I cut open my finger opening a Gatorade this afternoon, meaning I'm probably not qualified to slice up a matte board for framing the poster I made for my friend's kids of a squirrel wannabe-pirate named Captain Nutty and his best friend, a turtle named boat, fleeing an island that's being ravaged by a tornado made out of fire that turns sand into ( Read more... )

About a year ago, my spouse and I left the United States to come live in Qatar, located in the Arabian Gulf, next to Saudi Arabia, about 275 kilometers from Iran. In that time, I've acquired some habits I'm going to have to overcome when I return to America. Here are but a few:

- Tipping no more than 10 percent.
- Not recycling.
- Free valet parking.
- ( Read more... )

I couldn't quite get the clear picture of Buckingham palace in the shade that descended over St. James Park. My wife and I, along with our hosts, gave up and made our way to a nearby cafe for beer and fizzy water.

The day was long, and the tea was plentiful, so I surrendered to my bladder and found the nearest urinal. While relief coursed through me ( Read more... )

I was, until this past weekend, a tourist, and I loved it.

Usually, my wife and I simply strolled through the City of London (and Westminster, etc.) with our hosts. Often, though, they enjoyed some professional sightseeing assistance. These are very informative, and they reveal certain traits about other tourists--usually Americans. For example, ( Read more... )

I learned a number of things after spending the past two weeks in London:

The folks who staff the immigration desk at the airports are called Border FORCE!, which, you have to admit, sounds pretty exciting. The English are still pretty touchy about their (former) empire; I'm pretty sure this is tongue in cheek. Everything seems cheaper when it's in ( Read more... )

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I'm slowly getting used to the metric system, but there are still setbacks. For example, I still feel a little weird going up to the butcher's counter and ordering things by the gram. Today, though, was the biggest hiccup, when I tried out the compound's treadmill for the first time, and was running at 9.0 for two minutes without gasping for breath ( Read more... )

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I've only been behind the wheel of our beloved Stella for the past week, and I'd like to take a moment to talk to you about driving in Doha.

Every place I've ever lived (except for Nebraska) has claimed to have the worst drivers on the planet. Traffic in Florida is responsible for 29 percent of Dave Barry's entire career of a writer. The spectacular ( Read more... )

I am dead tired now, because I didn't sleep well last night. Partly because the cats returned home at 2:30 a.m.

Newcastle head-butted me so hard he lost his balance. Repeatedly.

Magik then advised Kate, through a language made up of meowing, purring, and kneading, that, if she promises NEVER to let anything like that happen again, she may scratch his ( Read more... )