s. I thought I only took 50, but mistook a 200 for a 20. While I was looking through my wallet for a reward noticed the mistake, so left him the 200 on the counter. He was glad; he didn’t want to tell me he lost 200 dirham. So it was a good day.

Mon, I swept the floor and went through some of the papers Mike had laying around. Have a little bit more to go through. Then put away the dry hand wash and did dishes. I went for a walk before Mike got home. It wasn’t too hot in the shade. We went to the golf course to practice hitting golf balls and then threw darts for 15 min. practice. I will never be a great dart player, but am consistently hitting the board now. Then we ate at the camp and got on the internet. After getting home we went and played a little tennis. It was still hot and I play in pants and decided after about 30 min I had enough. Went back to the apt. and watched an episode of Burn Notice on my computer.

Tues, I have done nothing. Did sweep floor and read some of my book. But otherwise it has been an unproductive day. Will probably get out my knitting and do a few rows, but without the couch there really isn’t a real comfortable place to work. Tonight is dart night at the golf club. So we will have dinner there and then play two rounds of darts. Hopefully we will be done by 11 pm. Mike has Thurs off so I am deciding what I need to purchase in either Dubai or Abu Dhabi. We will go to the stores and do some shopping. I will probably get some items for origami. It is a weekly event and I have none of the tools here. Have several of the items at home, but that won’t help me. Well I was a team leader this week. We lost are first game but won the next too. They were all really close. Just who would hit the last target first? We didn’t get home until after 11pm. I was asked to go to Rummique (sp?) tomorrow. I will be picked up around 1 pm. So have tomorrow morning free. Then was told on Thursday after 9pm it will be ladies night at the Danat. We are planning on going to Abu Dhabi Thursday, but should be back by 9 so will try to make it. Most of the ladies I know won’t be there, so I will see if I can find them.

Wed, I took pictures of apartment, so my mom can see where I live. So if you are on facebook you can see them to or just ignore them. I have asked my brother to help my mom view them, since she isn’t very computer savvy.

Thurs, Mike was off so a run into Abu Dhabi. It was a nice trip. We saw Lars and Annika there. Found a rug for the apartment we will think about and then go back and get if I still want it. I decided to try to see how things will transport in the car, so purchased some fresh chicken, frozen pizza and frozen ground beef. Couldn’t find ground beef fresh, and the only type frozen was minced, so we will see what it is like when I start cooking. So far the only meals I have cooked are breakfast – toast and lunch – just for me. It was ladies night at the Lattitude - the bar in the Danat. I went around 9:30 it started at 9. Told Mike to pick me up in an hour. Had a coke and talked to a few ladies, but the band was so loud it was hard to talk. It ends at 11pm, but I left around 10:30 when Mike got there. He was going to play golf Friday and I didn't want it to be a late night.
Around 2 am the alarm sounded in our apartment complex. Mike wouldn’t get up and check. Said only get worried if you smell smoke and we are on bottom floor so could get out. I of course am a worrier and stayed up. It finally went off after about 15 – 20 min. No fire trucks came and they are stationed across the pond from our apartment. I didn’t hear anything about the alarm from anyone in the morning. I was going to go for a walk in the morning while Mike left to play golf, but since I was up until 5 in the morning decided to sleep in.

Friday, Mike came home from golf and I hadn’t gotten dressed yet, so we got ready and went to the camp. Had lunch and I am now on the internet. It only took me about 3 hours to get my photos uploaded on facebook. But at least they are there now. I have been here over 2 weeks now. Seems unbelievable.

week 2 Thurs and Friday

Thurs. - Mike and I went to Dubai. He took me to the Festival Mall first where we ate at On the Border. Didn't get to Dubai until afternoon, then walked around the mall. Afterwards we drove around the city. Started getting dark, so went to Ibn Battuta Shopping Mall and walked around. Ate at Tony Romas. Looks like I am eating at the same places I liked in Seoul. Mike really likes this last mall as it is decorated like different countries. There is an Egypt section, Tunisa, etc. I am sure we will go back another day. We didn't get home until 1:30 am on Friday. Slept in on Friday and hung out at the camp and used their internet connection.